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on bigger prizes for slamming - one MC's view
an interview with Charles Ellik, MC of the Berkeley Poetry Slam, continued
Do you anticipate the large stakes possibly being a trend?
I certainly hope so.
Is there a trend at all, in your view?
Yes, definitely. There are more slams and more slams offering big prizes than ever before. Many more. Something is generating that revenue, and rewarding the organizers for offering those prizes. That thing is attendance.
Is there a possible "Hoop Dreams" trap in this, in your opinion, wherein people get so transfixed upon the prize or stardom, that they forget that forget that the goal is really personal development?
Is it a trap? Maybe. The reason why schools have sports programs at all isn't the revenue they generate, though perhaps that has become an incentive. It's because sports teach something important. Discipline. Fitness. Team work. If that kid gets trapped in the notion of fame and fortune, and become bitter because he didn't play in the NBA, then his coaches failed him and/or he was trapped by his own ego. That's not the fault of basketball or prize monies.
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I would love to see more $1000 slams. Then the slam community might generate a contest circuit, a real contest circuit that could someday support full-time performers. Wouldn't that be great? |
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Are you expecting to draw competing artists > exclusively from the Bay Area, or will there be poets coming n from other regions?
Last year, we had poets from across the US, Canada, even from Hawaii. This year, the prize money is the same, but the event is smaller, so we only expect poets from the continental U.S. This is an important point: we had a lot more interest from the poets when we had a bigger party planned. All this talk of prize money is flashy, but prizes are only one important tool a savvy organizer uses to create excitement, momentum, and innovation in their scene. The big prize will draw a big, curious audience, but poets are more motivated by emotional fulfillment. They have to be. There's not enough money yet to be motivated by anything else.
Are you getting the kind of competitors you hoped for?
Yes! We are getting a group of very talented, competitive, veteran poets. Two National Indi' Champs, several top local competitors, and a few ambitious new performers.
What's your philosophy on drawing better poets to the mic?
This event is meant to be a spectacle to perk the curiosity of new fans, to stir up excitement among the regulars, and to force the regular poets to step up their game. I want people who've never written a poem before to show up and see top-notch work. I want them to think they got a bargain for their $10 admission so they'll tell their friends not to miss the next one. Then I want them to come back to the regular slam, where the stakes are lower, the competition isn't so intimidating, and think "I want to do this, I can do this!"
This is why I have a free handout called "Tips for Poetry Slams" at every show. Explain the game, give new poets the competitive advantages veterans have, and level the playing field so the veterans don't win every time. Because if the field is level, the rules and strategies are understood, it is the artistry and innovation that makes the difference. In an atmosphere of ignorance, imitating the winners is the safest strategy. The same is true of educating your audience. Explain the game to them and they'll be less likely to get snookered by the same old tricks, or be so impressed by the simple confidence of the veterans. Keeping the playing field level forces everyone to stay on his or her toes.
The Bay Area is fairly competitive on its own, being significantly represented and influential in the outcomes of National Slams for quite a while now. How do you see your big money slam relating to the larger, national context of slam poetry in competition?
I sincerely hope that offering big prizes will not only encourage top poets to come to the Bay Area and teach our locals new tricks, but that such slams will generate the revenues I need to nurture new talent and pay touring poets to "juice" the system.
I would love to see more $1000 slams. Then the slam community might generate a contest circuit, a real contest circuit that could someday support full-time performers. Wouldn't that be great? If you were a poet, to take a year away from your day job to travel around the country performing? Doing gigs and contests? That's a fantasy lifestyle worth more than just the money.
We're close now. A handful of poets are doing it now. Taalam [Acey]. Shane Koyczan. Mike McGee. Others have done it in the past. Buddy Wakefield. Big Poppa E. We need more, and more women. I've been encouraging the new Indi' Champ, Sonya Renee to try it out for a year.
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