Monday, May 22, 2006

DaVerse Lounge ends first season on a high note

By Caroline North

DaVerse: The performances

About DaVerse Lounge.

Love was in the air at the Dallas Theater Center last Friday, where DaVerse Lounge had its fourth and final gathering of the year. Although I’ve only been to DaVerse Lounge on one other occasion, it was clear to me that the program — designed to give young spoken word poets a place to meet and share rhymes — has only gained momentum since it started in November.

The event is held in Frank’s Place, a room tucked away on the second floor of the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Dim lighting, free coffee (provided by Starbucks), live music by Faint Image, and an abundance of couches and pillows create a kind of bohemian coffeehouse charm that even the snobbiest, starving poet couldn’t help but approve of.

Actually, if you scanned the large crowd that turned up on Friday, you’d realize that the beatnik stereotype couldn’t be farther from the truth. Despite the fact that access to the mic is limited to those under 21, the ages and types of people who came to listen ran the gamut. Some were there simply to witness the latest DTC project, others to cheer on friends or siblings.

And cheer they did. Whenever a poet stumbled or got nervous, the crowd clapped and shouted words of encouragement. A few of the teens who approached the mic were seasoned performers, but the majority were less prepared and appreciated the support. In fact, one of the most touching pieces of the night was delivered by a fourth grader who had been inspired by her grandmother’s death.

That girl happened to be the daughter of Alejandro Perez, who was the Feature for the evening (at each DaVerse, a professional poet, called The Feature, is invited to perform — the one exception to the under-21 rule). Alejandro set the tone for the evening when he asked the audience to interact. One side sang “love” in various keys, while the other sang “we be the people with the love inside us” as he rapped/poeticized to a reggae beat provided by Faint Image.

The rest of the performances were equally impressive. One poet spoke out against girls who spend their money on the new, pink Razr phone instead of that month’s rent. Another, against police brutality (if you’re black and you wear black clothes is that a “black-on-black” crime?). There were of course, the requisite tales of young love and heartache (Shakespearian Sonnets of 2006?). And talk even turned towards national issues when a resident of New Orleans shared her experience in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Any angst that you would expect out of a group of opinionated teenagers was easily canceled out by the honesty and wit each poet brought to his or her poem.

Bottom Line: Check out DaVerse Lounge when it starts back up next fall. It’s a great place to hang out on a Friday night, whether you prefer to have a cup of coffee and soak up the atmosphere or are interested in sharing some prose of your own. Hey, if a ten-year-old can do it, you can too!

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