Rust Belt Regional -- Details Part III
Indie finals... I didn't keep track of score during individual finals and I probably owe Tiffani an apology for that. Girl did her thing and got into the finals slots. She had some tough poems choices to make here. Tiffani is new to slamming and had limited options available. We talked about how to best utilize the poems she had available, and she went in with a positive mindset.
I had to use that time to work with Gina on her poem choices and why and how to best deliver them for this type of crowd and run through my own poems to figure out what was cooking inside. I absolutely had NOT wanted to use Lithia Park or Crumb at this event because they are poems I'm known for regionally. I found myself working Pressure Switch over and over in my head. The room had been full of politics all night, and it had served me well in its early form on the steps of a war memorial in Canada.
Back in for the bout...
I had committed to use Gina in finals no matter what, and Sudie was not havin' it--introducing funny poems into this serious competition? Puhleese. Sudie at this point has little respect for funny poetry and being the died to the bone angry Black man that he is. But I had confidence in Gina's ability to pull this off with the adjustments we'd discussed and considering this location and crowd. Finals in the spotlight of a small dark theater surrounded by crowd on three sides was a better venue for some of Gina's strongest poems than the middle of the arts festival in a brightly lit sprawling theater inside the (by the way absolutely awesome) museum with the potential of children in the audience. So ...
Ann Arbor sends in Gilberto, who does a beautiful poem, scored 26.9 but had a 1 point time penalty.
Sudie: 411 on the 911. 27.2--the crowd loved it; the judges didn't give him his due, but he came out strong.
What was really cool at this point was that we had not used Gina's voice all day, so not only was her poem a great poem, but it was perfect for the situation with her being that conspicuous WHITE member of the Columbus' historically Black team and sitting there quietly all day looking like a little teenager. Being mistaken with her tiny voice for someone quite a bit younger is the bane of her existence, but it's perfect for Columbus at this point. Gina hit the stage, performed What Do White Women Write About, and took a 28.3 (and left Sudie chanting "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" to himself).
Ann Arbor sent in Paco after Gina, a young kid, lots of potential. He scored a 29.1 (yes, I said 29.1) at which point Logic came over to me and shook my hand and said, "Good job." Maybe he was genuine; I don't know. You see, I know Logic, but I don't KNOW Logic, and this guy has just kicked everyone's proverbial behind in Indies. I sort of wondered if he was really saying, "Nice try, but we just beat you guys." Based on my earlier scores of the day, he probably had the right to be very confident. But Pressure Switch was cookin' on the inside of me, and I didn't want to let my team down.
End of Finals Round 2... - Ann Arbor 55.0. - Columbus 55.5. - Madison 52.3.
I had to use that time to work with Gina on her poem choices and why and how to best deliver them for this type of crowd and run through my own poems to figure out what was cooking inside. I absolutely had NOT wanted to use Lithia Park or Crumb at this event because they are poems I'm known for regionally. I found myself working Pressure Switch over and over in my head. The room had been full of politics all night, and it had served me well in its early form on the steps of a war memorial in Canada.
Back in for the bout...
I had committed to use Gina in finals no matter what, and Sudie was not havin' it--introducing funny poems into this serious competition? Puhleese. Sudie at this point has little respect for funny poetry and being the died to the bone angry Black man that he is. But I had confidence in Gina's ability to pull this off with the adjustments we'd discussed and considering this location and crowd. Finals in the spotlight of a small dark theater surrounded by crowd on three sides was a better venue for some of Gina's strongest poems than the middle of the arts festival in a brightly lit sprawling theater inside the (by the way absolutely awesome) museum with the potential of children in the audience. So ...
Ann Arbor sends in Gilberto, who does a beautiful poem, scored 26.9 but had a 1 point time penalty.
Sudie: 411 on the 911. 27.2--the crowd loved it; the judges didn't give him his due, but he came out strong.
What was really cool at this point was that we had not used Gina's voice all day, so not only was her poem a great poem, but it was perfect for the situation with her being that conspicuous WHITE member of the Columbus' historically Black team and sitting there quietly all day looking like a little teenager. Being mistaken with her tiny voice for someone quite a bit younger is the bane of her existence, but it's perfect for Columbus at this point. Gina hit the stage, performed What Do White Women Write About, and took a 28.3 (and left Sudie chanting "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" to himself).
Ann Arbor sent in Paco after Gina, a young kid, lots of potential. He scored a 29.1 (yes, I said 29.1) at which point Logic came over to me and shook my hand and said, "Good job." Maybe he was genuine; I don't know. You see, I know Logic, but I don't KNOW Logic, and this guy has just kicked everyone's proverbial behind in Indies. I sort of wondered if he was really saying, "Nice try, but we just beat you guys." Based on my earlier scores of the day, he probably had the right to be very confident. But Pressure Switch was cookin' on the inside of me, and I didn't want to let my team down.
End of Finals Round 2... - Ann Arbor 55.0. - Columbus 55.5. - Madison 52.3.
posted by Rose | 12:40 PM
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