THINGS WITH WORDS Megan Garrett-Jones

rLooping the Loop is committed to supporting and promoting Thanet-based artists. We’re please to hand over our blog-space to one of our associate artists Megan Garrett-Jones to tell you all about ‘Things With Words’ – a spoken word performance event and occasional radio show that is about to have a particularly spooky outing for Halloween.
 
Megan: 
Yes. Things With Words is getting freaky for Halloween at the Ravensgate Arms in Ramsgate. Things With Words basically does what it says on the tin. It’s an open platform event giving people the opportunity to present any manner of things with words. This will be the 5th event and so far we have incorporated short stories, poetry from the page as well as slam-style poetry, song lyrics, character monologues, re-readings (for example, last event Gertrude Stein was recited whilst audience members all ate jelly). I tend to round up local creatives and ask them to present something, but it is also an open mic and we are forever welcoming new people to the floor.
 
Three events ago I decided to make a radio show to coincide with each event, which is hosted on the Ramsgate Music Hall Radio website. This was a chance to further explore a theme for each event. Songs are chosen for the lyrics and how the words do something in particular in each song. They are all available online, so please check them out if you are interested. The producer I work with in Ramsgate, Nick De Carlo, and I had a lot of fun on the Halloween radio show as we negotiated the fine line between wanting to revel in all of Halloween’s awful tacky fun and wanting to present something meaningful and dig a bit deeper into the significance of the festival. It will probably be a similar vibe at the Ravensgate Arms on Halloween. With such an array of people presenting, it’s certainly going to be multi-dimensional.
 
I connected with Looping the Loop as a volunteer when I moved to Thanet two years ago and I have enjoyed support from the festival as an artist, well as getting to see some genuinely transformative theatre and live art. This is another element to doing ‘Things With Words’ for me. I believe in the power of performance in exploring new ways to do things with words and actions. This is very much a community event and I strongly encourage people to come and get involved and discover what we can do together.
 
Things With Words
Spoken Word Open Mic
Tuesday 31st October, 7:30 pm onward, free
Ravensgate Arms, Ramsgate
 
Open mic signup or inquiries  megan.garrett.jones@gmail.com
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