Friday 18 July 2014

Thesis to the Real World

From the Thesis to the real world, it has been a long journey, but I must say, all the intense research, teacher/student critiques and existential questionings - it paid off. I feel more prepared to jump into the real world with my dream project, sharing stories and poetry and connecting people through these stories. 

After all the running around to as many schools as I could possibly get into without them thinking I'm some fresh out of college crazy lady, my next step was to have a 'Spoken Stage' event, one of the first with around twelve performers who would grace the stage by performing their original spoken word performance pieces.


Now Spoken Word in Karachi, Pakistan is a very obscure and 'hipster' trend. Of course I feel it is generally considered a hipster trend, but in Pakistan where the landscape for this art form is like a tumbleweed dance floor, it is at a whole new level of being hipster. So encouraging people to come and support this wonderful reading is a tough job. Especially if it has to be done alone, phew. 

However we got quite lucky, Karachi has a great space called 'The Second Floor' or T2f that has a cafe and a space downstairs where events, readings, open mics etc take place. It is a gallery as well as a stage and the administration and owners and some of the most supportive people I have had a chance to be acquainted with. Therefore the space situation is sorted out of course. In the past T2f has also supported British performer and poet Lemn Sissay, so they were quite familiar and enthusiastic about the Spoken Stage's endeavour. 

Step 1
Spread the word - so I personally went to schools and tried to spread the word. haha. 

Step 2
Find a good group of people who will support you and find a reliable space. 

Step 3
Find people who are writers and performers and are generally interested in spreading the word and telling stories. 

Step 4
Pick a date and organize!!!

Poster for the event that took place in March designed by me :)

The kid is a 14 year old writer and performer that I met via suggestions and I also happened to do a presentation at his school. (He's really good) and these kind of things are what keep me going. It's the summer now of course so going to schools might be tough, but I hope to continue next semester.***






No comments:

Post a Comment