Messages

31

General Discussion / Re: When Did You 'Fall In Love' With Spoken Word/Slam

« on: August 30, 2007, 02:24:36 PM »

I fell in love with Slam at my first one, in San Antonio, the first PuroSlam ever...I still love PuroSlam, and I love certain slams, but I can't say I honestly love Spoken word.....I get bored easily and there's too much out there that is Paint By Numbers poetry...saw a lot of it at Nats this year......and very few poets really take chances, in my opinion.....But a good slam, where there's heckling and hooting and hollering and Honest Reaction...I love that!!!!..and there just isn't enough of that in the scene....

So all you touring poets out there...Come to San Anto!!!!!

shaggy
puroslam slammaster

32

General Discussion / Re: How and what did you pay for at NPS?

« on: August 17, 2007, 02:26:29 PM »

San Antonio's PuroSlam:

Door-$3- pays for everything.  Hotel, travel, $150 spending money, registration, PSI memberships, etc.....we try to throw a BBQ or two during the summer also.....

33

Slam Selection Processes / Re: San Antonio PuroSlam

« on: August 13, 2007, 05:28:13 PM »

REPLACEMENT PROCESS:
 5th place Finals poet is the ALTERNATE- and will be included in all pre-Nats activities but will only compete at NATS if one of the first four poets bows out or is kicked to the curb with a boot
6th place Finals poet is ALTERNATE #2 and only comes into play if the first alternate is added to the team after one of the first four poets bows out or is kicked to the curb with a boot; barring the bowing out or the kicking to the curb, the #2 Alternate only gets to dream

34

Slam Selection Processes / San Antonio PuroSlam

« on: August 13, 2007, 04:10:33 PM »

San Antonio's PuroSlam
Every tuesday night
Sam's Burger Joint
330 E. Grayson, San antonio, Tx 78215
www.puroslam.com or myspace.com/puroslam

THIS IS STRAIGHT FROM THE WEBSITE:

2008 PUROSLAM TEAM
Are you interested in trying out for the 2008 PuroSlam Nationals team? That’s right, I said 2008. The 2007 PuroSlam was determined this past April and those poets are currently working out and preparing themselves for the Nationals Showdown this August in Austin. But guess what? We’re already starting the selection process for the 2008 team.

Since PuroSlam has no shame, we are a) borrowing or b) stealing the Qualifying Point System that the Austin Poetry Slam uses to determine its annual team (with some slight changes). Simply put, poets now earn points every time they slam, use those points to qualify for Semis, use Semis to qualify for Finals, use Finals to make the team, and then use the team to become rich and famous and get your face on a Wheaties box.

And guess what? We start counting points in May!

Points
At each weekly slam, poets can earn points based on the following formula:
1st place = 5 points
2nd place = 4
3rd place = 3
4th place= 2 (this applies to Semi Final bouts only; see below)
Everyone else who slams that night = 1

Notes
1 In the event of a tie, both poets are awarded the points for the higher place, i.e. if two poets tie for first, they both get 5 points.

2 Poets who make the third round do not receive the 1 point for participating, i.e., a poet who wins a slam gets 5 points, not 6.

Semi Finals
Semi Finals are for the top 10 scoring poets in the months prior to that specific Semi Final (see Calendar below). The top two placing poets in each Semi Final round advance to Finals.

Each Semi Final slam will consist of 3 rounds: round one-cut to six; second round, cumulative, cut to 4; a clean slate final round.

At the conclusion of the fourth and final Semi-Final round, the two poets who did NOT qualify for Finals AND who have the highest cumulative point total based on Semi Finals rounds only will be awarded the first and second positions in Finals.
Example: Jon and Jane read in all four Semi Final slams but do not earn a spot in Finals. Jon took 3rd place in each Semis for a total of 12 points, while Jane took 4th in each Semis for a total of 8 points. Having the two highest point totals of Semi Final poets who did not qualify, Jon and Jane earn the 2nd and 1st reading positions in Finals, respectively.

In the Case of a Tie: A one poem tie breaker to be performed immediately after the fourth Semis, or if both poets are not present, immediately before Finals.

Calendar
The PuroSlam is using a calendar that is not balanced, equal, reasonable, aligned with the moon, the stars, or the Post Office. You are responsible for knowing it.

First Period: May thru August- Semi Finals I: 1st Tuesday of September
Second Period: September thru October: Semi Finals II: 1st Tuesday of November
Third Period: November thru January: Semi Finals III: 1st Tuesday of February
Fourth Period: February thru March: Semi-Finals IV: 1st Tuesday of April

***All points return to 0 after each Semi Finals. Yes, you must start over every time.
FINALS
The 2nd Tuesday of April.

4 poets, 1 alternate will make the team.

10 poets compete. 3 rounds. Cut to 8 after round one. Cut to 6 after round two, based on cumulative. We wipe the slate clean in round three and the top 4 take it.

NO REPEAT RULE: If you were a member of a previous PuroSlam team in any year from 2000-2007, you may NOT read a poem that you previously read in a team finals.  and yes, Shaggy has  a list of every poem read so.....

There are 2 conditions: Poets must meet the following to qualify for finals....

1) Attend 8 slams between May and the end of March

2) Qualify for Finals through the Point System

CONFUSED? I don’t blame ya. Just remember, the more you come to slam, the more points you’ll have, and the better your chances of making the team.

Email Shaggy at pincheshhh@yahoo.com with questions.

35

General Discussion / Southwest Shootout results

« on: July 06, 2007, 10:39:00 AM »

Anyone reading this have any Southwest Shootout updates, for us sitting at work not knowing what happened last night because our poets forgot to stop partying so they could phone home?

36

General Discussion / Quirky Slam extras Anyone?

« on: January 24, 2007, 02:42:57 PM »

In San Antonio, we've done all the typical Anything Goes, Sock Puppet, Theme night, Survivor, Wheel of Fortune, etc slams....We have also done two Price is Right Slams, where the poets sit on the stage a la Price is RIght, bid on prizes (which they then win), with the winning poet getting to pick who reads next.  The final round I have tweaked both times but it essentially involves trying to predict scores (a la the Showcase Showdown) before the poets actually read.

We also did a Let's Make A Deal Slam, in which the emcee (me) made the poets offers, offering them money, prizes, better scores, if they agreed to eat four cupcakes in one minute, or trade scores with another poet for one dollar, or a variety of stupid but fun stuff I made up on the spot.  It was a huge success.

37

General Discussion / Housing Touring Poets: Question about?

« on: January 24, 2007, 10:56:54 AM »

In re Steve's response, my main concern in posting this does have to do with frustration over a certain sense of entitlement that was implied, if not outright expressed, in this incident.  I do think poets are entitled to expect a well-run show, payment as discussed, and a slammaster willing to do all they can do to find lodging or at least information for cheap, safe housing.  But when a slammaster does all they can do and informs the poet of that well in advance, the responsibility squarely falls on the poet's shoulders to handle the situation professionally and respectably, and I felt that that wasn't the case here.  I was made to feel guilty for not finding housing and the implication clearly was that I was somehow a lesser slammaster for that.
   So I appreciate all the responses and it helped me reply to the said poet.  He was under the assumption that we had discussed housing back in July when the feature was originally booked, and when I reviewed all the emails we exchanged, I saw that it definitely was not discussed. (I file all correspondence just in case, and in this case I am glad I did). Our slam website clearly states- explicitly states- that if you want a floor to crash on you mush explicitly ask.  This poet did not ask BUT he assumed that housing was a part of the equation. SO POETS-> never assume anything when you book a feature.  I think that's a lesson hopefully the poet learned.  
   The lesson I learned is to make sure all my features read our website or at least receive a copy of the info posted there.  He contacted me through the site so I naturally assumed he read it all, but apparently some things did not register.
   Anyway, it was a lesson learned for me and I hope this discussion continues because I am interested in everyone's responses and experiences.  Thanks y'all!

38

General Discussion / Housing Touring Poets: Question about?

« on: January 23, 2007, 07:26:24 PM »

>>>I think the real question might be. How come no one stepped up to help you out? I'd be more pissed at the community if no one stepped up when I couldn't.

Not at all.  I ask a lot- A LOT- of this community, and they come through 99.9% of the time.  Its January, its been 35 degrees in Texas for two weeks, school just started, and people are stressed.  Yes, I could have made people feel guilty and probably found floor space, but that's not my style.

No, this community rocks.  This should not reflect on them.  This was one week at the wrong time.

39

General Discussion / Housing Touring Poets: Question about?

« on: January 23, 2007, 06:40:16 PM »

I have a question for y'all:
  Since when did it become the responsibilty of a Slam to house its touring
features?

I had a feature scheduled for tonight.  I did the promos, the press releases,  all that jazz, only to have the poet cancel- via email, from a different state-  because I couldn't find a place for him to stay.  I looked, and asked around, and did all I could, but our current housing scene in San Antonio is not good right now and thus, no luck for this particular tuesday.

NOTE: If he had featured next week, I could have put him up.  This week, no such luck.

Anyway, he knew this, we had exchanged emails about this several weeks ago, and everything seemed cool.  Then today- the day of his feature- I receive an email in which he cancels his feature because of "the circumstances I put him in" and he hopes that "next time I will be able to work with him."

I'm pissed and frustrated.  I'm running a slam, not a hotel.  I did my best and couldn't find him a floor to sleep on.  Is that my problem?  Am I a bad
slammaster?  What is going on here??

This kind of stuff makes me want to give up on features altogether.

How do others feel?  Am I being ridiculous?  I toured the country several times years ago and I was thankful when someone put me up.  I never expected it.  What's going on here?

-Shaggy
-one frustrated San Antonio Slammaster