Regina Word Up Slam featuring Isaac Bond

Regina Word Up, Listen to Dis Community Arts Organization and International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) present three special, accessible poetry events.

*Please note the location, day of the week, and time change for these events. This event begins before our regular poetry events, happens on a Thursday, and take place at the Artesian on 13th.*

Regina Word Up Poetry Slam
Location: Artesian on 13th (2627 13th Ave, Regina, SK, Treaty 4)
Date: Thursday, March 7/19
Price: $10 + GST (or Pay What You Can; Performers don't pay)
All Ages
Elevator Available
All-gendered washroom on site

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FEATURE ARTIST: ISAAC BOND
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Isaac Bond is a poet and performer from Saskatoon. Between music festivals, poetry festivals, and grass roots shows of many flavours, he has connected to audiences accross Canada and up and down Saskatchewan. He is the founder of the Write Out Loud poetry collective, and director of the 2015 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Behind the scenes and on the stage, his work speaks community.

To see more of Isaac, check this out: https://youtu.be/KDdvXyEjiBE

Thank you to our featured performer for their work and dedication. It's deeply appreciated.


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EVENT INFORMTION:
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Each event takes place on a Thursday at the Artesian on 13th.

Thursday, March 7 – Poetry Slam, Open to anybody, featuring Isaac Bond
Thursday, April 11 – Regina Word Up Adult Team Finals, Invitational Slam, featuring Beth Murch
Thursday, May 9 – Regina Word Up Youth Team Finals, Invitational Slam, featuring bassam

Schedule of Events
5:30 pm Doors Open
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm – Just Write, drop in
6:30 pm – Poetry Slam signup begins
7 pm – Poetry Slam begins (Two Rounds of slam with Feature Artist performance, Open Mic to follow event)

FAQS:

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WHY HAS REGINA WORD UP COLLABORATED WITH LISTEN TO DIS AND IICSI?
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Regina Word Up, a program of the Creative City Centre, Listen To Dis community arts organization and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) are teaming up to bring a series of collaborative, accessible events with an improv element. Through friendly poetry slam and a series of sensory-rich writing prompts, the groups aim to create on the spot poetry and performance elements. These proposed events will incorporate many elements into a phenomenal experience.

We recognize the Creative City Centre is up two long flights of stairs and that these stairs may be a barrier for people interested in participating in our events. By partnering with Listen to Dis community arts organization and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation we are able to open our community to other poetry enthusiasts and access the Artesian on 13th. The Artesian is a venue fit with an elevator.

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WHAT IS JUST WRITE?
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Do you ever feel stuck waiting for inspiration to strike? Do you like the idea of writing but have trouble getting started? Do you find it more motivating to be part of a group than to write on your own?

Just Write is an initiative that seeks to melt those writer’s blocks. We’ll focus on process instead of results. We will play with improvisational elements by using prompts, discussions and other tools to get words flowing.

Facilitators from the Regina Word Up community will incorporate their experience with spoken word and/or other forms of writing to build space for learning from ourselves and each other in a supportive, interactive environment.
All levels of experience and participation are welcome. For example, you might prefer to try as many facilitated activities as possible or sit in a corner and work on your own project. You might want to share some of your writing with others or just reflect independently. You might want to play with performance aspects or keep all your work on the page. We will adapt to your interests and what you want to learn.

Just Write is a drop-in event before the Poetry Slam. A short open mic will follow the poetry slam to give you an opportunity to share your work with our attentive audience.

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WHAT IS A POETRY SLAM?
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A poetry slam is a dialogue between audience and performer. It is a competitive event wherein spoken word artists share their work in a high-spirited, fast-paced environment to an often uproarious crowd.

Slammers should come prepared with two original (that is, your own) pieces of less than 3 minutes and 10 seconds each. No props, no nudity, no hate speech. Sign-up starts at the door at 6:30 pm, with a maximum of 12 competing poets -- first come, first served!

Five judges will be chosen at random from the audience. Each judge will provide a score between 1-10 for each poem, of the five scores, the high and low will be dropped leaving a total score out of 30. The judges will judge the poem and performance but not the poet or appearance.

Audience members, come prepared with snapping fingers and a good pair of lungs.

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DO I NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN JUST WRITE and THE POETRY SLAM?
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You may participate in one or both events. If you'd like to only come for some improvisational writing during the Just Write portion, please come between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. If you'd like to attend just the Poetry Slam, please arrive for 6:30 pm. The slam will begin at 7.

Admission is $10 + GST (S10.50). You do not need to pay door if you are participating in the Poetry Slam.

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HOW DO I QUALIFY FOR THE POETRY SLAM TEAM(S)?
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By participating in our poetry slam’s, you may become eligible to compete for a spot on the Regina Word Up Poetry Slam team (23+) or the Regina Word Up Youth Poetry Slam Team. (14-22) This team will travel to compete in the national spoken word festival(s) for youth or adults. The Adult Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW) takes place in Guelph, ON during October. The Youth festival, Voices of Today, takes place in Toronto, ON, August 20-24/19. Youth may be shortlisted to compete for the youth poetry slam team by participating in one poetry slam or at one of our Youth Stage events.

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WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
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If you are interested in volunteering, sponsoring, supporting, collaborating or have ideas that may benefit Regina Word Up and the development of our spoken word communities, please contact the Creative City Centre at [email protected]

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GUIDELINES, COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS AND CONSENT STATEMENTS
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At the Creative City Centre we always strive for inclusivity and respect in the community both inside and out of our facility, which is why we have compiled the following guidelines to remember both for our events and also in everyday life.

• We encourage respecting the way folks self identify, without assuming gender, sexuality, orientation, religion, or ability.
• We understand that at times folks may need to leave or engage in other methods of self-care, and that’s okay. If we can keep ourselves safe, we can encourage safe and healthy communities.
• We encourage the availability of gender-neutral washrooms for all guests.
• We encourage language that promotes inclusivity, education, and awareness and dislike all forms of explicit ignorance including, but not limited to, hate speech, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism.
• We encourage the culture of consent meaning we respect people’s physical, verbal, and emotional boundaries. This means respecting that some people might not want to be hugged and if you want to engage physically in any way with a person it is important to ask permission before doing so.

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PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
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Regina Word Up would like to extend a deep thank you to our partners and sponsors. Without this support, this programming would not be possible.

Thank you especially to the Creative City Centre, Listen to Dis Community Arts Organization, International Institute of Critical Studies in Improvisation and to the Saskatchewan Arts Board, City of Regina, Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.

For more information on programs and opportunities, please visit www.creativecitycentre.ca
Listen to Dis: https://www.listentodis.com
International Institue of Critical Studies in Improvisation: http://improvisationinstitute.ca