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| Shihan Van Clief Photo by Neil Raja |
By Darlene Donloe
Words are powerful! When you string them together they can be emotional, life-changing, empowering, hurtful, magical and everything in between, resulting in a full range of emotions.
Those words are the focus of the upcoming 3rd ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL, set to kick off this weekend at the Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles.
The festival, celebrating hip-hop and spoken word, is taking place during National Poetry Month and is expected to attract thousands over its four-weekend run, April 5-27, 2019.
The festival, presented by Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors), in association with Da Poetry Lounge, will play host to the 11th Anniversary of InkSlam, L.A.’s National Premiere Poetry Festival with awards sponsored by Greenway Arts. The festival also features Atlanta based Poetry vs. Hip-Hop; invitational team and indie slams from all over the country from youths to adults; showcases; workshops; and other events.
“The hope this year with the festival is to broaden our range of poetic programming, giving opportunities for poetry to be presented in a way that expands on what and how poetry can be consumed by an audience,” said Shihan Van Clief, festival artistic director and Da Poetry Lounge's co-founder. “We have themed nightly events, such as Poetry vs. Hip-Hop, we also have Heartstorms, which is poetry packaged as an ensemble piece based around one poet's work. We also have team competition in which eight teams from around the country compete against each other for cash prizes. Poetry is very much a niche art form, but with the Get Down we have the ability to show folks that the best way to find an appreciation for it is to experience it in a different capacity than what they've been used to. And hopefully, that's what they get from this year's festival.”
Van Clief, 43, born and raised in New York, and now a resident of Downey, CA, is a veteran poet who has performed all over the world including New Zealand, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Japan, and more.
Reportedly, he is the first and only poet to have a poem named 'download of the week' on iTunes. A National Poetry Slam Champion and 4X National Poetry Slam Finalist, his credits include five national tours including the Tony Award-winning Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour and 2 Spoken Word documentaries, SP!T and the sequel to 1997's cult doc Slam Nation, Slam Planet. Shihan is the current voice for The Sprite Street Mix, a radio program broadcasted in over 14 countries in Africa.
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| Shihan Van Clief Photo by Steffany Ayala |
I recently spoke to Van Clief, a married father of three about the upcoming festival.
DD: Tell me what the audience can expect at the third annual festival.
SVC: They can expect a variety of stories told by people from all walks of life. There will be poetry, some straight storytelling, workshops, competition – SLAM. This festival is about honest storytelling.
DD: It’s been three years now – how has the festival grown/changed?
SVC: The festival has grown and changed. In the beginning, it was very competition heavy. We gradually stepped away from that. It’s important to show poetry outside of competition.
DD: What is poetry? What constitutes poetry? Isn’t it subjective?
SVC: It is subjective. It’s emotional storytelling. Most people, like the Griots, they were all about stories being handed down. Poetry is the same thing. Stories are being handed down.
DD: Is spoken word the same as poetry?
SVC: I believe so. Spoken word is a marketing term for poetry because it sounds different. So many people have a different idea of what it is. It’s the branding to an audience. Spoken word sounds cooler than poetry. It sounds more interesting.
DD: How many contestants from how many different countries, are expected to participate?
SVC: That’s a hard question. I think there are about 15 states represented and I think in terms of countries – that’s a deeper dive. I’m at a loss on that one.
DD: What are some guidelines? What can’t they talk about, if anything?
SVC: There are no guidelines. The show is whatever the show is. The show has autonomy on that night. We try not to restrict what the performers say.
DD: Do you remember your first poem? If so, tell me what it was about.
SVC: I am a poet. I’ve been writing since I was in the second grade. Since 1997, I’ve been living off my art. I started the poetry scene in Los Angeles in 1994. Before that, I was in the New York scene. I talk about my family, my father, being black. All of that is where my poetry strengths live. It’s the love for my family. I remember it was second grade. I like to read. I entered a contest. It was about a gorilla who patrolled the playground to keep kids safe. I’ve also written about a friend who overdosed. It was straight-forward.
DD: When did you know you were good? Did someone tell you that you were good?
SVC: They didn’t tell me. It was the recognition that someone was lending a hand for me to do more. It was all about the recognition. From 1994-97, Roni Walters (poetry/spoken word veteran) took me under her wing. I looked at that as someone saying you’re good.
DD: What does poetry do for you?
SVC: Wow, it gives me a release. I get to tell my story and to connect to other people. When I’m not on stage, I’m pretty much to myself. Poetry allowed me that connection of day to day. Two of my closest friends I met the first night I read in Los Angeles. That created a connection.
DD: Tell me why someone should come to the festival.
SVC: I don’t think people have an understanding of what poetry can be. The value in the performance of art restricted to the page. There are some stage performers who bring words to life. If it lives in your head – it’s different than seeing it and hearing it. It has to get out of your head.
DD: How do you go about selecting the participants? What is the process?
SVC: For the shows themselves, we get submissions. We look through them and pick. For the competition – there are invites. We invite poets from around the country who have won competitions. We have a full spectrum of experience when someone checks out a show.
DD: What is the ultimate plan for the festival?
SVC: I would love to see it in a 5,000-seat theater for the finale show. Thousands go through this festival. I love having it at Greenway, but it would be great to have it spread across the city.
DD: Sounds like this festival brings you real joy.
SVC: I’m grateful for this. I’ve been blessed with a good circle of people around me. I’m making connections cross-culturally, which is great.
Below is the 3rd ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL
Full Schedule:
Full Schedule:
Weekend 1
FRIDAY, APRIL 5
PERFORMANCE:
Poetry vs. Hip-Hop LA 2!!
Presented by Poetry vs. Hip-Hop, LLC & The LA Get Down Festival
Headlining Viral Hip-Hop Sensation G Yamazawa, Live Music by Kevin Sandbloom
Plus featured Poet Christopher Michael from ATX!
Then a friendly "battle" of poet vs mc in a 1:1 duo of wits and stage presence and the audience chooses the winner of each round. Someone goes home with cash and Poetry vs. Hip-Hop swag and prizes.
Doors open at 8:30 p.m.
$15 online | $20 at the door
SATURDAY, APRIL 6
WORKSHOP:
Write Better with Donny Jackson
Begins at 12 p.m.
$10 online
WORKSHOP:
Your Voice is an Instrument – Writing Workshop
Facilitated by Alyesha Wise and Matthew “Cuban” Hernandez
Begins at 2 p.m.
$10 online
PERFORMANCE:
Poems are Gay!
Hosted by Edwin Bodney
A Night of LGBTQIA+ performances
A Night of LGBTQIA+ performances
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
Weekend 2
FRIDAY, APRIL 12
PERFORMANCE:
Salome: Ten Poems About One Thing
By Donny Jackson
Directed by Jasmine Williams
Da Poetry Lounge and Get Down Festival veterans return to the Greenway Court Theatre stage with a new collaboration. Directed by 36th St. Blues’ Jasmine Williams, and written by One Man Shown’s Donny Jackson, Salome: Ten Poems About One Thing is the theatrical expansion of the poetic declarations of 5 women, as they plumb the beauty and terror and triumph of venerating selfhood in a world built to deny them of it. From pole dancer to new mother to inmate to lover, the women of Salome… endeavor to represent the path to glory out loud.
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
SATURDAY, APRIL 13
PERFORMANCE:
New Voices: The California Repertory Company Production of A Live Mixtape
By Tahirih Moeller
Directed by Bruce A. Lemon Jr.
In 2016 Moeller received 2nd place from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s Hip-Hop Theater Creator Award for her play A Live Mixtape, which she further developed in a 2018 residency at California Repertory Company, California State University, Long Beach.
The rhythms of Los Angeles County come alive in Tahirih Moeller's A Live Mixtape. A high school girl uses the geometry of desire to calculate the distance between love and heartbreak. A college kid fights for his identity in an epic battle between art and commerce. A homeless man raps about the end to the sounds of the streets, in hopes of being heard. And all the while the neighborhood news network keeps us up on the latest. With a new perspective on every track, this exploration of love, friendship, and the American Dream brings us closer to the neighbors we thought we knew.
A Live Mixtape is directed by Watts Village Artistic Director, Bruce A. Lemon Jr. He is an actor, director and radio host who works to reimagine his community through his work. A storyteller born and raised in Watts, California, Lemon has worked with numerous theatre companies in Los Angeles including LA Opera, Son of Semele, Company of Angels, Illyrian players and many more.
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
Weekend 3
FRIDAY, APRIL 19:
PERFORMANCE:
Heartstorms: And the Hood Criatura in Transit
With Féi Hernandez
Directed and created by Arianna Lady Basco
Produced by Arianna Lady Basco and Evangeline Monroy of @palmsupacademy
Their expedition between countries, body, and gender.
Heartstorms: a show. about an open mic, the people who come, the stories they share.
Heartstorms is Lady B’s love letter to the open mic. A play welcoming both the novice and the veteran to shine a bright light on these sacred spaces.
Lady B has developed two new renditions of Heartstormsincluding And the Hood Criatura in Transit withFéi Hernandez
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
SATURDAY, APRIL 20:
PERFORMANCE:
Heartstorms: The Boi with Blue Nails
With Figgy Baby
Directed and created by Arianna Lady Basco
Produced by Arianna Lady Basco and Evangeline Monroy of @palmsupacademy
Exploring toxic masculinity and his part in that as a queer artist and community leader.
The Boi with Blue Nails is a new rendition of Lady B’s Heartstorms.
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
Weekend 4
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
PERFORMANCE:
inkSlam Invitational Team Semi-Finals
The return of the national legendary team competition for bragging rights and a $3000 prize pool.
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
WORKSHOP:
How to Build a Feature/Set
With Yesika Salgado
Begins at 8 p.m.
$10 online – General Admission
PERFORMANCE:
inkSlam Invitational Team Finals
Hosted by Shihan Van Clief
Begins at 8 p.m.
$20 online – general admission
NOTE: The above performances are subject to change.
The 3rdAnnual LA Get Down Festival is presented with the support of the City of West Hollywood’s WeHo Arts program.
The 3rd Annual LA Get Down Festival, The Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Avenue, April 5-27, 2019; $10-$75; free parking is available next door at the Fairfax High School parking lot. The full festival schedule and tickets and passes are available online at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org/LAGetDown2019or by phone 323-673-0544. (Patrons 25 and younger can select five events for $25).
