Invitation to launch of Matthew Hall’s Hyaline

Cottonmouth XXV, Thursday 7 April

Cottonmouth XXII, Thursday 6 January

We got to thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to start the year off hand-in-hand? Golly me, golly my, skipping into 2011 together.

With just enough recovery from New Years, Cottonmouth blazes onward this week with the first of what is looking to be a bright-eyed and fresh-faced year. There’ll be hooping, there’ll be hollering, there’ll be hand-clapping, there’ll be foot-stamping.

On Thursday 6 January at 7:30pm, the 459 Bar stage will once again bear the magnanimous Tomas Ford who will sweetheartedly give you spoken-worders, poets, sound artists, playwrights, new-media-welders and modern lovers.

With performances by:

Jay Pruyn
Eva Bujalka
Renata Sain
Claire Potter
Chris Arnold
Sam Knee
Matt Giles
Kaitlyn Plyley

With musical guests:

David Egan
Luxury Cat

For a spot in the open mike section presented by the Chancellor of Open Mike Byron Bard, sign up before 10pm. Read up on the Bard’s friendly proclamation.

When: 7:30pm Thursday 6 January 2011
Where: 459 Bar Rosemount Hotel 459 Fitzgerald St North Perth
How much: $5 entry; $20 entry + Cottonmouth anthology
‘Zine: by donation

The Moth storyteller Margot Leitman in Perth

Do you know Andrea Gibbs? No? Well you should get to know her.

Why? Because she is the bomb.

Andrea was out in New York researching the storytelling scene and studying with prize-winning Moth storyteller Margot Leitman. And now Andrea, together with the Blue Room Theatre, is bringing Margot out to Perth to hold Moth storytelling workshops.

Oh, the awesomeness!

Better sign up quick if you’re interested.

Here’s the official deets:

NYC storytelling comes to Perth

All the way from New York City award winning storyteller Margot Leitman (The Moth, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, Upright Citizens Brigade) is holding a workshop series, exclusive to Perth, as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights.

If you are familiar with The Moth podcast that shares “true stories, told live, without notes”, you won’t want to miss this rare opportunity for a series of eight sessions with The Moth Grand Slam Winner Margot Leitman, teacher at New York’s top comedy school The Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre.

Everyone has a good story – whether it be humorous, painful, strange or mundane – but not all of us are good storytellers. With the help of an international leader in the field, learn how to polish and perfect your story to stand alone in a storytelling night or be part of a bigger solo work.

These workshops are open to everyone, not just performers, but will culminate in a performance during Summer Nights in February 2011 where you could be one of the first participants in BAREFACED, a fresh, new night of storytelling in Perth. Spots are limited and workshops are by application only – for more information or to apply call The Blue Room Theatre on 9227 7005 or email kerry@blueroom.org.au.

Workshop Leader – Margot Leitman

After creating a storytelling program for Comix (www.comixny.com), Margot quickly saw the demand for comedic storytelling and moved her program to The Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre. She has taught master classes to Ithaca College, San Francisco ComedyCollege, and regularly tutors a number of private clients. Television credits include: Late Night With Conan O’ Brien, Style Network, E!, Comedy Central and NBC Broadband. Margot’s monthly storytelling show Stripped Stories (co-hosted by Giulia Rozzi) has a cult following, described by Flavourpill.com as “humor, pathos, and mind-boggling anecdotes that will have you alternating between disbelief and empathy”. Margot has featured in Glamour magazine, and the books Fifty Dates Worse Than Yours and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Jokes. She has also written for NY Press and Playgirl Magazine.

Workshop Series Dates: JAN 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30 & FEB 2 (8 sessions of 3hrs)

Afternoon: 1-4pm Evening: 6-9pm

Please note: you must choose either all afternoon sessions or evening sessions.

Cost: $400 Blue Room Theatre Members; $440 non-members

APPLICATIONS CLOSE: Friday 10 December 2010

Cottonmouth XXI meets Amnesty for ARTillery Spoken Word, Sunday 5 December 2010

Cottonmouth XX, Thursday 4 November 2010

Perth word-wranglers! the Australian Poetry Slam 2010 is upon you

The search is now on for the next Australian Poetry Slam champion!

Speak, scream, howl, whisper even sing your poems, stories,
lyrics, and monologues in the 2010 Australian Poetry Slam – a live
literary performance competition where the audience is the judge!

Slam heats are being held in venues across Australia.

Two finalists from each heat will compete in their state final for cash prizes and a trip to Sydney for the national final in December.

The Major Prize – worth over $11,000 – is the “ultimate writers festival tour of Bali and China!”

WA HEATS:

The PERTH HEATS of the 2010 Australian Poetry Slam will be held every
Thursday from 7pm at the Artrage Bakery, 233 James St in Northbridge –
from 21st October to 11th November – with the WA final on Thursday 18th
November.

Each WA Heat Winner gets a $50 gift voucher from Planet Books – plus a
$50 feed from Gypsy Tapas House. The state champs will receive cash
prizes – plus flights and accommodation to the National Final.

More information at our websites:
WA Website: http://waslamheats.com
National Website: http://australianpoetryslam.com

For more information, phone WA Heats organiser Allan Boyd on 0402 573 580

Listen to RTRFM 92.1 to hear 2 poets slam it out on air every Thursday
from 11.30am during the heats: www.rtrfm.com.au

Cottonmouth XIX, Thursday 7 October

Our first Cottonmouth huzzah back from hiatus last month went off like a big ole welcome back party.

With performances of exciting new Western Australian fiction and poetry, as well as heartfelt chansons and drone re-interpretations of Indonesian pop hits, we’ve hit the ground running with scissors.

At 7:30pm on Thursday 7 October 2010, Cottonmouth convenes for its monthly hootenanny of spoken-worders, poets, sound artists, playwr…ights, new-media-welders and anyone with narrative art tickling their epiglottis.

October’s featured performers are:

Gabby Everall
Jay Pruyn
Anna Dunnill
Jessica Currie
Andy McNeil
Gerald Lillywhite
Istenad Haddad
Zoe Barron

Our musical guests are:

Obscotch
Prince of King

For a spot in the open mike section presented by the Chancellor of Open Mike Byron Bard, sign up before 10pm.

We’re back in full swing publishing our monthly ‘zine. You determine the cost of these manuscripts of sweetheart-ness and can get your hands on a copy by donation on the night.

Submissions are open! We’re always accepting submissions of new fiction, poetry and artwork. Contact us with your psychedelic and far-out ideas. We want to hear from you.

Check our submission guidelines and submit to zine@cottonmouth.org.au

When: 7:30pm Thursday 7 October 2010
Where: 459 Bar Rosemount Hotel 459 Fitzgerald St North Perth
How much: $5 entry; $20 entry + Cottonmouth anthology
‘Zine: by donation

Cottonmouth XVIII, Thursday 2 September

We’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching about you. When we said we needed to take some time off from our relationship with you, it was just to reinvigorate our souls – so we could come back and love you better.

Can we please just put this whole break-up behind us? Can we get back together again? We’re ready for commitment because you’re ‘the One’.

We know it was tough on you, and trust us, we had a rough time too. We just miss you so so much. How you used to visit us every month and how you used to listen to our shenanigans and how you used to weave narrative-new-media-spoken-word-art-awesomeness for us was just tops. And we know we’re supposed to say ‘let’s take it slow babe and make the most of our second chance at love’, but we kinda have this idea…

Let’s get back together with a big party! A big huzzah!

We’ll call it Cottonmouth XVIII and you know what that means? We’re turning 18. And that means we’re all kinds of legal now.

Oh won’t you rekindle the fire with us for our first night back together again in our monthly affair?

The inimitable and illimitable high-steppin’ and high-croonin’ Tomas Ford returns to ringmaster us through a night of spoken-worders, poets, sound artists, playwrights, new-media-welders and narrative grandstanders.

And bands, oh sweet glory, the bands!

Open mikers, blessed open mikers, your new Open Mic host is none other than the infamous and, in the matters of love, indefatigable and never ineffable Sir Byron Bard! And just wait until you hear what he has in store for you dear open mikers. The Bard giveth and the Bard taketh, and for you sweet open mikers, the Bard doth only give, Give, GIVE!

We almost forgot… did you know we made something special during our separation? We called her Cottonmouth: An Anthology of New Australian Writing. And she’s beautiful.

Our ‘zine COTTONMOUTH will return in October and we’ll tell you more about it when we see you on 2 September.

It’ll be the perfect night for you and us to get back together and make up.

With performances by:

Lily Chan
Sam Fox
Kaitlyn Plyley
Julian Staltari
Allan Boyd
Matt Giles
Amber Fresh
Tristan Fidler

Musical guests:

Rachel Dease
Gilbert Fawn (Matt Aitken)

When: doors open 7:30pm, Thursday 2 September 2010, and then the first Thursday of every month

Where: 459 Bar Rosemount Hotel 459 Fitzgerald St North Perth

How much: $5 entry, or $20 entry + anthology

Queensland Poetry Festival gets to know the Black Rider

Photo by Ryan Michael Swearingen, http://www.myeyemachine.com

I’m about a month and a half away from traipsing over to Brisbane for my song and dance at the Queensland Poetry Festival (QPF).

The good folk at QPF dropped in for a conversation recently and published an interview with me on their website.  You’ll see chit-chat similar to:

QPF: To borrow a recent question posed by Emily XYZ – What is the purpose of your writing?

Me: On some days I want my writing to be for the last of the red hot lovers – as maps or walking sticks or a drink of water for them road-weary gypsies. These are songs to sing along to as however small a help to be unyielding to despair.

On other days my writing’s the broken music creeping out of the grinderman’s decrepit organ and I’m the little monkey in a tiny, filthy suit, chained to the organ, dancing and begging.

Read my interview at Queensland Poetry Festival > select 2010 Festival > Artist Interviews > Jeremy Balius.