The house was so full at Cheshire for April 14th’s Speak Easy, that we had to turn people away at the door, which was beyond unfortunate since it was such an amazing show. With seven of the ten readers gracing our stage for the first time, it was a talent-filled afternoon with a nice balance of prose and poetry. We had published authors rubbing elbows with people sharing their work for the first time, and the attentive audience welcomed everyone equally. This show was the embodiment of what Speak Easy is meant to be: an outlet for writers of all talent and experience levels to be heard.
Next Up: It’s another open-topic Speak Easy on May 5th. Why wait until actual Mother’s Day to treat Mom? Bring her out for an afternoon of great writing and great drinks on the 5th. Tickets are available here. Don’t wait to get them at the door. Guarantee yourself a seat by buying them now!
Lineup for Speak Easy No. 28, Sunday 4/14/2019 at Cheshire:
Selections from If You Let Them, They’ll Smile — Sean Mulligan Solomon Grundy — Walt Way N.L. — J.P.W. Sunshine and Thunderstorms — Rebecca Finein Of Birds and Beasts — David Holloway The Date — Scott Seifritz Poem for Tony’s Socks — David Ruekberg That Talking Heads Song was about a Mid-life Crisis — Jessica Tobin Receptionist — Deb Sperling Don’t Make It Political — Emerson Bondi
Special thanks to Scott Seifritz and David Holloway for photography!
Speak Easy No. 28!
It’s a standingroom only crowd!
Two of the day’s readers study the program.
Rochester Spoken Word Co-Founder and MC Scott Seifritz welcomes the audience.
We kick off the afternoon with first-time reader Sean Mulligan.
Sean reading selections from If You Let Them, They’ll Smile.
The crowd is tuned in.
Our next first-timer, Walt Way.
Walt’s fans were out in force!
Walt reading Solomon Grundy.
It can take some guts to read in front of a crowd of strangers. It doesn’t hurt to have some awesome kicks as well.
Our third first-timer of the day, J.P.W.
J.P.W. reading N.L.
Yet another first-time reasder at Speak Easy, Rebecca Finein.
Rebecca reading Sunshine and Thunderstorms.
We round out Act I with Speak Easy regular David Holloway.
David reading Of Birds and Beasts.
J.P.W. is all ears.
Intermission! Time to mingle and get a drink.
Rochester Spoken Word Co-Founder Evvy Fanning welcomes the crowd back from the break.
Scott Seifritz kicks off Act II.
Scott reading The Date.
We were happy to welcome David Ruekberg to our stage for the first time.
David had at least one new fan that day.
David reading Poem for Tony’s Socks.
It pays to take notes for the Q&A.
First-time reader Jessica Tobin is up next.
Jessica reading That Talking Heads Song was about a Mid-life Crisis.
Our final first-time reader of the day, Deb Sperling.
Deb reading Receptionist.
David enjoying Deb’s story.
Sometimes a little pre-reading stretching helps to calm the nerves.
We were very happy to welcome Emerson Bondi back to our stage after a 14-month absence.
Emerson reading Don’t Make it Political.
The readers assemble for the Q&A.
It’s always great when the audience gets involved.
David Holloway answers a question.
Audience regular Jared Mistretta poses a question.
