This is not your typical throwdown or showdown.
The inaugural Central Alberta Word Slam pits one wordsmith against another taking the spoken word to a whole new level.
Up to 20 poets and rappers will take the words off the page and slam them into their competition on Sept.23 at the Scott Block Theatre.
There are no props. There is no music. It is all about the words.
But hold up, this is not your average poetry or book reading.
“There’s more energy,” said Jason Brink, Cultural Services community and program facilitator.
“It is read with a little more gusto, a little more panache, a little more attitude, emotion and passion.”
Unlike a reading at a bookstore, a word slam audience is not supposed to sit quietly and wait for the author to finish reading. A word slam audience is encouraged to react through booing, cheering or clapping or whatever they see fit.
Brink said there is a strong visual arts prescene in Red Deer and area and would like to bring the literary arts to the forefront.
After attending a few word slam competitions in Calgary and Banff, Brink felt there would be a market for it in Central Alberta.
The event is organized by the Red Deer Arts Council and City of Red Deer Culture Services.
Slammers are given three minutes to perform an original piece of work during the battle. Each performer will draw a name from a hat to determine the order. The categories are divided into poets and rappers.
Brink hopes the night will balance out so the performances alternates between poets and rappers.
“It is all spoken word,” he said. “At the end of the day we’re talking about writers... I don’t see it’s much difference between a songwriter, a traditional poet and a slam poet, a hiphop emcee.”
The competition pool is made up of beginners, emerging and established artists. The judges will be chosen randomly from the audience.
The co-hosts are local slam poet Emily Ursuliak and hiphop emcee Travis Omen.
A member of the local hiphop group, Midwest Mindset, Omen, 22, has rapped since he was 15.
He has done battle in the Canadian King of the Dot rap competitions but nothing like a poetry slam.
Inspired by 8 Mile, the rap battle movie staring Eminem, Omen was instantly drawn to the spoken word.
“It’s a good way for self-expression,” he said. “A lot of kids in Red Deer just do it. They are not trying to copy other people. They are trying to get their own ideas out there.”
Omen’s strategy for the competition is to get the crowd involved and to keep it real.
The deadline for participant registration is September 16.
The event starts at 7 p.m. and admission is free. Find out more information at www.reddeer.ca/cultureservices or contact Brink at 403-348-5078.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com