The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will be hosting a variety of hip-hop/poetry open-mic nights on March 10th, April 7th and May 5th from 7-9pm at The Black Swan located near the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on 15 S. Pioneer Street.
The events are entirely free for the community, and will give everyone an opportunity to present their original poetry with an OSF artist present. This community wide event is keeping true to OSF’s longstanding goal of accessibility and inclusivity within the area. The poems are not required to be Shakespearian, but rather they should come from an individuals own creative mind and soul.
The poets that are to be featured throughout this event have come from near-and-far. On March 10th the Q Brothers, who have been flown in specifically for the event, will be performing a 20-30 minute set. On April 7th poet Samiya Bashir will be featured, and on May 5th the featured poet will be Los Porteños.
OSF hopes that these events promote the performance and creation of poetry in all communities, putting literary activities on center stage. Mickey Rowe, an employee of OSF, stated that “at [the] Oregon Shakespeare Festival we believe that good begets good. Inclusivity is our way of giving a gift back to the community for all that they have given us.”
These various chances to be involved in an open mic events offer a place for community members to their your favored genres of poetry and music. This would also be a good time for people to try new material of poems and songs that they have been working on with lively and supportive audience in a collaborative environment.
For anyone interested or wants more information about the events, please contact the Oregon Shakespeare festival via e-mail at greenshow@osfashland.org.
