In a year consumed by a pandemic, protests, and politics, many people have a lot to say. It can be easy for someone to feel like their voice doesn’t matter amongst all the other voices. Others may not know what to say, or when to say it. Then there are others who may adopt the opinions of others because they fear that their unique voice may be criticized, mocked, or silenced. In my virtual program, My Voice My Choice: Embracing the Power of Your Authentic Voice, I use the power of spoken word poetry to encourage students to embrace their authentic voices and live in their truths.
Students will hear several powerful, original spoken word poems that speak to the many different ways your voice can be used, such as advocating for yourself, speaking against injustices, and using your voice to create opportunities. The session will begin with a poem that talks about simply loving the natural sound of your own voice. Social media is filled with filters and ways to alter how you look and sound. Young people are constantly inundated with celebrities and influencers who often shape how they think they should look or sound. I talk about the beauty and power in just being, and sounding like, yourself. It is my goal to help dismantle the feeling that you have to change and contort yourself to fit into a box someone else has placed you in, or molded to fit a description someone else created
In addition to poetry, I will also allot time to take questions from the audience about my artistic career and process. I will speak to my career thus far, and also how I am surviving as an artist and independent contractor during a pandemic. Doing this program virtually allows me to intimately interact with the students. Those who may have felt shy about raising their hand in person, or coming up to me after the show, can now just type their questions into the chatbox and they don’t even have to show their faces if that is their preference.
Making this a virtual program also gives me the exciting opportunity to create an original poem with the students. I will provide a prompt and encourage the students to create a line or two of poetry. Those lines will be placed in the chat, I will combine all of them, and then share a poem about living in your authenticity that will be unique to each group of students that I see! A collective poem is especially powerful now because it shows the power of unity in a world that is very divided. “My Voice, My Choice: Embracing the Power of Your Authentic Voice” is a program designed to celebrate your individuality, while also seeing the beauty in coming together.
If you are a student activities planner or advisor then all you need to do it reach out either by phone or by email. Fill out this form below and you can be on your way to experiencing some great virtual programs that only Neon Entertainment can offer. If you are a student then pass this along to your activities advisor and bring this event to your school this year.
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