Alchemy Music Playlist

Well it looks like StorySLAM:Live has firmly established itself at its new home at the Southbank Centre with another full house and some great stories, not least from the special guest Femi Martin. It also seems that people are actually tuning into the music. I’m even being chased by audience members to share it. So it looks like posting the music after each event is gonna become a regular thing!

The Southbank Alchemy Festival theme was a gift allowing me relive some of my memories of Talvin Singh’s Anokha and all the great South Asian music that I’ve collected since. In conversation with some of you on Wednesday it occurred to me that many would actually like to play through the playlists. So in order to do this legally I’ve resorted further to Spotify where I’ve also posted the lists. Follow the “Play the whole thing…” links to access and play the lists continuously – albeit with ads if you’re not releasing your hard earned cash for a paid subscription. Tracks obviously aren’t mixed as they were on the night, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening as much as I did selecting.

Pre show – Play the whole thing on Spotify

Interval – Play the whole thing on Spotify

Judges break – Play the whole thing on Spotify

Post show – Play the whole thing on Spotify

No Comments / Apr 21.12 / Event reports / by rizomorph

Catching up with old friends..

Do you have a friend who you love to talk to? I do. The thing is, when we get on the phone to each other we always have so much to say.  It always takes at least an hour. I can honestly say I’ve never had a quick conversation with her. Even if we get interrupted, we call each other back.  We have so much in common, but more than this –we just connect on a deep level.

I spoke to her yesterday and, as usual we were pouring our hearts out to each other.  She’s had a bad year with family issues and it reminded me of how easy it is to fall out of the loop and not know what is going on, how things are.

When I come to blog I get the same feeling. No matter how much I intend to be more regular with the posts it always ends up that I’ve got loads to tell you. It makes it hard to know where to start.

I’ve been to some great events over the past weeks. I’ve come across some great books that I want to tell you about. But most of all, we’ve had some great progress with StorySLAM:Live.

Can’t tell you yet, (don’t want to jinx it)  but we are really excited about these new developments and when it’s all decided,  you will definitely be the first to know.

So,meanwhile, and contrary to intent, this is a quick update about our event THIS WEDNESDAY.

As some of you will know, we have been adopted by the SouthBANK Centre, and it’s where our showcase for undiscovered writers is held quarterly.  We love our events there, it’s a blend of live literature and music that sends people out buzzing.

We start @7 30pm. If you want to enter a story just go to the desk where the lovely @mrsdonovano & @teecha_soph will be waiting to take your stories and soothe your nerves. Before this, make sure you buy a drink from the bar or café upstairs. Alcohol is not compulsory – but some people find it helps.

If you’re not competing, then relax, you are in for a literary treat.  We have EIGHT slots. 5min each. Judges feedback. Charlie Dark hosting. It’s fun.

Our multi mixing VJ DJ and producer @rizomorph has met with @beacolley and we will be having a little after party outside in the BRIT PACK exhibition area. In a word. COOL. We’ll release the playlist that will be on theme as usual. ALCHEMY’s the one this time.

So, do you see what I meant when I started this?  I’ve got too much to tell you for one blog post. Why don’t you come on Wed and we can catch up face to face

Get tickets here http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/literature-spoken-word/tickets/storyslamlive-63948

No Comments / Apr 15.12 / Uncategorized / by joanne

StorySLAM:Live@Alchemy

Have been trying to find time to write this blog for days. That might sound like a bad thing, but to be honest so many exciting things have been happening, I really can’t complain.

Those of you who have been following our progress with StorySLAM:Live since we began (only two & a half years ago) at The Albany have been with us on a journey that has seen us grow.

We are now selling out at the SouthBank Centre. We’re looking at a bigger space for the London Literature Festival and we’ll let you know when we’ve fixed the date.

For now though, we’ll be back down on the Spirit Level in the Blue Room which we like, but it’s getting too small. We had a pow wow with Bea (she’s our woman in the SBC) and we’re going to have a ’spill out’ area to make sure we all have time to chat and imbibe and listen to Rizomorph  spin his tunes (see his Afterlife Playlist for a taster.) We will also have a bookstall for the first time. Cheers Foyles.

Another development we are absolutely over the moon about is that we are going to welcome Random House, yes that’s right RANDOM HOUSE,  to the judging panel. Here we go guys. Which of you are going to be the first to come to their attention ?

We are also DELIGHTED to be joined by Nikesh Shukla who will be judging your Alchemy stories. Nikesh will be Writer in Residence @southbankcentre for the duration of the Alchemy Festival. He is a short story Don. That’s it.

You can see Nikesh on Monday 16th April ‘The Ethnic Writer- How to avoid labels’ 6pm The Clore Ballroom. It’s free.

I’m going to be putting up some pages on our new entry process and tips to produce the winning entry. Until them remember, 5mins is the limit for your story. Write to the theme ALCHEMY and don’t try to fit an extract of a longer piece in. Entry is on the door. In the case of more entrants than places we will have a draw. Make sure you are there early to register your entry.

No Comments / Mar 14.12 / News / by joanne

Bingo Scenes of Money and Death

I went to see Bingo at the Young Vic last week which is not about Bingo at all. It’s about the final years of Shakespeare. Anyway, it was press night and and after seeing some reviews.. This is what I thought.

Spoken Word became an obsession of mine from the day I went to the first London Literature Festival at the SouthBank Centre. From then on, and bolstered by witnessing seminal pieces from artists such as Charlie Darks’s Have Box Will Travel and Lemn Sissay’s Why I Don’t Hate White People, I’ve been a convert to this new form of word consumption.

I’ve come to realise not everyone does though, to sit and listen at length can’t be done for some people.

Bingo was a brilliant play but it involved lot’s of sitting still and listening. Don’t get me wrong – to watch Patrick Stewart was a rare treat – but I felt myself making an adjustment- this wasn’t going to be the usual fast, almost sound bite dialogue that we don’t even realise we are so used to. No, this required the audience to work a little bit harder. To listen more carefully and concentrate on the words.

One critic drew attention to the brilliant tavern scene which she finds the most engaging, while failing to see the point of it . (Err, how do these people get these jobs ? )

The scene is a masterful two hander between Stewart who doesn’t actually say a word and  who plays Ben Johnson, darting around the stage ,firing off bursts of statacco dialogue, asking and  answering his own questions, taunting Shakespeare for his country lifestyle while begging a loan. In short, bringing his fast, London ways to Surrey.

I’d contend this exactly proves my point. We are so used to snappy, soundbite communications that we forget the value of listening for longer to extract meaning.

The Art of Listening. It could be on the rise. BBC Radio4 are devoting a whole festival to the concept. It’s called More Than Words and you can find out more if you visit their web site.

No Comments / Feb 22.12 / News, Uncategorized / by joanne

Afterlife @ SBC

Can’t believe it’s been over a week since StorySLAM:Live. It was the first event in our new home at The SouthBank Centre. We can’t help but feel proud to be there, it’s great for our writers to be sharing their work at such a prestegious venue. Thanks to Bea Colley for her tireless support.

We sold out, had to change from our cabaret layout at the last minute to accomodate our eager audience. Charlie did a straw poll – asked how many were writers and it was roughly half. That makes us happy because we truly believe our writers deserve wider exposure to bring their work alive.

And talented writers we have indeed. The theme was Afterlife and the stories ranged from sci fi to the delightful tale that won the night. A funeral parlour, teenagers and a coffin were the subject of Adam Smiths winning entry. The judges, Lisa Goll and Joelle Taylor were overwhelmed by the quality of the entries, but in the end chose Adam because his was the best example of the short story form. Adam won a 1-1 advice and information session with Eva Lewin, Spread The Word’s Writer development manager. (BTW we are cooking up a collaboration with STW for the London Literature festival)

Best comment of the evening: ‘Can’t believe the quality of the stories, I thought I might be bored. What an inspiring event!” – Joelle Taylor SLAMbassadors Poetry Society

Thanks to all who made it such a success. Big up to Charlie Dark and Rizomorph – we are the StorySLAM:Live Crew!

P.S. Hope you enjoyed listening to the playlist – it will be a new feature. Coming soon- the opportunity for you to read our entries online.

1 Comment / Feb 07.12 / Event reports / by joanne