DJ Performances in January 2015

I am psyched to DJ as DJ WildPoet next year in the year 2015 during the month of January. I was requested by a well-respected DJ named Riley Beats to do the skits for his every Thursday DJ shows titled Soiree. I will DJ there at 7 PM on January 8th. It is located in the Penguin Ballroom on 389 Gregory St. in Rochester, NY. The Soiree DJ events are free but encourages suggested donations plus pizzas, soft drinks/bottles of water, and glow sticks for sale (to support the cost of the space). Several people play hoops there besides just dancing. It's a fun place to hang out and really friendly atmosphere. I will play my own original composed electronic music plus some famous musicians' work, back and forth, or both together (synched tracks). I will translate some of the words in the music into ASL (American Sign Language) as well. Here is a picture of a real nice ballroom that I will perform in.

On January 19th, I will DJ for The Rochester Community Players (Shakespeare plays) at the German House on 315 Gregory St, only a block from where Soiree DJ events takes place. The president of the Rochester Community Players, Peter Scribner, requested me to do the skits for their 90th Anniversary.

Here is a photo of the film that the Rochester Community Players will show, which means I will do the DJ during the warm-up as audience comes in and then do more after the movie ends.

Here is a detailed information about the 90th Anniversary below:

90th Anniversary Celebration!

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF RCP’S FIRST PRODUCTION JANUARY 19, 2015 AT THE GERMAN HOUSE: We’re going back home: on Monday, January 19, 1925, an ambitious group of community theater enthusiasts presented the first performance of the Rochester Community Players, Wedding Bells, on the stage of the United German Societies of Rochester. We return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, with a celebration Monday, January 19, 2015 at the historic German House, 315 Gregory Street. 

FEATURED PROGRAM: We will be screening 'our movie', the 1927 silent motion picture created by the Rochester Community Players, Fly Low Jack and the Game. This 30 minute film was seen by 750,000 people in 1927-28, as Eastman Kodak Company showed it all around the country, as an example of amateurs creating their own 'photoplay'. Mike Champlain of DeBergerac Productions has carefully restored the original footage, shown recently at the High Falls Film Festival, and will show the movie at our celebration on January 19 (the title card for the film, shown above, is courtesy of DeBergerac Productions).

Cost: $20, and half price for anyone under 30. If you are an RCP veteran, we would love to talk with you! Call Peter Scribner at 585-261-6461, or email him at scribnerpeter (at) gmail (dot) com.

ASL Poetry Show at Equal Grounds

On November 8th, Dangerous Signs (ASL poetry, songs, mime, and acting performance group), Eric Epstein (ASL poet), and myself as DJ WildPoet all performed at Equal Grounds. There was a fundraising effort toward Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW), which two DDW board members showed up to explain what DDW do and collected the donations from the audience. 

Here are photos for you to see. You can click on them in order to see them bigger.

DJ WildPoet 

DJ WildPoet

Eric Epstein

Dangerous Signs

Here is a YouTube link of my DJ-ASL performances for you to watch below (though the vid isn't in a good high quality unfortunately). Click right on it to see my performance of "Rebellion" (my work) and Bjork's "Pluto" song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYxX0DaDho

Dangerous Signs did several great skits such as "Superstitious" by Stevie Wonder, "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson, several poems by Langston Hughes, and few more. Eric Epstein did several of his original beautifully done ASL poems. I as DJ WildPoet played three original electronic music through Numark Pro 2 DJ device. When words come up during the DJ-ing, I translated them into ASL. The very last was Bjork's "Pluto" song, the only work that wasn't my own piece. I manipulated her music on my DJ and when she sang the words, I translated the lyric into ASL. Two great voicers helped the audience understand the ASL language that the performers were using. They were Cindy Gilchrist and Luane Davis Haggerty. I shall thank these two women. I shall thank John White and Randy Torgerson for giving me the opportunity to use their stage at Equal Grounds. 

Hamlet's Ghost Father and DJ at MuCCC "Zombie Shakespeare"

On October 31st and November 1st, I acted as Hamlet's ghost father, translated into ASL (American Sign Language), along a person who spoke the script. I painted my face white and smeared black around my eyes plus a real beaver fur tall hat from my great uncle (real and not joking) and a black suede suit. The work with James Landers (voicer) was great and we did very well on stage together.

I also was a DJ as DJ WildPoet there during the time when audiences came in (warm-up) and after the performances ended (closing-hour). The DJ-ing was a nervous thing for me, because I have never done this to only hearing people. The very first DJ I did was at NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf), where predomiantly deaf and heard of hearing were the audience and, yes, there were hearing people there as well. Yet, NTID was just a little bit of save haven for me as a new DJ performer. Now, at MuCCC, only people outside of NTID and not familiar with deaf culture or anything were there. I was indeed surprised that many appraised my DJ work. One hearing cast member in the production happily proclaimed my name "DJ WildPoet!!" and gave me a two hands high-five. Other cast members gave me their thumbs up when I stopped DJ-ing to get ready to perform as Hamlet's ghost father. So, I realize it did work well more than I expected. I video-taped myself doing the DJ-ing there and that one video got 105 people who saw it on my DJ WildPoet Facebook page.

Here are a photo of my DJ Numark Pro 2, laptop, and my great uncle's beaver hat.

Here are 2 photos of me as Hamlet's ghost father.

DJ and "Hamlet" Acting for Zombie Shakespeare! and DJ/ASL Poetry at Equal Grounds

On October 31st, I will be DJ-ing during warm-up and intermission for MuCCC (Multi-Use Community Cultural Center) on October 31st. It will be a halloween-themed show titled "Zombie Shakespeare!".

Here is the hypertext for you to click on to get the details and get the tickets:

http://muccc.org/events/?p=15347

Besides DJ-ing, I will act as Hamlet's ghost father by translating the script into ASL (American Sign Language) and a person will speak the lines in English simultaneously.


On November 8th, I as DJ WildPoet, Eric Epstein, and Dangerous Signs will perform ASL poetry, stories, and songs at Equal Grounds. This show will start at 7:30 PM and it will be a fundraising effort to support DDW (Discovering Deaf Worlds), a non-profit organization, that seeks for deaf/hard of hearing people in other countries for better education, quality of life, empowerments, and cultural preservation.

Here is a flyer and you can click on the image to see it bigger.

Dangerous Signs "Twilight Zone" and My DJ-ing as DJ WildPoet

From October 2nd to October 4th, I DJ-ed for the first time out to the public. My DJ entertainment took place in room 1510 at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) under Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The DJ-ing was for a warm-up during audience's entrance. I played my own original composed electronic music and famous musicians' work. I just manipulated the sound effects with the loops, pitches/bass/etc and so forth. A director, Luane Davis Haggerty, mentioned to me that she was approached by 3 people who liked my DJ performances and asked for my business cards (which I did give them to her). Saw people bobbing their heads, grooving along and etc before Dangerous Signs performance began. This is a great privilege and new experience for me. I am honored to be able to finally do the DJ-ing outside of my home. Here is a photo of me as DJ WildPoet.

By 7:20 PM, I took down my DJ devices and the crews took my speakers out of the spot, then I joined Dangerous Signs. My performances with the cast members were great. We all performed songs, poems, social comments, and acting/mime in American Sign Language (ASL): Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" song, my "Blade Gray Sky" poem with original composed electronic music, and many other great skits. This Dangerous Signs performance has been a great experience for me since I joined them about 3 years ago.

Here is a photo of the flyer below.

Nude Male Mixed-Media Painting

To see the picture bigger, click right on the image.

I have been working on this project for a while, using a found object. It is a cardboard frame that used to hold an item I bought in the store. I just added a canvas with glue to the frame. I then used watercolor paint to create a rainbow background. I then found a photo of a nude man as a reference and drew the image on the rainbow-colored canvas with a pencil. I then used a black paint with a small thin paintbrush and painted on the outlines of the male figure. I painted the whole cardboard orange in acrylic. I then added the flower pieces that came from a pride parade necklace given to me during the pride event. I just took each flower out of the necklace string and lined them up in a rainbow order  horizontally, using strong glue, right on the white duct tapes below the male figure. In between those rainbow flowers and white duct tapes, there is a shiny blue fabric, which I attached, using some glue. Afterwards I used the blue glitter to create the lines around the figure as if to make the image more of a carnival look or the window entertainment look. There is also a black velvet cloth that covers the image as a curtain, which it is left open above the whole work. When this piece is hung on the wall, the black velvet curtain covers the work and people will have to lift the curtain in order to see the nude male. This is certainly a gay pride issue and it conveys the message upon sexual liberty against puritanical views or restrictions.

DJ The Porn Kings and My One Work Plus Self-Portrait

I just uploaded a video of myself playing my Numark Pro 2 DJ device. I used The Porn Kings' sampled electronic music titled "Up To No Good" and my own titled "Come On And Then Pump It" in the DJ device. I played them back and forth as I went along. I also translated the sampled words into ASL when they came on. This is to give you an idea that I can switch the 2 music back and forth.

I also created a new DJ WildPoet self-portrait for profiles and so forth. Here it is.

Unfortunately, the video turned out dark without realizing that I should have added more lights in the room. The other problem was my mistake to forget to turn off the "Scratching" buttons. When I spun the wheels, they created the "scratching" sound effects, which I didn't anticipate to allow that to happen. I usually don't like doing the scratching effects. I did eventually turn off the "Scratching" buttons, which I then was able to just speed up the tracks into faster beats per seconds; that was what I wanted to do. So that was the only thing that you may noticed. Other than that, the other sound effects sounded great and wildly ethereal. 

I am planning to look for a DJ table or holder or shelf of some kind where I can put my Numark Pro 2 and laptop on during performances soon. Once that is taken care of, I will pursue for performance opportunities, hopefully by this Fall season.

Here is the YouTube video of the Porn Kings and my work. Just click on the hyperlink and you'll go right to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_k-MLAXIRA&list=UU--8Y0Cb1tGGhm1Nj2ewPHQ

DJ WildPoet Projects: Business Card Design, Fan-Based Facebook, and 1st Video of "Rebellion"

It's been about 2 months since I purchased DJ Numark Pro 2 device. I have been learning, practicing, and incorporating music in the device. It has been a great and challenging learning experience. I have been using my own original electronic music (with spoken word poems or instrumental) and famous musicians' songs or music. As I went along to play them, I had to figure out how to make special sound effects and tricks such as repeating the part of track, increasing or decreasing the pitch sounds, speeding or slowing the beat, and so forth. The discovery of ethereal sound effects were exciting and fascinating. As of now, I am getting there toward performing out to the public soon.

Meanwhile, I took the time to create a business card, using InDesign graphic design software in my desktop computer (real old computer and still working). I had to find the best font that fits my DJ style through online that offers free font styles, which I downloaded and saved into my desktop computer. I then took a photo of myself with some eyelid, eyeliner, and cheek make-up on, and a wild looking pink hat. I then put the photo of myself into PhotoShop software and manipulated the photo into high contrasted black and white, only to remove my mouth/nose area, just focusing on my eyes and the part of my hat. I then combined the photo and the font together in the business card. Here it is. There is no contact info in the photo for privacy reasons (which I don't want to show online all over the world).

I also video-taped myself, using my digital camera set on a tripod. I played my original electronic music with spoken word poem titled "Rebellion". I demonstrated how I repeat the tracks, changed the pitch sounds, increased or slowed the beat, and so forth plus translated the poem into American Sign Language (ASL) when the spoken words came on. It's my very first time to show my DJ tasks. Here is the video, uploaded into YouTube for you to see. Just click on it in order to watch my DJ-ing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yadWuHXbyxs&feature=youtu.be

I also completed a "Like" fan-based Facebook, which is titled DJ WildPoet. I uploaded the photos of my business card, the video of "Rebellion", SoundCloud of my electronic music, and invited friends/family (which I have 28 people liking so far). Of course, I will keep adding more videos, music, and so on as time goes on to increase visibility and the number of fans down the road. To see my WildPoet Facebook, just click on the Facebook address.

https://www.facebook.com/DJWildPoet?ref_type=bookmark

All in all, I will receive the business cards in the mail from FedEx via online submission sometimes very soon and get them distributed to many people around me (250 business cards). I will create a promo project soon and get that out to the public. Also, some friends are encouraging me to join the DJ groups that gather in spots in the city of Rochester, which I will go to get myself exposed and learn more. And yes, I will eventually perform my DJ stuff for whatever available such as weddings, parties, or so forth. I am indeed excited to go toward new DJ-ing performances.

Dangerous Signs Performance for CDR/RCIL Expression through Visual Arts

I, Jamal Jones, Troy Chapman, and Nic Shaw performed ASL poetry/storytelling/songs as Dangerous Signs for Center for Disability Rights (CDR) and Rochester Center for Independent Living (RCIL) exhibit and performance event titled Creative Expression through Visual Arts on July 22nd at Art and Vintage on Main Street in East Rochester, NY. We did 2 Robert F. Panara's work (who just passed away two days ago, July 19th, at 94 years old): "Dream of Green Field and "On His Deafness", Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy" song, our own "Bully" storytelling about bullying experiences, Langton Hughe's "I Know Rivers" and "Dreams", Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" song, and my own (Eddie Swayze) poem "Bones" (ASL poem) and "Blade Grey Sky (electronic music and ASL poem). This Dangerous Signs performance was directed by Luane Davis Haggerty.

The event was to celebrate and honor deaf and hard of hearing artists in the city of Rochester and abroad. There was an art exhibition of 4 deaf/hard of hearing artists: Laurie Monahan, Sharon McKenney, Raymond Dunham, and Nancy Rourke. 

I was honored to become part of this unique event.

Here is a photo of us Dangerous Signs doing our skits. Click on the photo below to see it bigger.

Acting in Midsummer Night's Dream

It's been an amazing experience to act as a fairy for Peter Quince in Midsummer Night's Dream production in the city of Rochester. About 33 cast members, hearing and deaf/hard of hearing, perform together, using ASL and spoken English, on stage. This kind of two language/two cultures approach has never been done by the Rochester Shakespeare Players before, which it became a historical moment in the city of Rochester's history. Rochester's City newspaper, Democratic and Chronicle, and WXXI Radio informed the community about this event. The crowd came and ended up 500 plus people for the shows. The production is currently running from July 5th all the way to July 19th. 

Our ongoing efforts to implement and combine ASL (American Sign Language) and English, then act on stage is a daunting task to take. It has been challenging and great learning experiences for all of the cast members, including myself as well. It's not just language and acting, alone, but along a real live music band on stage with us. We also developed mime skills such as slow-mo running as one example that we actually do on stage. Also, spoken-English cast members was taught to develop speaking skills, using a cork in their mouths and speaking their lines. That was an interesting thing to see and listen. All of these work we put into created a sense of family in a theatrical world, an intense relationship among ourselves that grew from the first day of rehearsals to our ongoing shows this month. For this, I shall never forget and shall cherish every moment. I shall tip my hat to our director, Luane Davis Haggerty, for making this historical production happen and the Rochester Shakespeare Players for allowing this to become possible. 

Midsummer Night's Dream at Highland Bowl

I have been rehearing as a fairy for Peter Quince in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream for 2 months. As a fairy, I translate a hearing person's spoken lines into ASL (American Sign Language). I and other deaf/hard of hearing/ASL-skilled hearing cast members are all fairies in purple outfits with wings. All hearing cast members (spoken words only) act as real characters in Shakespearean outfits. The ongoing effort to work together, the ASL and English, have been an amazing experience for the cast members. 

This production is run by Rochester Shakespeare Players, a non-for profit organization that provides Shakespeare productions in the city of Rochester for almost 100 years. It is directed by Luane Davis Haggerty. This Midsummer Night's Dream production is the very first one that is including deaf/hard of hearing and ASL-skilled hearing cast members ever in history. So, it is a big deal for the city of Rochester, NY. 

Here is the flyer with details for you to look at. To be able to see it bigger, you need to click right on the flyer.

The event will last for 2 weeks from July 5th until July 19th. There will be no shows on Mondays and Thursdays (rest days). It is free to the public taking place outside at Highland Park where a white stage exists in "the Highland Bowl". Foods, chairs/blankets, alcohol, and families are good for this event. 

Through GoFundMe.com and some tax refund, I was able to purchase Numark Mixture DJ Pro 2 and Harbinger speakers. I thank all the donators who made this possible. Without the support I received from friends and family, this wouldn't be possible. Yet the challenge became a bit nasty. My iMac laptop is old (10.5.8 version) and wouldn't recognize the Sarato Into 1.2 software that goes with the Numark DJ device. I had e-mail conversations with the Sarato company who made the software, which didn't get anywhere toward success. So I had to head over to Apple Store at Eastview Mall, a long trip from my home and back. I had to get my laptop upgraded to 10.6 version. It took 45 minutes to upgrade. Finally the Serato Intro software was turned on instead of quitting all of a sudden. The Apple Store tech people were amazing and helped me a lot. When I hooked the DJ device,  the Serato Intro software wouldn't recognize the DJ device. I went to Guitar Center where I purchased the device and speakers, and showed the man what was wrong. He called a Numark Mixture DJ Pro 2 expert. It turned out that I must have the DJ device hooked to the computer and download the Serato Intro software at the same time, which I did not do. When back home, I did just that and it worked. Then the sound didn't come out of the new speakers. I realized on the next day that I didn't plug the cable into the back of the speakers deep enough and they were loose. I pushed them in deeper and then the sound came on beautifully. 

After 2 weeks of struggling to solve the problems, I am now finally ready to learn, practice, and hone the skills I need to become a DJ. I watched YouTube videos of Numark Mixture DJ Pro 2 to get ideas of how it all works with tricks and so forth. I am going to work on the DJ skills daily as much as possible to reach a goal to become DJ WildPoet. That's the trademark I would like to use to call myself when DJ-ing around out to the public when ready. I will create business cards, post the videos of my DJ-ing, and create a network with the DJ entertainment industries or whatever available. I just played around with Dee-Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart" song and it was really fun to speed up the tempos, tweak the pitches, jog the track, and so forth. I also played around with my own electronic music as well. I am very excited and looking forward to entertaining the audience in the near future when I'm ready. 

Here are the photos of Numark DJ device and the speakers, hooked up to my iMac laptop, for you to see.

Dangerous Signs Performance at MuCCC, Saturday, May 10th

I and the cast members - Dangerous Signs - performed at MuCCC twice on May 10th, which was at 3 PM and 8 PM. The show was for MuCCC's College Theater Festival. We performed Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" song, translated into ASL. We then did skits about the twilight zone related to fear, darkness, superstitious, and so forth. We also did skits about common fear or ignorance toward deafness and deaf culture by hearing people that we are familiar with such as Harry Potter's family hating magic comparing to hearing family denying ASL and things like that. We also did "Zombies" skit, created by Malik Paris, using each letter of the word Zombies, which we acted as zombies and Troy Chapman used the letters (fingerspelling) and using them to represent something. The example is using the letter "O" as eye falling of the socket, using the letter "B" as a blade to chop off the head, and things like that. At the end, we all performed my originally composed electronic music with my recorded voice poem titled "Blade Gray Sky". We all collaborated together on this whole work to show the dark side of things I saw and imagined at New York City. The example is "Young kids shoot heroin in darkened alleys."They sat on the floor and acted out shooting heroin and getting high around me. The show went very well. We had a discussion group with an interviewer after the 3 PM show and 8 PM show, learning what the interviewer and audience had to say about our work. It was a great experience. Here are the photos taken during our show.

Peter Quince, Midsummer Night's Dream

I am officially chosen to act as Peter Quince in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream production in Rochester, NY. What is interesting in this particular production is that it will take place at the Highland Park in the Highland Bowl. There is an outdoor stage at the place. Every year, Rochester has been providing Shakespeare plays at the Highland Bowl during the summer, free to the public. Yet, the unique thing is that my involvement as Peter Quince in this production will be the very first Shakespeare play to include deaf/hard of hearing cast members who will be using American Sign Language (ASL). That has never been shown before at the Highland Bowl site in Rochester's history. So, it will become a big deal this summer. I and several other deaf/hard of hearing actors will use ASL along the hearing cast members who will speak the lines, all at the same time. This will give full access to the hearing and deaf/hard of hearing audience. I am really excited to become part of this historical moment. I am thrilled to just act as Peter outside, which I have never done before. The show will open and run from July 5th - July 19th. 

The Shakespeare Players, a program of the Rochester Community Players, is an ongoing theatrical production company that provides Shakespeare theatrical entertainments in the city of Rochester.

Demo of Myself Playing Kaossilator for GoFundMe.Com Support

I just uploaded a video of myself playing a small electronic music device called Kaossilator. It's to give you an idea of what it sounds like and what it can do. For example, playing a sound effect that sounds like a cat meowing. I also played my own work that I created for the day. Henceforth, this gives you an idea upon playing Kossilator along DJ Numark Mixture 2. Think what that can do. 

Enjoy the YouTube video of me playing Kaossilator:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOXkwF_Uvk

A generosity of donation toward my goal to get the speakers - Mackie Thump 12 - would be thankful. The speakers would be hooked up to DJ Numark Mixture 2. I need powerful speakers to make the DJ performance strong and entertaining to the crowd. Can you make my dream come true as DJ WildPoet? Go to GoFundMe.Com and help me out:

http://www.gofundme.com/6yvfs4

Mackie Thump 12 Speakers for DJ: GoFundMe.Com

Here is one speaker, on display, that I chose. It's Mackie Thump 12 (Yes, there will be two to buy at the same price). They will cost at regular price of $299.99 with tax up to $315.00. Yet there is a Special Deal at $260.00, but that all depends on how long that deal will last and when the goal is reached. Henceforth, I added 315 bucks to 295 bucks already made, which is the goal of $610.00 now in my GoFundMe.Com. The guy at Guitar Center hooked his iPod to the switch board and turned on the switch that went to this particular speaker. Whoa! It sounded fantastic. It's not a passive speaker, because it is considered as loudness speaker, meaning more amp and strength power. The speakers will go with DJ Numark Mixture 2 device. 

Therefore, let's make sure I get the goal and be able to purchase Mackie Thump 12 speakers and connect them to DJ Numark Mixture 2 device, all together, and perform anywhere I go. I shall pursue to become DJ WildPoet once I reach the goal. 

If you want to chip in some toward the new goal for the speakers, you can click on my GoFundMe.Com site address below:

http://www.gofundme.com/6yvfs4

Over $230.00 Made: GoFundMe.Com: DJ Device

I am happy that I reached the goal toward the amount I want in order to be able to purchase the DJ device called DJ Numark Mixture 2 device. I shall thank the donors who put the amounts toward my goal.

Meanwhile, this does not mean the donations are over. GoFundMe.Com allows the amount to go higher with more donations without limitations. Henceforth, you can still donate in however much amount you want. That would be much appreciated with gratitude. To donate, click on the hyperlink of GoFundMe.Com:

http://www.gofundme.com/6yvfs4

As I see that I got up to 240 bucks with the $10.00 extra, I am to ponder over the idea of looking into the PA speakers that can go with the DJ device I want. I will go to Guitar Center next week and look at the PA speakers. Once chosen, I will inform the exact cost of the speakers and re-new the goal very soon.

All in all, I am pleased to be able to reach the goal toward the DJ device. Again, I thank the people who donated.

May my dream become true so that I will be called DJ WildPoet very soon.

GoFundMe.Com Donation: DJ/Performance Arts Career

I am currently on GoFund.Com to request for a donation toward a DJ device called Numark 2 Mixtrack  DJ Software Controller. The goal is to reach up to $320.00 to enable me to purchase the device. I have a strong desire to use this DJ device for performing my American Sign Language (ASL) poetry work that already have electronic music. I would be DJ-ing many of my non-spoken words (instrumental) electronic music as well and also just be a regular DJ by playing famous musicians' work for parties, weddings, and so forth. The point of purchasing the Numark DJ device is to go beyond the normal music playing schemes, meaning being able to create wild soundscape effects such as increasing or slowing the beat, creating scratching sounds, repeating the tracks, and many other tricks. These sound manipulation apparatus could enhance my performance skills, and make my performance much more entertaining and interesting.

Here is my GoFund.Com site address in hyperlink for you to click on in order to see my notes, videos, and picture of the DJ device:

http://www.gofundme.com/6yvfs4

Here is a photo of Numark 2 Mixtrack DJ Software Controller.

Success of Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 6

On February 15th Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 6 presented deaf/hard of hearing and hearing performers at Lovin Cup. The turn out of the audience was packed. This is the 6th year event that provides two cultural worlds: the deaf world and the hearing world. Deaf/hard of hearing and hearing performers took turns on stage, which English spoken words and American Sign Language (ASL) were available. This is an unique performance arts that occur once a year. John Roche, a poet and professor under RIT's Liberal Arts program, and I (Eddie Swayze) coordinated this extravaganza.

Besides the show, DEAAF (Deaf Education and the Arts for African Families) was there to encourage the audience to donate that would help the deaf/hard of hearing children get the education that they need, which is located in Zambia, Africa. Jonathan Rosenfield, one member of DEAAF, stood on stage and explained what DEAAF is about to the audience and took care of the suggested donation among the audience during the show. The donation result is almost $200.00, which will go toward books, pencils, shoes, and other supplies at the school for the deaf/hard of hearing children.

I shall thank the owner of Lovin Cup for providing the performance space for free for 6 years. I shall tip my hat to two interpreters who voiced the deaf/hard of hearing's work into English for the hearing audience and translated the hearing's work into ASL for the deaf/hard of hearing audience: Miriam Lerner and Denise Herrera. All in all, the performers were fantastic and they are: The deaf/hard of hearing - Hinda Kasher, Eric Epstein, Vicki Nordquist, and yes, myself as well, and the hearing - Paulette Scwartfgazer, Kitty Jopse', Nick Eckrerson, Catherine Faurot, and yes, John Roche, too. 

Here are the photos of the event.

Miriam Lerner (interpreter) and Paulette Scwartfgazer 

A packed crowd

Vicki Nordquist

John Roche

Denise Herrera (interpreter)

Hinda Kasher

Eric Epstein

The owner asked me to sign my name on Lovin Cup's wall as a "Hall of Fame".

John Roche, Miriam Lerner and Kenny Lerner chit chatting after the show.

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 6

You can click on the image above to get it bigger and easier to read.

John Roche, RIT professor under Liberal Arts program, and Eddie Swayze, myself, will present an unique poetry, storytelling, and performance arts by the deaf/hard of hearing and the hearing at Lovin Cup on February 15th, free to the public. I plus three other deaf/hard of hearing performers will showcase our work: Vicki Nordquist, Hinda Kashner, and Eric Epstein. John Roche will present the hearing performers: himself, Paulette Scwartzager, Lori Nalasco, Nate Taylor, Nick Eckerson, Catherine Faurot, and Kitty Jospe'. This combined deaf world and hearing world performance event will last for 2 hours, 2-4 PM. Two interpreters: Miriam Lerner and Denise Herrara will provide access to hearing audience along American Sign Language (ASL) by the deaf performers and to the deaf/hard of hearing audience along spoken English by the hearing performers. This is a 6th year of the event. 

Also, Deaf Education and the Arts for African Families (DEAAF) will be there to ask for donations and provide information about their non-for-profit organization. DEAAF is a program that provides funding and support toward deaf and hard of hearing African children get the education and other things that they need in Africa.

Goal to Become A DJ with GoFundMe.com

Here is a photo of the dj device and it's called Numark NS6 Digital DJ Controller. I saw several YouTube videos of how this device is played and how it works. I have a good sense of how to play the device because I played around few trials of dj software online plus the experience of playing GarageBand, one CD dj machine that I had that didn't last long, playing Kaossilator and so forth. 

I used to have a single CD dj player machine, but it didn't last long and broke. I wasn't very happy with the thing at all anyway. I had to use iTune to create a music list to dj, hooked with my M-Audio speakers. I presented that way one time or another, but not much. Henceforth, I've been thinking about getting a real dj device for a while. Since the cost of getting the device can be prohibitive, I had to figure out a possible way to make my ability to purchase it a reality. I researched the devices that are available at Guitar Center in Rochester, NY online and found what I would like to look at and get. I will go look at the device at Guitar Center soon. Yet, it is $499.00 (plus tax), therefore, I will need the support of some kind to enable me to get this device. I discovered GoFundMe.com. It is similar to Kickstarter.com, but it does not require to get exactly $500.00 goal to win, meaning that I could still get a check, let's say, at $400.00, and use that with the rest of my own money, as a saving the money procedure. So, I will get the feel of the real device at the store and get the full price. I will then video-tape myself to explain what I want to do, present my dj and performance skills (with GarageBand and Kaossilator for now) and what my goal would be. I will then post that on GoFundMe.com and get that out to the public for a fundraising effort. 

The main goal is to develop three approaches of performances with the dj device. The first idea is to create an ability to perform my original electronic music, mixed in the dj device. The other idea is to play my music with my spoken word poems in the device and translate the words into American Sign Language (as a performing artist). The third idea is to play the famous musicians' work by creating the cool effects and mixes in the device as a regular dj for parties, weddings, or whatever else. The three performance approaches will expand my creativity and skills.