LTAB Festival Schedule 2015

 LOUDER THAN A BOMB 2015 Schedule 2.21.2015 – Crossing the Street: Crossing the Street is the annual kickoff event for the Louder Than A Bomb festival. This event is the only mandatory event for all 1200 competing youth during the entire festival. Each team comes to Crossing The Street in order to meet and write alongside their peers for a day of poetry, performance, and community building; tearing down our arbitrary borders and build together as one city. This year’s Crossing the Street will be held from 10am – 3pm at Tilden High School. 2.25.2015 thru 3.13.2015 – Preliminary Bouts: Each team (or individual) competes in 2 preliminary bouts. Each bout consists of 4 individual rounds and one team round. Qualifying teams and individuals move on to compete in Semi-­‐Finals. Preliminary bouts will be held at various times Wednesdays thru Saturdays at Columbia College. 2.27.2015 – Wreckshop & MC Olympics: Join us for WreckShop at 6pm, a workshop dedicated to the craft of writing, emceeing, and beat-­‐making followed by the MC Olympics from 7pm – 9pm, an Olympic style MC competition featuring some of Chicago’s up and coming MCs. This will be held at Columbia College in Haus Theater. 2.28.2015 – ½ Pint Poetics: Join us for a youth poetry open mic (ages 8 – 14) hosted by Kuumba Lynx from 1:30 – 3:30pm. To participate or for more information, email Kit Main at [email protected] or call 920-­‐205-­‐3142. This will be held at Columbia College. 3.5.2015 – Queeriosity: Queeriosity is a literary arts and performance event that creates a safe space for LBGTQ artists to speak their truths to a supportive audience. This event will be hosted by Danez Smith and will feature poets and performances from the broader YCA and LTAB community. The event will be held in Haus Theater at Columbia College from 6:30 – 9pm. 3.6.2015 – Duo Slam: Duo slam is an opportunity for poets (on or off LTAB teams) to compete in pairs. Space is limited and team alternates or non-­‐competing students will be prioritized. Duos should prepare one duo poem. Duo Slam will be held at Columbia College in Haus Theater from 6 – 8pm. 3.7.2015 – Check The Method (CTM): CTM workshop offers world-­‐class instruction in poetry and hip-­‐hop spoken word led by Jamila Woods and Kevin Coval. Poets can expect to meet a diverse group of writers of all ages and be immersed in a discussion/workshop that will prepare them to tell their story on the page. Check the Method will be held at Columbia College in Haus Theater from 1:30 – 3:30pm. 3.7.2015 – This is Modern Art: This play, written by acclaimed playwright Idris Goodwin and Louder than a Bomb founder Kevin Coval, gives a glimpse into the anonymous lives of graffiti artists and asks us to question the true purpose of art. Join us at 7:30pm at Steppenwolf Theater. Tickets available at Steppenwolf.org. 3.8.2015 – College Slam: This college-­‐aged slam hosts teams from across the country in a day of community building and Olympic-­‐style slam. Details to be determined. 3.12.2015 – The Chicago Beat Book Release and Town Hall: Join us as we celebrate the release of the Chicago Beat’s new book about Freedom in Education and a town hall on the School to Prison Pipeline. The event will be held in Haus Theater at Columbia College from 6pm – 9pm. 3.13.2015 – Coaches Slam and Semi-­‐Final Announcements: This annual event hosts LTAB coaches as they show off their own poetry skills. The event ends with the announcement of teams advancing to Semi-­‐Finals. To participate, contact Jamila Woods at [email protected]. This event will be held in Stage 2 at Columbia College from 6pm – 8pm. 3.13.2015 – Women in Hip Hop: The Chicago Track and Donda’s House present a night of performance and dialogue about the music industry and the role women play. Tickets will be available on the YCA website. Details to be determined. 3.15.2015 – Louder Than A Bomb Semi-­‐Finals Competition: Louder Than A Bomb Semi-­‐Finals features the top 16 high school teams and 16 individual poets in a daylong series of Olympic style poetry slam bouts. This year’s semi-­‐finals will be held from 10am – 9pm at Metro Chicago. 3.20.2015 – Break Beat Reading: Join Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Nate Marshall as they host a night of poetry from their new anthology The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-­‐Hop. Details to be determined. 3.21.2015 -­‐ Louder Than A Bomb Indy-­‐Finals Competition: Louder Than A Bomb Indy Finals will feature the top 12 scoring individual poets in an Olympic style poetry slam. Gathering at these youth will take center stage and share their stories to an audience of over 750 guests. This year’s Indy Finals will be held at The Rubloff Auditorium (Art Institute Chicago) from 6pm – 9pm. 3.28.2015 -­‐ Louder Than A Bomb Team-­‐Finals Competition: Louder Than A Bomb Team Finals will feature the top four scoring high school teams at The Arie Crown Theater for a four round Olympic style poetry slam. This night will feature musical performances, notary guest judges and the most talented youth poets in the city. The event will run from 6pm – 9pm.