Two May Workshops: READeasy & WordLab!

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INKY FINGERS WORDLAB
“Anxiety and the Writer”, with Eliza Langland

Saturday 7th May, 2-4pm
Action Room, Forest Café, Bristo Place, Edinburgh
FREE

Building on our hugely popular monthly open mic (fourth Tuesday) and writers’ groups (second Thursday), Inky Fingers is launching a new series of special free workshops, where the best of local and national writing and performing talent will be sharing their skills. Each month, one of our open mic feature performers will be running a workshop to stimulate your brains and help you expand the horizons of your writing and performance.

Eliza Langland is a writer and actress with over thirty years experience in professional theatre and radio who now runs her own practice in Edinburgh as an e-motivational coach and hypnotherapist. In this workshop she’ll be exploring why and how people write, and how anxiety can both fuel and impede the writing process. Come to explore your own writing and discover new possibilities in your work!

Places are limited: e-mail inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com to sign up.

Find Inky Fingers online at http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101994993200164, and on Twitter @InkyFingersEdin.

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INKY FINGERS READEASY
Thursday 12th May
6 – 9pm
Forest Front  Room
FREE

We’ve set up the  READeasy Writers’ Group to be a safe and encouraging
space for writers to meet up, hear their words read, and get
constructive critical feedback.  It’s open to writers of any style,
experience, identity and genre — but places each month are limited. To
secure a slot, e-mail inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com in advance with
your name and a piece of your writing attached — and then just come
along on the night with cake and a ready mind. See the Writers’ Group
page for full instructions (including length limits):

http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com/writers-group/

Right royal knees up

Another guest blog from Louise Boyd, reviewing our April Open Mic.

Our April open mic proved to be a right royal knees up, just the remedy to combat all that sickly wedding nonsense, and was another night packed full of mind-blowingly talented performers. It just keeps getting better… But I should also mention what a lovely crowd we pack in every time. In fact, I managed to grab a wee chat with our feature writers Eliza Langland and Colin Donati, who both mentioned that the warm, receptive audience are what keep them coming back to Inky Fingers, as performers and spectators.

Harry Giles, our wonderfully enthusiastic MC who apparently played the caterpillar in a school production of Alice in Wonderland (perhaps we could have a reenactment of this next time….?), bounded on stage and announced that the answer to all the world’s problems is to eat the rich. I think they might taste like champagne and caramel, but possibly a little too chewy. Could give it a try, mind.

Opening the night was the multi-talented Colin Donati who treated us to a rendition of his poem recently published in By Grand Central Station We Sat Down and Wept anthology. It was brilliant to hear some Scots, how my heart did swell with patriotic pride, and I particularly liked Banes, a poem concerning life cycles and the afterlife.

Second up was sassy lady Lindsay Ure (amazing shoes) who painted a story of a writer searching for their voice through Van Gogh in dazzling brushstrokes. Editor of Duality, Alec Beattie, read The Conspiracy Theorist; a hilarious conversation about the inevitable demise of Kate Middleton, mostly likely by spontaneous combustion. The lovely Becky Balfourth, whom I had the pleasure to meet at our READeasy, stuck it to the man with her poem addressed For the Attention of the Manager, yeah. Tickle, or should I say Edward Fuckington Wallsley Smythe, 7th Earl of Shitminster (that’s his real name don’t you know) destroyed the microphone (both literally and metaphorically) and treated us to some bluesy, breezy summertime beats, that brought the Edinburgh summer right into the Forest Cafe.

Steve Welsh intrigued everyone with his fascinating approach to found poetry; he is writing a poem every day for a year using newspapers and a black marker, and his page three girl haiku was actually rather beautiful. One of the Inky Crew, Matt McDonald, shared that fleeting moment when you find yourself locked in the gaze of a stranger through a bus window. In her debut to the Inky stage Catherine Kwella, did a wonderful job and captivated the audience with some poignant words. Neil Hargreaves gave us a Tam O’Shanter inspired story, evoking some terrifying imagery and the spirits of naked old ladies.

The second half was to be filed with the most unexpected, not least the arrival of two nutjobs who were trying to flog a pile of meat to the cafe. What vegetarian restaurant could possibly turn down the offer of a plastic bag full of unidentified meat after all…

Eliza Langland is not only a lovely lady but her performance was epic. Joined by Colin Donati on guitar she wove a humorous and sad tale of unrequited love told from both sides, then showed us an example of how to write ‘spell-checker proof’ Scots.

Mairi Campbell-Jack’s sad but powerful poetry was beautiful to hear, and I don’t think I have ever heard the Inky audience so quiet, we were mesmerised. Neil Clark told a hilarious coming of age tale, featuring some magical penis enhancing water — if only we could bottle the stuff! We then welcomed another Inky first-timer Jake Lawy to the stage, who offered up some political words and a scathing, yet clearly necessary, attack on a literary festival which shall not be named… Roddy Shippin tackled the wedding malarkey head on, and made us chortle, as did Mark Haw who channelled Nicholas Witchell in all his ginger glory. Katherine McMahon read some poetry, and I particularly enjoyed one about blackberries, just lovely. Colin McGuire cast some beautiful imagery into the minds of the audience, and hilariously managed to juxtapose hot, sweaty, beasty love with the night time song of flatulence. Jack Ryan Smith read a story that shone with such finesse I could hardly believe he had written it at 3am that morning (how do people do that??). Finally, Danny Mullins closed the night with a little acoustic guitar given a comic slant.

What a rather splendid way to spend a Tuesday evening! First-timers – I hope you come back for more. Regulars – you continue to astound us, looking forward to the next time…

INKY FINGERS OPEN MIC
“To the altar! To the block!”
featuring COLIN DONATI and ELIZA LANGLAND
and YOU, on our famous open stage

Tuesday 26th April, 8 – 11pm
Forest Café, Bristo Place, Edinburgh
FREE

On the occasion of what may be either the most momentous ceremony of modern times or a distracting hangover from an outdated despotical tradition best left ignored, Inky Fingers is bringing you a loosely-themed open mic: to the altar, or to the block? We’re inviting some of the city’s top poets to contribute their words on the dread wedding, and you can join in to (or ignore the theme entirely at your discretion).

The Inky Fingers Open Mic takes place in the main room of the Forest Café every fourth Tuesday of the month, from 8-11pm. It’s free to come and free for anyone to perform, regardless of style, experience, or identity. It is big and celebratory and welcoming and fun. We want to hear from everybody. We want your poems, your rants, your ballads, your short stories, your diaries, your experimental texts, your heart, your mind, your body. We want the essay on your summer holidays you wrote when you were four, your adolescent haiku, and extracts from your eventually-to-be-completed epic fantasy quadrilogy. We want to hear your best new work as well. And we want people to care about the way words are performed.

Our feature performers this month are Colin Donati, a writer and musician whose work ranges from the beautifully traditional to the startlingly contemporary, and Eliza Langland, whose comically profound words will shake your lungs and tickle your brain all at the same time

Open Mic slots are five minutes long; e-mail inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com to sign up and be sure of a slot!

Find Inky Fingers online at http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101994993200164, and on Twitter @InkyFingersEdin.

Words & Video: March Open Mic

Another guest blog from Matt Macdonald, giving you a taste of the Inky Fingers Open Mic on March 26th, with video from Alec Beattie.

March’s Open Mic was another formidable line-up of talent and entertainment.

Nuala Watt, our feature poet for the first half, gave us charming poems dealing with, amongst much else, the transubstantiation of people into various things, love declarations to dining room floors, the copulation of pebbles and the curious happenings of the Werewolf Tree.

Opening up the first set of open mics, Inky Finger volunteer Alec Beattie graced us with his diatribes on the silliness of using bees to sell mobiles, the unlikeliest source of inspiration, and the offense to the senses that are Charity Shop Shoes. Next up, Lindsay Ure who captivated us with her Southern Gothic vignette after almost starting a fight with a noisy corner of the audience, and Inky Fingers newbie Jack Smith titillated with a story set in sumptuous imagery as deep and comfortable as Forest’s sofas, transporting us to upper-class Tuscany. It was fantastic to welcome touring Dutch performance poet Ellen Deckwitz, who blew us away with her expressive performances; Jitwam Sinha followed with stunning singing, quite literally with bells on. Then old hand Keith Mackie brought us some of the most imaginative murder scenes possible with his tale of forensic theological criminology, and Harry Giles, the evening’s compere, brought the first half to a close with a short piece on the alienating effect of gaining and losing Piercings.

Our second feature were the impeccable Zorras , who brought a blend of language, culture, film, poetry, music and entertainment to the room. Everything they did radiated brilliance, but highlights included an astonishing percussion solo that left every jaw on the floor, a peon to Edith Piaf thast was both funny and moving, and a twist to the Homecoming ™ charade of 2009.

Opening the second open mic set, Elodie Olsen-Coons and Caitlynn Cummings gave a joint performance of a  story about the life and losses of a castrato. Long live the knife indeed.  Taking the ample chance to embarrass myself, I read one of my newer poems History Of Art, a look at unrequited love through some well-known paintings. Doomsday Bus Station Of Blood, from Gordon Hay, Inky Fingers Virgin, was a tale of class, Tescos, and a perfectly oval rock, delivered with brilliant self-parody throughout.  Rose kept us warm with some Smoke next, and then Hugh Man (or Al Young as he is known to his friends) entertained us with an epic on that other national sport for: getting pished, mangled, blootered, wankered, &c.  Needless to say, Hugh spoke to a common wavelength for us.  Closing the evening was Steven’s Myth, whose exquisite voice and chilled acoustic guitar cooled the evening down to a perfect close.

As ever, our audience laughed, howled and whooped beautifully throughout: if you were there, thanks again, and if you weren’t, make sure you’re free for the next one – you can’t miss out on talent this good!

We’ve got a few videos of the night below. Apologies for the image and sound quality – we’re just experimenting with some recording methods and ways of documenting our nights – but we hope it gives you a wee sense of the fun we have. And if you’re interested in helping us out with future filming, get in touch!

Wordlab with Zorras: A damn fine way to spend a Sunday

Blogpost from Rachel about the very first Inky Fingers Wordlab!

The clocks had gone forward. The sun had come out. And in the echoing reaches of Bristo Hall, there was wisdom to be received. Frankly, that’s a damn fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon in my book.

The first Inky Fingers Wordlab was delivered courtesy of the mighty Zorras. For those who hadn’t been to the Open Mic to get swept up in their astounding performance, Zorras are Sandra Alland, Y. Josephine and Ariadna Battich – poetry-music-video-weirdness fusion with megaphones.  That gives an idea. A little like listening to someone describe the Mona Lisa’s left dimple though. You should go see them. Somehow. Sometime. Everytime.

The workshop focus was on running cross artform collaborations beyond a random multimedia mashup. For me, it reaffirmed how much of the brilliance of Zorras comes from the integration of the separate elements of their work. The parts alone would be incredible enough, given the talent of Sandra’s words and performance, Y’s way with making a noise and a rhythm you have to listen to, and the gorgeous lyricism of Ariadna’s films . As a whole, something really special happens.

There were a few horror stories of promoters and organisers not understanding how Zorras operate as a trio, seeing one aspect as subordinate to the other and setting up inappropriate staging, lighting or sound as a result. Clear communication with event organisers is important, with soundchecks and rehearsals as a key way to get this across. The music is not a background track; the films are not music videos.  Each has something to say in its own right, and each performer functions as an artist, adding to, illuminating, reinterpreting, reinforcing the work as a whole.

Achieving a balance between live and recorded work comes down to rhythm in the performance. Synchronising the rhythms in the poetry, the beats of the music and the editing of the films come down to sensitivity to the others during the performance. And rehearsal. Lots of that.

Finally, a huge relief was realising fancy huge equipment isn’t necessary to making fantastic multimedia collaborations. Y has a percussion set incorporating two frying pans. Creativity, willingness to learn, generosity and knowledge of each other are far more important. As Ariadna says ‘You just need to make it.’

http://www.blissfultimes.ca/zorras.htm

Top Tips

• Learn your craft. Be good at flying solo before you come together.  The cadences of Sandra’s voice are complemented by Y’s music, but she isn’t singing. Ariadna’s films aren’t simply mirroring what is being said in the songs. They each have something to say
• Learn each other’s strengths. What can you do? What are you bringing to the party?
• Work as a whole. Respond to one another.  Don’t be afraid to change in relation to what someone else is doing.
• Rehearsal. Rehearse. Rehearse.
• Avoid splitting the focus of the audience. Be conscious of when they are listening to words, when listening to music, when watching images, performances or reading text on a screen. Avoid overstimulation.
• Bring backups for any sort of technology you’re using: laptops, DVDs, CDs, USB sticks, spare hard drives. There is always the possibility that something at the venue isn’t quite as described, or it’s going to break down!