Chaz Yorick – Analog Artist Digital World

Every Sunday at 6pm the SHUT YOUR FACE! Poetry Slam by Curtis Meyer is held at
La Casa De La Paellas (10414 E Colonial Dr Orlando FL). This is the only current ongoing slam in Orlando officially certified by Poetry Slam Incorporated. A winning team can go to Nationals or to the Individual World Poetry Slam and Women of the World Poetry Slam. On the line for the evening was $50 to the winner.

I ordered some food when I arrived and started sketching the stage before the poets started. Tr3 Harris was in the room. He said that going to poetry readings first introduced him to Orlando’s art scene. Now he is curating shows and is an integral player in Orlando’s visual arts scene. Chaz Yorick was there with his daughter. Chaz read a hilarious poem titled, “I wanna make love like zombies” about sloppy, messy, zombie love that I’m positive would make a great animated short if read by Vincent Price.

I was wrangled into being one of the judges by the MC, Natalia “MyVerse” Pitti. She started the evening off with one of her own poems as a “sacrifice”, the first bloodletting, to get the judges started. The point system was between one and ten. One being a poem that should have never been written and ten being a poem who’s originality hit hard and transcended all other poems. My judging seemed fair since I was right in line with the other judges. As a matter of fact my scores were often identical to Michelle Long‘s scores, the Full Sail instructor seated across from me, right down to the tenth of a point. It was actually pretty spooky. I was a bit concerned that contestants might view my sketching as a sign that I wasn’t fully engaged. Of course the opposite is true.

When I sketch a poetry event, I like to try and sketch the poet that I’m convinced will win. I decided to sketch Sasha Nichols Rivera. Sasha swayed like a reed in the breeze as she recited her poems. Her hands gestured to the flowing beat, caressing the air around her. Her delivery was ambisnapping dexterous in that the crowd snapped their fingers in approval and everyone anticipated her next word with every breath and pause. The inspired poems, verging or music, lifted people up. Speaking with her after the competition, she was direct and incredibly curious. She also goes out of her way to encourage other poets. Her mom Yaa Rivera is a painter who has shown her work at artist critique events I often attend. This town continues to shrink as I sketch. Sasha won the $50 prize.

If you’ve never been to a slam before, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Contact Curtis for more info, curtisxmeyer@hotmail.com. Also, Mark Your Calendars, there is Free Flamenco Fridays at La Casa which I’m sure will tempt me back to sketch again.

I had to leave after Tod Caviness did his spoken word performance at Urban ReThink. I went to the Mennello Museum to transfer several sketches on to the mural. The work went quickly so I decided to rush back to Tisse’s birthday party. When I re-entered Urban ReThink, I saw a dancer stretching.

There was home made birthday cake so I grabbed a slice. I grabbed a seat at a table with authors Karen Price and John Connelly to see what was next on the Urban ReThink stage. Chaz Yorick came in after having seen all the downtown gallery openings as part of Third Thursdays.

Tisse first met Elise Frost through various mutual friends in the Orlando dance circle and they finally had their first full conversation at Michael Sloan’s going away party.Elise took to the stage wearing a dogs mask and holding an umbrella. Elise moved and spoke in a childlike manner. She reminded me of Totoro. Her monologue had a child’s sincerity with dark undertones. The lantern implied a character lost in the woods. She spoke of her grandmother dying, yet she didn’t like her grandmother. Was this an infants Kabuki? A sinister bedtime story? I remained mystified and bewildered.

Tisse got on stage and started talking about how she gradually discovered Orlando’s arts scene. She moved from Chicago with her parents to Celebration Florida. She hated Celebration’s theme park facade and the clutter and chintz of 192. She missed the big city. She eventually moved downtown where she began to discover the true Orlando scene. The importance of any city is in the people you surround yourself with. Orlando is a small enough city where individuals can really make a difference. The theater scene is small enough where the performers truly appreciate the audience members. The people that stand out in her life are the people who have a passion for what they do and love to help out.

Suddenly she was talking to me, calling me the “Where’s Waldo” of the Orlando arts scene. She praised my work and persistence. I stopped my sketch to listen. It felt like all eyes were turned towards me. My right eye welled up, I’m not used to so much direct praise and adulation. I don’t know how to process it. Chaz was busily taking notes. Later as Tisse praised Jessica Earley she became overwhelmed and choked up, feeling thankful for the people in her life. Chaz took that emotional pause to start singing happy birthday to Tisse. Everyone joined in as she wiped away her tears. When the song was finished and the clapping died down, Tisse said, “Thanks I needed that moment to recover.” The room was filled with love.