Cleveland's Youth Poetry Slam Team Performs 7/8 At PlayhouseSquare

Cleveland's National Youth Poetry Slam Team will perform on Wednesday, July 8 at 7 p.m. in the Westfield Insurance Studio Theatre in the Idea Center at PlayhouseSquare. The event is free and open to the public with no tickets or reservations required.

Six students earned a place on the team by participating in Slam U, the annual series of free poetry workshops and slams for teens held by PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department. Local artists provide training to prepare students for the competition that determines the members of the team.

"Slam U is not just about competition, though," stated Colleen Porter, director of community engagement & education at PlayhouseSquare. "In fact, the founder of slam poetry himself [Marc Smith] admits that it's somewhat absurd to have poets compete against one another, but it does encourage them to strive for excellence and it creates more excitement for the audience. Our focus is on giving teens a place to be heard and to help them build communication and leadership skills that will serve them throughout their lives."

The Slam U 2009 finalists, making up Cleveland's National Youth Poetry Slam Team are:
Derick Holifield, Junior, Cleveland School of the Arts
Cyndii Johnson, Senior, Cleveland School of the Arts
Jonathan Lykes, Freshman, University of Chicago
Lee McKinstry, Senior, Westlake High School
Eric Odum, Senior, Cleveland School of the Arts
Akeem Rollins, City Year Corps Member

New to the team are Derick, Cyndii and Lee. Eric and Akeem were on the team last year, and Jonathan has been a team member for the past two years. Students are eligible to participate through age 19.

The July 8th event is the team's final public performance before traveling to Brave New Voices, the International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, in Chicago July 14-18, 2009. PlayhouseSquare provides for the team's travel and expenses through the generosity of The Cleveland Foundation and The Michael Pender Memorial Fund of The Cleveland Foundation.

Brave New Voices was created to give teens their own forum for expressing themselves with the aim of gathering, educating and showcasing young writers from across the country. The festival includes open microphone time for the teen participants, an adult reading that features professional poets and performers, panel discussions, workshops led by professional writers and educators and the International Youth Poetry Slam. Although the slam is a competitive event, teens are encouraged to focus on commitment to the craft and growth as a writer, person and community member.

Slam U is the annual series of free spoken word poetry workshops and events held by PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department. Slam U 2010 will begin on January 15, 2010. Drop-in practice sessions will be offered at Cuyahoga County Public Library branches and at PlayhouseSquare. Information about Slam U is available by calling 216-348-7909 or online at playhousesquare.org/community.

Poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. Emphasis is on both writing and performance. At a poetry slam, poets perform their work and members of the audience serve as judges.

PlayhouseSquare understands its vital role as an educator in our community, and is committed to providing arts learning opportunities of the highest quality to enrich the lives of students, families, teachers and adults. PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department is unique in the performing arts industry for the variety of programs it offers, the partnerships it initiates and the access it provides students, educators and aspiring artists to performing arts professionals. Since its inception in 1998, the Community Engagement & Education Department has offered thousands of events, workshops, classes and more, most with minimal or no fees, to people of all ages from all areas of Northeast Ohio. The generous support of individual and corporate donors and foundations makes it all possible.