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     Rondall Moderator Username: Rondall Post Number: 149 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 07:06 pm: by Ferociouskitty. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And not just because Cynique is there...;-) Is that tour guide Lucille Clifton? If Lucille Clifton had spent more time in Chicago than Baltimore, she might have ended up in the Guild Complex's Poetry Performance Incubator. For the six people in the Guild Complex's Poetry Performance Incubator, they have taken on the jobs of poet, playwright, ensemble member, actor, contributing set designer and…tour guide. Yes, tour guide. The inaugural Poetry Performance Incubator will debut its inaugural performance, Tour Guides, at the Viaduct Theater on Friday, July 18, through Sunday, July 20. Tour Guides asks the question, "What is Chicago?" The variety of answers includes landmark neighborhood locations like Harold's Chicken and Moo & Oink. (It's about so much more than the Sears Tower and the John Hancock for Chicago natives.) The poets will take you on the CTA, on tours of their neighborhoods, through the tastes and smells of Chicago food – this is an eating town – and into the heart of how those of us who live here nestle next to and grate against those around us. The Poetry Performance Incubator is a pilot project of the Guild Complex that has been percolating for the last five years. Though Chicago has a strong tradition of performance poetry, few poets have the developed sense of stage craft that actors have. Even fewer have worked in an ensemble setting. The Incubator pushes at the intersection of poetry and theater with the aim of creating a truly hybrid form. Poets and actors auditioned for the Incubator with the criteria of learning the theater or developing their writing, whichever was the less familiar for them, which included writing work for others as well as themselves and staging the work through an ensemble process. It should be noted that Tour Guides is performed by the group of poets who collaboratively wrote the piece. Kimberly Dixon, Steven Evans, Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez, Ricardo Gamboa, Tricia Hersey and Rupal Soni have developed their hybrid craft under the guidance of award-winning director Coya Paz, co- founder of Teatro Luna and a poet herself. Performances of Tour Guides will be: Friday, July 18, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, July 19, at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at 2:00 p.m. Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $8. Order through the Viaduct Theatre box office at 773.296.6024. For more information, please check the Guild Complex website www.guildcomplex. org. We promise, you'll leave the theater knowing more about Chicago than when you got there – even if you're a local. Happy hump day -- and we mean Wednesday, The Guild | ||
| Vanders Regular Poster Username: Vanders Post Number: 12 Registered: 06-2008 Rating: N/A |
Hey Rondall; Thanks for the information about the Guild Complex's Poetry Performance Incubator. Did you get any information on how the event went over the weekend? Please let us know. I would also like to take this time and ask you if you heard of poetry therapy. Apparently this is a certified profession through the National Association of Poetry Therapy that uses poetry and other forms of literature for healing and personal growth of clients. I think the clients come from support groups, psychiatric services, community mental health centers and the likes. I think it can be used with a variety of groups and it sounds exciting. I heard the word poetry therapist used awhile ago and looked up the word on the internet and found a whole history and certification program. Do you think as lovers of poetry, it is something many of us should explore, or do we need certification to do what we love? Other than writing poetry, it would be fun to have a job or create a position where you have to use poetry all the time as part of your work with others. Vanders. | ||
| Rondall Moderator Username: Rondall Post Number: 156 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Interesting, very interesting indeed. I am aware of the professional association relating to poetry therapy. It is a movement that seeks to bring the validity of therapeutic aspects of poems and words. My issue with the organization that seeks to get individuals certified and licensed. Almost every other so called organization that attempts to certify or license anyone in niche markets is out to make a profit. I respect a therapist using unusual techniques such as poetry and music. But it strikes me odd the attempt to certify anyone to share the passion for poems that they find therapeutic. Please realize that this is my opinion on such a niche subject. Perhaps I owe to myself to research and find out more. Don't let this discourage you from doing what fuels your passion. I hope you do find a venue to share poems with someone that wants to listen to their message. And that I hope you lend an hear to someone that wants to heard. | ||
| Vanders Regular Poster Username: Vanders Post Number: 13 Registered: 06-2008 Rating: N/A |
Hey Rondall; Thanks for your input. I'm inclined to agree with you and I already have a venue to share poems in the work that I do and maybe that is enough.I think I just want to do it more and in more settings. Maybe I don't need to certify myself and spend money I don't have to utilize poetry as an intervention to empower, inform, and celebrate the clients that I work with. Can you or anyone else share some poems that you find helpful in helping people with personal growth, self-discovery, and healing? Vanders. |
