Toronto Slam Champions Cup Last Chance Slam @ The Supermarket, Toronto, ON - Tues Sept 9th!

GREAT NEWS! There is one more spot left to compete in the Champions' Cup on October 2. Come and claim it!

Cytopoetics is hosting a LAST CHANCE SLAM at The Supermarket in Kensington Market on Tuesday September 9.

Sign-up @ 7PM, Show @ 8PM.

Round 1: 12 poets
Round 2: 6 poets
Round 3: 3 poets

$5 at the door. All ages are encouraged!

If we receive more than 12 sign-ups, we will draw 12 names. Each round will be a clean slate, scores will not carry over. 1 poem per round, typical slam rules apply. A fourth round will created should there be a tie in the third.

The winner earns a spot in the draw for the 3rd annual Toronto Slam Champions' Cup on October 2 against the six local GTA poetry slam champions and the top slammer from the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam Qualifier - and a chance to win $200, the cup trophy and the title of Toronto Slam Champion of Champions!!!

Location:  The Supermarket, 268 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON

Time:  8:00p

Looking forward to seeing all you amazing poets and audience members then!

Questions? Feel free to email Sharon for all things event related! scaesar@live.ca

Facebook event page here

The 12th Annual Toronto International Poetry Slam @ The Great Hall, Toronto, ON - Sun Aug 31st!

It's that time of the year again, and as always, we close out our season by giving away money!! This year, 26 poets, from as far as Bermuda and Turks and Caicos, will congregate in the Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, ), for the chance at the $1500 in prize money.

It's been a few years, since there have been this many poets wanting a chance at the glory, and I am very excited to see how this one goes down.

Doors open at 7pm, the show gets going at 8pm,

Advance tickets are on sale now for only $20 via Interac e-Transfer or paypal to info@dwaynemorgan.ca, or at A Different Booklist, 746 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON
Play De Record, 357 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON @ Dundas, or
Knowledge Bookstore, 177 Queen Street West in Brampton, ON

For more info contact Dwayne Morgan - email info@dwaynemorgan.ca

FUNDRAISER/SEND OFF - BAM! Toronto Youth Poetry Slam ft. BAM! 2014 TEAM! @ The Central, Toronto, ON - Wed Jul 9th!

HOSTED BY: PATRICK DE BELEN
Where? The Central, 603 Markham Street, Toronto, ON
When? Wednesday, July 9, 2014.
5:30PM – DOORS OPEN
6:00PM – SIGN UPS
6:30PM - OPEN MIC/SLAM STARTS
Slammers: Age 12-19
Open Mic and Audience: ALL AGES
Cost? $5 for performers $10 for spectators
Follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/BAMYouthSlam

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FUNDRAISER! FUNDRAISER! FUNDRAISER!
Toronto's only monthly Youth Poetry Slam, BAM!, is back in full effect for a special FUNDRAISER slam, featuring the current BAM! TORONTO YOUTH SLAM TEAM OF 2014!

This slam will operate as a normal slam, but all fundraised money (additional contributions past the $5 cover is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED) will be given towards the upcoming competition team costs (travel, lodging, registrations, etc.), representing Toronto at many of the big conference, including BRAVE NEW VOICES (PHILLY - International Youth Nationals) and YOUTHCANSLAM (OTTAWA - Canadian Youth Nationals)! PLEASE DONATE AND FUND THE DREAMS OF BAM! 2014.

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INTERESTED IN COMPETING?
Rules of a BAM! Poetry Slam are quite simple. Bring 3 poems, just in case. There we will have 12 slots open for youth poets ages 12-19 - 2-3 rounds (based on number of competitors), 3 minutes with a 10 second grace period for every poet to drop their fire, with a 0.5 penalty for every 10 seconds afterwards. No props, no instruments, etc.

There is an OPEN MIC available for ALL AGES for anyone that wants to share his or her works on stage!

INTERESTED IN QUALIFYING FOR THE BAM! TEAM?
Basically, from now monthly to September, finishing 1st will get 5 points, 2nd place gets 3 points, 3rd place gets 2 points, and the remaining youth slammers gets 1 point. In October, the top 12 point leaders in descending order will be invited to our October semi finals to compete to be on the BAM! Toronto Youth Poetry Slam Team! Priority will be given to those who have competed 2 months or more.

POINTS STANDINGS HERE: https://www.facebook.com/notes/bam-the-toronto-youth-slam/season-standings-2014/10151999628535415

SO COME THRU AND BRING A FRIEND OR TWO! Let’s pack the house and have a great time! You will not regret it. There will be fire, blood and poetry! See you there!

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SO WHO ARE B.Tdot / BAM! 2014?
B.Tdot (BAM! Toronto) is the 2013-2014 Toronto Youth Poetry Slam Team. We use our voices to try and make a change and speak on behalf of those who can't.

We are the BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Team for 2013-2014, otherwise known as BTdot. We consist of many talented poets with many accolades and slams under their belt. We have been invited to compete at Youth Speaks - BRAVE NEW VOICES 2014 in Philadelphia! With the help of our coaches Patrick De Belen and Brian Millado we're hoping to bring crazy fire to Philadelphia this year at Brave New Voices and the other events we hope to competing at! Additionally, we will be representing Toronto at the youth Canadian nationals in Ottawa, YOUTHCANSLAM! This is a dream come true for all of our poets and we would appreciate any help that you can provide to help us get there!
POSTS

Toronto Youth Monologue Slam @ The Annex Theatre, Toronto, ON - Fri May 23rd!

Toronto’s top up and coming young actors deliver electrifying performances as they compete for the title of Toronto Youth Monologue Slam Champ!

Friday, May 23rd 2014

The Annex Theatre, 730 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON

Doors open at 7:00pm

Tickets are $10 online and $15 at the door.

For online tickets click here

Net proceeds from this event will go to an arts organization serving Toronto’s youth.

What is TYMS?

Toronto Youth Monologue Slam is the youth version of Toronto Monologue Slam. During the competition, Semi-Finalists perform an original or existing theatrical work from a selected film, play or screenplay. Various components of these pieces are then judged using a numeric (1-10) scale by our panel of judges. Actors have a total of 3 minutes to perform their monologue. If time limits are surpassed then marks will be deducted from the final score. Actors are welcome to use costumes, props, and/or musical accompaniment during their performance. When Finalists are selected, they will be given a new theme on the spot and will improvise their monologue according to the new theme. Judges will then select the overall winner.

WHY WE CREATED THE TORONTO YOUTH MONOLOGUE SLAM (TYMS)?

“Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.”
― Terrence Mann

TYMS has been created to give young artists an outlet for self-expression, growth, exploration and to display their craft to family and friends, while gaining valuable insight from industry professionals. We want to encourage all youth who attend to strive for excellence and to pursue their dreams. We also hope you’ll have a lot of fun and make some new friends.

The Toronto Poetry Slam Finals @ Royal Cinema, Toronto, ON - Sat Apr 19th!

The Super Bowl of spoken word is coming!

On Saturday April 19, come to the ROYAL CINEMA on College St. to see 8 talented spoken word poets battle it out to make the 2014 Toronto Poetry Slam Team!

The competing poets are:

Bassam
Andre Prefontaine
Sabrina
MultiPurpose Hot Air Machine
Estefania
Prufrock
Kara
Ketch22

The night begins with a very special opening act by the BAM! The (Toronto) Youth Slam Team!

Our guest feature for the evening is none other than JOSHUA BENNETT!

Joshua Bennett hails from Yonkers, NY.

He is a third-year doctoral candidate in the English Department at Princeton University, Callaloo Fellow, and, as of this summer, teacher of 8th grade Composition. His poetry has either been published or is forthcoming in Callaloo, Anti-, Tidal Basin Review, Drunken Boat , Storyscape and Muzzle. Joshua has recited his original work at venues such as The Sundance Film Festival, The NAACP Image Awards, and President Obama's Evening of Poetry and Music at The White House. He is also the founding editor of Kinfolks Quarterly. When he is not writing or editing or performing, Joshua enjoys watching Parks And Recreation on Netflix and practicing his free throws. He currently shoots about 62% from the line. He's working on it.

Joshua will be making his Canadian debut!

Hosted by Dave Silverberg

7pm doors. 8pm show. General admission.

All ages

No open mic

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Need tix? You can now buy them at:

Play de Record, 357A Yonge St.
A Different Booklist, 746 Bathurst St.
Soundscapes, 572 College ($2 service charge)

If you prefer to pay via online, we accept PayPal and e-transfer payment. If you do an e-transfer though, the cost is $16 per ticket due to bank fees for such transactions.

Email address for both options would be: info@torontopoetryslam.com

This is one spoken word show you DO NOT want to miss!

Location:  Royal Cinema, 608 College Street, Toronto, ON

More info click here

The Last Poet Standing @ The Great Hall, Toronto, ON - Sun Mar 30th!

What happens when 16 poets enter a boxing ring, for a head to head elimination slam?? You get the Last Poet Standing!!!

Don't miss the 2014 edition of the show, where one poet will leave $500 richer. There are still spots for those wanting in on the action!!

1. Tomy Bewick
2. Bassam
3. Un-commonly Andre
4. Deb
5. On The Spot
6. Rahim
7. Cathy Petch
8. Philosofly
9. Alvin Lau
10. Scribe
11. Optimus Rhyme
12. Ian Creo Walters
13. Dagmar Morgan
14. Jenn Pidgeon
15. Jaimie Godard
16. Dan Murray

Tickets are on sale now for $20 at:

A Different Booklist, 746 Bathurst Street
Play De Record, 357 Yonge St.
Knowledge Bookstore, 177 Queen St. West, Brampton, ON
Email money transfer: info@upfromtheroots.ca
Paypal: dmorgan@upfromtheroots.ca

Tickets go up to $25 at the door!!

Location:  The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON

Time: 7p

Check the promo video here

Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam December 2013 Edition ft. C-Command @ Measure, Toronto, ON - Wed Dec 18th!

Photo courtesy of House of PainT (www.houseofpaint.ca).

Canada's only regularly running poetry slam in the 1-2-3 format wraps up the 2013 calendar year with a bang! Poets perform 1-minute, 2-minute and 3-minute poems in successive rounds with the winner claiming a $100 cash prize!

The 2014 BB123 Slam Team will be selected next May. Who will make it to the final slam next spring? This is the third step along the journey. See you there!

Cytopoetics and Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam Toronto acknowledge the generous financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

... and if you don't know who Bill Brown is, you better ask somebody!

ABOUT OUR FEATURE

C-Command is a rapper, poet, and flow enthusiast. He seeks to capture and represent the euphoric momentum of a human mind making sense of things. He has a background in acting for film and stage, and in 2012 he got a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Concordia in Montreal. In April he placed 2nd at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship in Vancouver, and at this year's Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Montreal he had the pleasure of being on Kitchener-Waterloo's poetry slam team. Outside of word arrangement, some of his favourite things to do are jamming, party-dancing, and chess.

Location:  Measure, 296 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON
Doors 7:30pm | Show 8pm
All Ages | $7 at the door | Open Mic

The Poetry Slam Team Decathlon Showdown: TPS vs Bill Brown @ Waterfalls Indian Tapas Bar and Grill, Toronto, ON - Wed Oct 30th!

Join the Toronto Poetry Slam and the Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam teams as they face off for glory at an event to support their participation at the national slam championships!

In November, both teams will be going to Montreal, so come see them engage in ten fun challenges to determine which Toronto team really has the chops! All proceeds from the night will be evenly split between the two teams and used to defray their travel and accommodation costs at CFSW 2013 Montreal.

TORONTO POETRY SLAM TEAM
Optimus Rhyme, Kliggy, IF, Philosofly and David Delisca with coach Ian Keteku

BILL BROWN'S 1-2-3 SLAM TORONTO TEAM
Dagmar Morgan, Sabrina, This Just-in, Vanessa McGowan and Anto Chan with coach Greg "Ritallin" Frankson

Doors 7pm | Show 8pm | No Open Mic
All Ages | $10 at the door | Prepare to Laugh

Location: Waterfalls Indian Tapas Bar & Grill Inc, 303 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON

More info:  http://torontopoetryslam.com/