Speakin' Weird will be hosting their spoken word open mic event virtually on Wednesday the 27th of May at 8 pm. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event will be connecting spoken word lovers through Zoom. Speakin' Weird is an open mic night that gives spoken word artists the opportunity to sign up on the night to perform their work in a safe and encouraging environment. It is usually held on the second Wednesday of the month at Spin on Littlejohn Street. Host and event organiser, Orla Kelly, said, "I set it up online because I missed the Aberdeen spoken word community. I like meeting people I know at Speakin' Weird and hearing what they've been working on, and meeting new people who haven't come before. It feels like an ongoing conversation. And a few people emailed suggesting we set it up online." Spoken word artist and rapper, Arizona, helped Orla with the technical aspects of setting up an online event. They used Arizona's Zoom account and held practice runs to figure out the controls. The event will feature 20 artists who will perform live during the Zoom meeting. They can perform two poems or five minutes of prose, storytelling, comedy, or music. Unlike the usual Speakin' Weird events there will be no headliner, Orla explained, "doing a headline set virtually might not be as appealing for the headliner and since we have more time restrictions now we weren't sure." However, she has said that this might be revisited for future events. The first virtual event was held on the 29th of April and it had a turnout of around 50 people. People were able to interact with each other and react to performances through the chat functions and the event received positive feedback. Find the Zoom meeting details on Speakin' Weird's event page on Facebook by clicking this link.
I will be performing. And, just noticed, I’m in the picture here.