Twelve of Canada’s hottest spoken word artists hit Victoria with a week-long celebration of poetry during the fifth annual Victoria Spoken Word Festival.
The Victoria Spoken Word Festival runs Feb. 23 to March 1 and features spoken word on the cutting edge. These all-stars poets will be featured in showcases and events, as well as collaborations with dancers, improvisers – even brewers.
“We’re pulling out all the stops this year,” says festival director Missie Peters. “We’re calling them all-stars for a reason – most of the poets in the ensemble have national titles under their belts. I’m excited to see what they will create together for the Festival Finale.”
The Festival Finale show is the culmination of the festival, and features a show that the All-Star Ensemble write and create in one day, plus a performance by Poet of Honour Brendan McLeod of The Fugitives. In addition to being a national slam champion, McLeod is a novelist, a playwright and a musician.
Check out these events happening as part of the fifth annual Victoria Spoken Word Festival:
Instant Slam – Intrepid Theatre – Tuesday, February 24
The All-Star Ensemble has one hour to write a poem and perform it – with the audience as judge.
Metaphors and Monologues – Intrepid Theatre – Wednesday, Feb 25
Performances by SpeakEasy (Dave Morris and Missie Peters) and Poet of Honour Brendan McLeod.
Poetry in Motion – Metro Theatre – Thursday, February 26
Collaborative performances by the All-Star Ensemble with dancers from Victoria’s Broken Rhythms.
All-Star Showcase – Metro Theatre – Friday, February 27
The All-Star Ensemble performing their best poems, plus DJ Prufrock Shadowrunner on the decks.
Festival Finale – Metro Theatre – Saturday, February 28
The culmination of the festival, the All-Star Ensemble will perform a brand new show in they wrote in only one day. Poet of Honour Brendan McLeod will open the show with a very special feature.
Public Workshop with Brendan McLeod – Intrepid Theatre – Sunday, March 1
Always wanted to try spoken word? This workshop will give you the basics and let you have fun learning. To register email: notyourgrandmaspoetry@gmail.com
Sunday Night Improv – Victoria Event Centre – Sunday, March 1
The All-Star Ensemble joins a cast of Victoria’s local improvisers for a hilarious and inspiring show.
The Victoria Spoken Word Festival is happening Feb. 23 to March 1 in partnership with Intrepid Theatre. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students. Festival passes are $45.
For more information on the festival visit: www.victoriaspokenwordfestival.com
For tickets go to TicketRocket.