The awesome-ness I experienced at my 24-Hour Solo Soltice Set last December really made me look at performance from many different perspectives. I have realized over the last several months that embarking on such a long event alone has made me feel a bit self-centered and vain. When I attempted to convince other less conceited poets to try their own, they just didn’t seem interested in such an individualistic endeavor. Granted, the lack of sleep aspect is also not as alluring to people far wiser than I. It occurred to me that putting on such a long event should require a more community-based reasoning.
Upon discussing this with David Perez, who was pivotal in getting the original 24-Hour set off the ground, we decided that a true open-mic was necessary. We are organizing our next event to be 24-hours of 15-minute slots for anyone who signs up. That’s pretty much 96 feature slots in one day. We could go 25-hours to make it 100 slots. I doubt we’d get 100 performers, but David and I, along with our crew, will stick around to host and fill gaps in the sign up.
So if you’re around Downtown San José on the August 29 and 30, please come by MACLA to watch it all take place, or to help us make it take place.
David has established a $5-$7 sliding scale, but no one will be turned away, thus making it a $0-$∞ sliding scale. Everyone who pays, may come and go. Donations could really be of anything useful…
Comment here or email David or I about ideas, volunteering, donations of any sort, or signing up. We will need blankets, sleeping bags and pillows like mad. I recommend people wear jammies and such. I wonder if we should establish an online sign-up list to have the night ready at the onset, or to have all the sign ups as-we-go. Maybe the first half of the night could be pre-signs, then the last half as-we-go… Feel free to comment your ideas and thoughts on this blog or on my Facebook page
(or future Facebook group).
If you know of anyone in the area who might find this interesting, please send them the following information, or help us promote this event via papers, media and the likes. This could be huge! Whoa, what if we extended it due to sheer awesomeness!
SUMMER SLUMBER FEST 08 – HOSTED BY MIKE MCGEE & DAVID PEREZ
Starts: Friday, August 29, 2008, 8:00pm
Ends: Saturday, August 30, 2008, 8:00pm to 9:00pm
$5-7 sliding scale
No one turned away for lack of funds
Fresh out of hibernation with a pots of coffee in one hand and a box of chap books in the other, Mike McGee and David Perez return to MACLA for another 24-hour set of poetry. This time, he opens the mic to a band of loyal poetry-and-music-loving vampires to form the one and only, “Summer Slumberfest ‘08”. We’re packing in couches, pillows, blankets and whatever else is soft and fluffy to make a never-before-seen Thunderdome of Comfort. Barefoot Coffee Roasters provides the caffeine. So peel back those eyelids and help us rock the night away by reading your own poetry or just kicking back, cuddling up and watching the show.
For more information contact David @ david@maclaarte.org
Visit MACLAarte.org for information
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Word to the nerd.
