Free PoetryJam@TheTeaBox - Richmond

Free PoetryJam@TheTeaBox - Richmond Meetup

June 13, 2014 · 7:00 PM
tea box

Poetry Jam @ The Tea Box is hosted each 2nd Friday of the month. It provides the opportunity for meet up members to join in with open mic poetry sessions and perform alongside established poets. We always have an experienced poet on that to host the evening and serve food and beverages throughout the event Want to join the jam? Call us or just come along! Open Mic sign up form 7.30pm - Readings start at 8pm.. See you there

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Bob S.

There are times when this monthly event is exciting and really enjoyable. Even the waitresses clattering about the place while poets are speaking seem less irritating than usual. But so much depends on how good the MC is. Shadwell Smith and Mel Jones do the job perfectly: they keep to time, don't hog the mic and they don't repeat material we've heard several times before. Sadly this evening was not one of those occasions.

0 · June 14
- View all 5 replies
- Mike de S.
  
  Thank you for your feedback Bob. I will advise the hosts especially on time keeping. However itwas good to see so many 1st timers last night so I guess your views on repetition will be mixed. We do the best we can in clearing away the used cups etc. if this were left to the end the staff would be cleaning until 1am rather than midnight and the open mic'ers would have tables full of used items throughout the event a bit more challenging that one
  
  0 · June 14
- Bob S.
  
  Hi Mike - here's the second half of the post: Another issue which I’ve been discussing with Sapna concerns hosting. Do we need a ‘celebrity’ host at all? Whilst people like Shadwell Smith do a superb job, some others spend too much time performing their own work. I don’t want to name names because, like the rest of us, they are doing their best, but often the quality of their material and delivery is not good enough to sustain the extended performances they are allowing themselves. If a group of regulars got together I dare say we could agree about how we could arrange to host the evenings ourselves. I did this myself one evening, as you may remember, when Shadwell Smith broke down on the M25. It isn’t difficult to do.
  
  0 · June 16
- Bob S.
  
  Thanks Mike – I do understand the need to clear tables and take and serve orders, although it could perhaps be done more sensitively at times. Anyway, I have a suggestion to deal with this and another issue which I feel might benefit from a re-think. Why not start performances at 7.45 rather than 8? This would allow for two 20-minute breaks during the evening for ordering and serving: the first from 8.15 till 8.35 and the second from 9 till 9.20. By keeping good time and finishing at 10 we would still have 1 hour 35 minutes for readings and plenty of time (7 – 7.45; 8.15 – 8.35; 9 – 9.20) for waiting on customers. I’ve seen this working successfully elsewhere, although it does putsa bit of pressure on the kitchen to get orders turned around quickly and you may feel the suggestion is not practical on those grounds. However, if we could pull it off it we would have performances taking place without interruption.
  
  0 · June 16
- Mike de S.
  
  Hi Bob - Sorry I have not responded earlier to your second and third posts. My full time job in London with a combination of working away consumes lots time. Prior to you joining the Poetry Jam we did try 3 slot event with the objective of reducing the disruption to the performers. This, as you have already identified, made matters slightly worst for the audience, the performers and the staff. It does put significant pressure on the staff to get all of the items ready, in the correct order in a small time frame which ultimately ends up with us serving drinks and food during the performances . We could start earlier and put a longer middle break in which a few may miss some of the initial performances or we could run a little longer to 10.30 and use a slight longer middle break . Let me know your thoughts or we can catch up after the event on Friday the 11th July - Mike
  
  0 · July 6
- Mike de S.
  
  Second Half - Thanks Bob. Again prior to you joining the group we did use to share the hosting between the group members. Your right on the point it is not difficult to do for those who are willing and able. This initially was successful with attending poets such as Janice Windle, Donall , Amy,and others hosting the following months event. On occasion the event does have a limited number of open MIC poets and a high number of attendees, there for the experience. On these occasions the Host poets have proven to be useful to have around as there are able to full the time with a wealth or varying material. I take you point with regards to repeating material recently and will address that. Perhaps having you host August event would help with this. I hope repeat material is not the case with Shadwell who is kindy hosting on Friday 11 July which he is very much looking forward to. if you would like to chat this though on Friday please let me know.. Kindest Mike
  
  0 · July 6
Rita K.

Hi All! I'm looking for a poet and an inspiring love poem for a collaboration to bring a touching poem film to life. If you would like to be part of an exciting project, contact me, please, as soon as possible! My mail address: [masked]

1 · May 14