The Inspired Word presents another in its series of special events: Verbal Measures: Voices from the Edge, featuring six dynamic performance artists - spoken word poet Simone Davis, writer/actor Shepsa, actor/poet Juan Reyna, actor Marisol Demonte, Hip Hop MC/poet Pyro, and writer Anabelle Gonzalez.
Straight from their mouths to your senses, these storytellers present character-driven monologues spoken with a poetic twist. With stories of love to Alzheimer’s to a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, these poignant artists will propel you to enchanted places and beyond - brought to you from the streets of Brooklyn, la frontera de Texas, a Philly home, the campos of the Dominican Republic and the California coastline.
This is a rich, spicy gumbo of voices, so prepare your palette for this paella of poetic discourse from the edge.
To purchase tickets in advance, click on
http://verbalmeasures.eventbrite.com/.
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ARTIST BIOS:
Anabelle Gonzalez is 25 year old, born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She realized at the young age of 9 that being bold made for great writing and has been in love with words ever since. Although she has had an on and off relationship with the stage, Anabelle has always used performance as a way of being heard, to fill any void without being needy. Aside from being crazy in love with all things creative, Anabelle enjoys giving back to the community by working in the non-profit sector since the age of 19. Her idea of making a difference is by changing the lives of people, one heart at a time.
Marisol Demonte isn't your typical twenty one year old. She's destined for stardom. She was born and raised in Bedstuy Brooklyn, New York, but now calls Harlem, her "home sweet home." Marisol is of Puerto Rican, African American, and Italian descent accentuated by her amazing makeup skills (of course!). Along with her passion for makeup, she has a profound love for theatre whether it be performing in the show or working behind the scenes. She has worked with Ramona Ponce, a New York theatrical costume designer at Lincoln Center. Currently in college, Marisol plans to develop her acting skills at the New York Film Academy and Stella Adler Studio of Acting upon graduation.
In 2005, Pyro became involved in the Twin cities Hip-Hop community through writing and performing Spoken Word poetry with a group of other local youth and community leaders. As a result, she then became involved with Brave New Voices in New York City in 2007 as well as in San Jose 2008. As a result of her hard work, she was given a full scholarship from the University of Madison, WI to be part of First Wave, a program geared towards Hip-Hop arts and community activism. Through First Wave she has been able to travel and performed music and original theater in multiple locations throughout the U.S. such as Madison Square Gardens and the New Amsterdam Theater in NYC as well as Mexico, Panama, and the United Kingdom. She is currently working and living in New York City.
Juan Reyna is an actor and a poet. He was born in the mountains of West Texas and grew up further down South in an area referred to by Tejanos as “El Valle,” aka the Rio Grande Valley. He received his B.F.A. in Acting from Brigham Young University and has called Brooklyn his home for the last nine years. Juan recently completed both the Summer Shakespeare Intensive and Spoken Word Workshop at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Juan enjoys volunteering as an assistant to teachers at the Vajradhara Meditation Center in Prospect Heights. When he is not there, you can find him walking his rambunctious boxer dog, Texas, around Prospect Park.
Shepsa is a writer, mother, actress, teacher and juju woman. Born and raised in Philadelphia where her artistic career began, she won numerous awards for her writing at a young age including Presidential Scholar in the Arts and First Place winner in the Philadelphia Young Playwrights contest. Her face also can be seen as the largest figure in the famous Common Threads mural, which she posed for while attending Creative and Performing Arts high school in Philadelphia. She holds a B.F.A. with honors in Drama from New York University where she also double majored in Africana Studies. After spending five years devoted to motherhood and spiritual studies, Shepsa has reemerged as an artist and potent voice for her generation. She recently published her first poetry book, Goddess Pages: Honey, Full Moons and Daggers. She has been a featured performer at The Sweet Spot, a national erotic poetry show. She is a student and initiate of several traditional African religions and eastern philosophies. She is also a certified i2Tantra practitioner with JujuMama LLC. Currently, she teaches theatre to public school students in Brooklyn, NY where she lives with her son. Please visit her site @
http://ladyshepsa.com/.
Simone Davis is a writer and performer homegrown on the California poetry scene. She served as the captain of the University of California Slam Poetry Team for 3 straight years, placing 5th place at Nationals 2 years in a row, earning a spot on final stage with a collaborative piece entitled “Hip Hop Scotch”. She jump-started the SickSpits Poetry Collective and hosted the rowdy open mic series in Davis, CA that now packs over 300 monthly attendees. Simone was also a member of the 2006 Sacramento Slam Poetry Team. She has shared the stage with artists such as Amir Sulaiman, Talam Acey, Marc Bamukti Joseph, Zion I, Immortal Technique, and Quincy Troupe. Since arriving on her home coast, Simone has performed in the run-off slam for the 2011 Nuyorican Slam Team and hosted a few open mics. She holds down a corporate job by day and a pen at night.
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Produced by Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word
http://inspiredwordnyc.com/.
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When: Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
Where: One and One Bar/Restaurant
Downstairs Nexus Lounge
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, New York
(917) 703-1512
By subway, take the F train to Second Avenue and exit the 1st Avenue side.
Doors open @ 7pm.
Show starts @ 7:30pm.
Cover charge: $12 for general seating/$20 for front row reserved.
NO AGE LIMIT.
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