Storytime

Last week I headed up to Warragul for Arts Merge..this time at Mango Wood Cafe. New intimate venue and some new (for me) features. We had some amazing flamenco guitar from the Travelling Kirkbridges, Peter and Hedy. Beautiful! There was some great original songs from Acoustic Kitchen. and from Wendy Selling, complete with ukulele. I have no musical talent and was so much in awe of all of these acts, and in fact did pick up a few tips on how to present from them. The open stage offered up some great work... and of course there was Yvette Stubbs and her poetry / performance. Watching others perform is a great way of learning more. Of picking up ideas. How they deliver their work, how they even stand, how they notice (or not) the audience. The lead up was great, but dare I say, the main features were amazing. Amanda Anastasi and Anthony O'Sullivan. Very different in their voice and style, their delivery and their topics. They held the a...

Recently I, along with a friend and her grandchild, travelled to the wondrous wilds of Warragul. Not especially wild of course but I liked the alliteration. Why, you may ask, did we travel forth? For 'a night of outstanding entertainment' or so the flyer promised. A new venture  (although she has ran other ventures) run by the incorrigible Yvette Stubbs and the subdued and demure Dollsy G. Yvette is an artist / poet / entertainer and we looked forward to a night of fun. Fun it was.  Featured performers were Wendy Sellings, clad in pink tutu,  playing her ukelele to her original songs (especially loved Blood, Blood, Blood)  Anthea Williams, and her interpretative poetry and out there costumes.  Gerard Lewis-Fitzgerald and his poetry, which made us run an emotional gamut from laughter to sadness, contemplation to sorrow.  And of course there was Yvette... Not only hosting and encouraging, but performing ...

Another year rolls on and another year of poetry in the Dandenongs. Last Sunday we had the first Poetry in the Hills for 2017. Held in the Belgrave Library, it is a great place to share your work. Sing a song...recite your poem....read a piece of memoir...play the ukelele.  Yes we have it all. As usual it was a great mix of work. Some memoir, the majority poetry, even a performance as a poet had memorised her poem. Always a winner in my book. The poetry was wide ranging. From political to observations of every day. One poet wrote a piece for his wife to celebrate 30 years together...she heard it first at the gig. There were pieces on mental illness, on trying to find peace in the chaos of the world. There were pieces on personal development, on the struggle with relationships, on finding relationships and on keeping relationships. Not only is the work so varied but the readers as well. Some were nervous, others full of confidence, some bristling with indecision....

I'm always in awe of those poets that get up on stage and just go for it. No piece of paper in their hand, no mobile phone or Ipad clutched tight. They simple burst with poetry. They have memorised their work and are now performing it. Not reading, not simply uttering words ...it is a performance. And it's always something amazing to see. Every now and then I like to give myself that challenge...to memorise a piece of poetry and recite it. I have asked various poets over the years how they do it...how they manage to remember their work...and it's by repetition.  No simple and quick format...it's by going over and over the poem. So that's what I do. I pick a poem, and this is very important, pick the right poem. Not every poem is a spoken word poem. And not every poem will be easily memorised. I find that it has to have a flow. If it starts here and abruptly goes there, then back tracks way over to the pre beginning....it's very hard to get it down. ...

Went to the far reaches of Melbourne Thursday night, well not really, but sometimes after driving straight from work, it does feel that way. Where you ask? Yarra Glen. Love the vibe that Sandy Jeffs gets in her gig, the intimacy, the food and the damned good poets. This time it was... identical twins, Bronwen and Emily Manger. Perhaps that should read Emily and Bronwen Manger, as I don't know who was born first and what the etiquette is in listing twins.... They were great, as usual. Have seen them perform in various venues and I found it interesting to watch the way they worked. Each a counterfoil for the other, offering a balance of tone and mode but also presentation. (photos by Alex Ruschanow)  Presentation is sometimes so over looked, or even forgotten about. Many writers think that content alone will suffice, and it does, on the page. But when performing, it is presentation that can make or break a poem.  Can have the audience shuffling in their seats and t...

Last Saturday I went to one of the Autumn Authors  events run by the Dandenong Ranges. This was advertised as Emilie Zoey Baker and friends and being a big fan of Emilie's  decided it was time for another dose of inspiration. And inspirational it was. With Angie Hart, from Frente, and the Body Poet , Sabrina D'Angelo, Emilie gave the audience a great afternoon of poetry, song and...can I say mime? It was my first experience with the Body Poet, and it was amazing. Not only her ability to make us laugh, in fact one fellow was laughing so much that it was almost more entertaining to watch him instead of the show, almost....but what I loved was her ability to express herself. Without words. Yes she has a talent, and a face that has an almost rubber like consistency to express any emotion....she also knows how to work the audience. All three performers had that ability and it was great to see.  Working a room is an artform in itself...and unfortunately a lot of pe...

I recently saw my first Burlesque show. It was part of the Emerald PAVE festival and was wonderful. Not only did I love the colour and costume, the music and choreography, but to me it represented what real performance is all about. The MC for the night was the multi talented Lilikoi Kaos Not only did she keep the crowd under control (the bar was open) but she kept the audience exactly where she wanted us. We were under her spell. Hers to command. This is what performance is all about. In performance poetry there is not that much emphasis on costume and lighting, but music plays a much bigger role than ever before. And timing and effect are still vital components of a good show. What really came to my mind, was delivering such a good show that the audience were left screaming for more. The luscious Becky Lou(above) was a great example. And perhaps the style of entertainment, and the open bar, helped to fuel the audience participation...but there is much for a writer t...