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Censored… right out #$*@#@ loud!

Ottawa Tonite likes it when people create things. When creative people make books, poems, art, or music then the rest of us get to enjoy the fruits of their labours. Unless… their work is censored. And that happens a lot.

According to the Book and Periodical Council, which organizes Freedom To Read Week in Canada every year, more than 100 books in Canada have been censored or challenged in the last few years alone. And those books range from what you might expect to be challenged — queer literature, books dealing with the Israel-Palestine conflict — there are also some you might not expect to ever be the victim of censorship: Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, or Wallpaper magazine.

In recent days, a version of Huckleberry Finn that deletes the “n-word” and the censorship of the Dire Straits song “Money For Nothing” have been in the news.

So, since Ottawa Tonite believes that each person should get to choose what he or she consumes, we’re organizing a cabaret of censored and challenged works. Come to Censored Out Loud at the Raw Sugar Café and join a motley crew (no, not Mötley Crüe) of writers, actors, and musicians as they celebrate Freedom To Read week by bringing some scandalous — and not so scandalous — works to life. Everything you’ll hear will have one thing in common, whether it’s Donna Summer or Margaret Atwood: the work has been censored or challenged.

Some of the people reading and playing on stage will be: Lisa Poushinsky, Nichole McGill, Jesse Dangerously, Megan Jerome, Jessica Ruano, Mike Essoudry, and many more. It’s gonna be fast-paced, fun, and a great way to celebrate the power of creative expression and the freedom to offend.

The show takes place Wednesday, February 23, 2011, starting at 8:00 pm at the Raw Sugar Café, 692 Somerset Street West. There’s a cover charge of $10 or what you can afford to pay and proceeds are going to go to PEN Canada, an organization that fights for the right to create and read.

We guarantee at least ONE thing to offend EVERYBODY. Spread the word. Loudly.

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CFSW 2010 Ottawa opens TONIGHT!

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (CFSW 2010 Ottawa www.cfsw.ca) kicked off this afternoon to a fiery start with the Last Chance Slam to determine the members of the Wild Card Team to compete alongside 17 other teams at the festival.

The members of the team that will be performing at the festival are Ottawa poets Faye Estrella, Brad Morden, and Sean O’Gorman, as well as Vancouver poet Steve Miller. The team has two alternates: Ottawa’s Jenna Tenn-Yuk and Vancouver’s Tristan de Plume.

CFSW 2010 Ottawa returns to the capital for the first time since its inception in 2004 with the largest slam-focused spoken word event in Canadian history. From October 12 to 16, 2010, Ottawa will be treated to a wide-ranging display of Canadian slam poetry and spoken word featuring over 100 of the best spoken word poets on 18 teams from 15 communities across Canada.

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word takes place in numerous venues in downtown Ottawa.

For more information, please call the CFSW 2010 Ottawa hotline 613 301 8648, email info@cfsw.ca, or visit www.cfsw.ca.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Tuesday, October 12

University of Ottawa Tabaret Hall – 550 Cumberland St.
1 – 3 p.m.
Last Chance Slam (to determine the Wild Card team)
7 – 9 p.m.
Festival Opening Celebration & Francophone Showcase
Hosted by Mehdi Hamdad | Featuring Ivy, Marjolaine Beauchamp,
D-Track & Sophie Jeukens
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 1 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Victoria, Lanark County, Winnipeg, Ottawa Urban Legends

Wednesday, October 13

Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Intro to Poetry Writing (for Youth) Workshop
Facilitated by Ian Keteku
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Activism in Spoken Word Workshop

4 – 5:30 p.m.
Youth Showcase Hosted by Dwayne Morgan

Ottawa Little Theatre – 400 King Edward Avenue
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 2 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Calgary, Ottawa Urban Legends, London, Toronto Poetry Slam
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 3 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Vancouver, Guelph, Peterborough, Halifax

University of Ottawa Alumni Auditorium – 85 University Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 4 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Burlington, Edmonton, Wild Card, Toronto Up From the Roots
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 5 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Lanark County, Ottawa Capital Slam, Montreal, Saskatoon

Hooley’s Pub – 292 Elgin Street
11 p.m.
Poetry & Music Cabaret
Featuring Scruffmouth & Moe Clark

Thursday, October 14

Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Sankofa: A Poet’s Contract (Workshop)
Facilitated by Scruffmouth
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Connecting with Arts Organizations Panel Discussion
Facilitated by David Silverberg
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Steve Sauvé Memorial Nerd Showcase
Hosted by Festrell|Featuring Nadine Thornhill & Bart Cormier

Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa – Laurier Room, 350 Dalhousie Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 6 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Halifax, Winnipeg, Burlington, Ottawa Capital Slam
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 7 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Toronto Poetry Slam, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver

The Velvet Room – 62 York Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Bout 8 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Montreal, London, Guelph, Wild Card
9 – 10:30 p.m.
Bout 9 – National Slam Championship Preliminary Round
Toronto Up From the Roots, Peterborough, Calgary, Victoria

Friday, October 15

Streets of Downtown Ottawa
3 – 5:30 p.m.
Guerrilla Poetry
Poets take to the streets to perform random acts of poetry

Ottawa Technical High School Auditorium – 440 Albert Street
7 – 8:30 p.m.
National Slam Championship Semi-Final #1
9 – 10:30 p.m.
National Slam Championship Semi-Final #2

Ritual Nightclub – 137 Besserer Street
11 p.m.
Kobo Town and John Carroll & the Epic Proportions

Saturday, October 16

Cartier Place Suite Hotel – 180 Cooper Street
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Poetry Slam in Schools Workshop
Facilitated by Danielle K.L. Grégoire & Lara Bozabalian
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Self-Promotion in the Digital Age (for Artists) Workshop
Facilitated by Kate Leadbeater – bilingual event
4-5:30 p.m.
Poetry and Music Showcase
Featuring Red Slam Collective

Dominion-Chalmers United Church – 355 Cooper Street
7-9 p.m.
Poets of Honour & Closing Festival Showcase
Featuring Anthony Bansfield ‘the nth digri’ & Shauntay Grant
9-11 p.m.
National Slam Championship Finals

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Eugene Haslam sizzles in municipal politics

Want to know more about a politician? Sample his cooking.

Also, make an effort to chat with his school-age daughter, who may be willing to show you around the house and share with you his campaign video she made all by herself.

Eugene Haslam’s home is friendly, lively, full of wonderful kitchen smells and art on the walls. His campaign materials, consisting of posters and handbills, hang out in the front hallway, just waiting to be distributed to the residents of Capital Ward.

Before we start chatting politics, Haslam offers to stir up a serving of escargots with lobster mushrooms and spices in a cream sauce: a family favourite. Holding a microphone close enough to pick up the sound of sizzling butter, it is difficult for me to contribute to the process, so I simply stare on, delightedly.

Although this is Haslam’s first time running for city council, he trusts that his multifaceted work experiences will provide him with the ingredients to contribute to the community in a major way. Already he has been involved in multiple community initiatives and discussions surrounding the City of Ottawa. Also, as the long-time owner of Zaphod’s in the Byward Market, Haslam has hosted various fundraisers, such as the annual event Feed the Homeless.

Perhaps Haslam, who describes himself on his handbills as “Fresh. Creative. Feisty.”, is an unusual choice for city council. However, his uniqueness may work to his advantage when it comes to sparking interest in potential voters. As he himself states in the following video, even the way Haslam looks may change the way people think about politics.

Video by  Jeff McDonald

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The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word: ready for some “life-altering POETRY”?

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Ottawa’s Lumière Festival will leave you feeling “light on your feet”

Ottawa’s New Edinburgh Park hosts the much-anticipated official start of the Lumière Festival this evening! The spoken word curator for the festival is Jessica Ruano. I wanted to know more about the spoken word aspect of the event, and Jessica’s response was to send me an incredible poem that touches on the theme assigned to participants in the festival.

segments

single out

each particular moment in time

sitting in a sweet coffee shop

waiting for company

drinking tea

time for a change

back to remembering

i can keep my nails sharp for awhile

if you like

it’s no trouble

it’s no concern of yours if i have trouble

walking at your running pace

that’s what bicycles are for

until we get too old to peddle

what then? what now?

i’m lost until the fall

until i start flying again

i found wings once

and now you

Jessica Ruano:

“We were told to write about ascension, heavenly bliss, reaching toward a state of perfection, as the poets will be stationed in that section of the tour that is, essentially, an exploration of death, the underworld, afterlife, and rebirth. Some poets already had poems that fit the bill; others are writing brand new ones. Either way, each one should be a little gem of a performance.”

As the festival site indicates, there has been a full month of preparation for the Evening of Light Celebration happening tonight -  September 4th.

There are lantern-making and performance workshops, and community outreach initiatives designed to bring people together to celebrate “light” and community. What does that really mean for participants?

“What can I say about the festival? From what I understand, it is designed to be a celebration of light in all its forms. Literally, from the lanterns that will cover the entire park, with a beautiful glow reflected along the river…to the celebration of illuminating artistic genres: poetry, dance, theatre, storytelling, and visual art installations.”

Poets participating in the festival’s spoken word tour (all from the Ottawa/Gatineau region) are:

Mehdi Hamdad
Brad Morden
Ian Keteku
Faye Estrella
Mélanie Rivet
Graeme O’Farrell

This will prove to be a very illuminating community experience, and will indeed leave you feeling “light on your feet” with the magic of the night.

Photo courtesy to Fernando Farfan: http://www.flickr.com/photos/farfando/

Artists participating in the 2010 festival are listed here: http://lumiereottawa.com/artists/

More from Jessica Ruano can be found on her blog:  The Most Exquisite Moments

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An interview with Ken Godmere as the Ottawa Fringe Festival nears

Kelly’s Instant Mashed Potatoes Brings You The Initial Reaction. Geez, what a mouthful of a title!

At this 1963 game show spoof, you can expect excellent writing from Ottawa’s own Ken Godmere, as well as hilarious, partially improvised performances from Jennifer Tackabury, Jessica Lafrance, Megan Jerome, and Dan Dicaire.

Seems like product placement is the new black.

In addition to working on this show, Godmere also has another major project on the go: his theatrical trilogy detailing his experiences with a degenerative brain disease. The first part of the trilogy entitled: It’s Just a Stage premieres at the Ottawa Fringe Festival this month, and it should give you a little taste of what is to come from this passionate and determined theatre artist. 

Video Courtesy: Kevin Burton

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Capital Poetry Collective

My first experience with the Capital Poetry Collective was in 2004 at the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics (now the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word), a national festival consisting of slam competitions and poetry events. After that, I was hooked. The spoken word scene in Ottawa has blossomed over the last 6 years: there are three slam competitions that that place monthly (sometimes bimonthly); there are spoken word showcases in numerous venues; and spoken word is even being taught by the artists in schools. 

This month at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, nine members of the Capital Poetry Collective – Prufrock, John Akpata, Danielle K. L. Gregoire, Rusty Priske, Kevin Matthews, Nadine Thornhill, Faye Estrella, Thomas McKinlay, and me (yes, I’m promoting my own show; how self-indulgent) – team up to show you what spoken word in Ottawa is all about. Almost every night there will be a different selection of poets onstage at the Royal Oak on Laurier. And, best of all, if you’re inspired by what you see, you can sign up to participate in the final showcase on Saturday, June 26. All poets are welcome to perform.

Danielle K. L. Grégoire talks about the Spoken Word Show:

Festrell talks about the Spoken Word Shows:

John and Prufrock talk about Spoken Word Shows:

Videos courtesy: Kevin Burton

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the most exquisite adorkable poetry: Jessica Ruano and Nadine Thornhill debut at The Spoken Word Plot

The most exquisite moments of our lives are often the result of chance meetings.

Ten minutes past five on a Sunday afternoon, I found myself walking through the Byward Market with my partner Jes. She was carrying a bag filled with avocado, cucumber, tomato, and broccoli sprout sandwiches.

We were going on a road trip.

Alright, so Almonte’s not exactly far enough away to count as a road trip. Still, it’s well outside of my usual theatre of operations—it takes quite a powerful force to draw me out even as far as Nepean.

In this case, that force was the combined pull of poets Jessica Ruano and Nadine Thornhill.

There’s a bit of backstory here. You may recall the Academy Awards happened a couple of weeks ago? Well, earlier that evening I decided to go for a walk in the Byward Market, having nothing more pressing to do. On my way out of my favourite tobacconist’s, intending to return home and crawl into bed for an early night, I ran into Jessica Ruano.

Not so far away, in fact, just across the street outside the Mercury Lounge, was where I had first met Ms. Ruano. I’d buttonholed her after her performance at a Capital Slam event to tell her how moving and impressive I found her poetry.

Now, when you corner someone after a performance, you can usually expect one of two things: some performers, while expressive and outgoing in front of a crowd, are shy and borderline antisocial one-on-one. I quickly discovered, to my delight, that Jessica fell firmly into the other category; my friends and I were invited to follow her (as she led the way on her trademark bicycle) to SAW Gallery, where we found ourselves at an Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir show.

Since then, every chance meeting with Jessica Ruano has been the beginning of some kind of adventure.

On this particular evening, she was returning from a meeting with Nadine Thornhill, where they were working on a new collaborative spoken word set called the most exquisite adorkable poetry, a name cleverly grafted together from the titles of their blogs. Jessica showed me, in her notebook, a list of themes that were common to both their poetry: food, family, sex…

“I’m going to play Nadine’s clitoris,” said Jessica. I blinked. “Like an instrument?” I asked, as if this were the sort of thing I discussed on street corners after dusk all the time. She laughed, and after a few more minutes chatting, she invited me back to her apartment to watch the Academy Awards.

So there we sat, on her futon, wincing at Alec Baldwin’s Seagal-esque performance alongside Steve Martin, critiquing the fashion and hairstyles, and eating popcorn from a mixing bowl with chopsticks. During commercial breaks, she treated me to a preview of a few of the poems she and Nadine were going to perform together. After the show was over, Jessica ushered me out the door as she had to be up early the next morning.

It’s easy to mistake Jessica Ruano for much older than she actually is; hardly because of her looks, but rather because of the way she speaks and carries herself. Granted, she’s a trained performer, but even in private she still holds herself with a natural grace that seems rare. Couple that with her constant smile—not the stewardess smile that never wears off, but a genuine, heartfelt smile—and you understand immediately why it’s hard to resist when she says, “you should come.”

Even as far as JR’s Downstairs Pub in Almonte.

(Oh, and she offered a ride.)

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Jessica was still fixing her hair when we arrived at her apartment; the other two passengers were waiting patiently in her kitchen. We did a round of introductions and headed out to the car. As, for a change, the only person bearing an iPhone, I was elected navigator. Jessica slid The Fugitives into the car stereo, and we headed for the 417.

Navigation turned out to be a mere matter of memorizing one exit number, so I was able to concentrate on the sandwiches and eavesdropping on the conversation, which had gone from theatre, to the ukulele, to accordion music, to Marie-Josée Houle, back to the ukulele, to tiny instrument bands… I looked out the window as the road opened up and we could see white clouds and rays of sunlight beyond the raincloud passing over us towards Ottawa, and for a moment the impression was of the Prairies, with the distant horizon in all directions, the fields and fences, and the feeling that I would happily drive the whole way across Canada with these people, if it was all this beautiful.

We reached Almonte sooner than I expected (although Jessica was, thanks to a series of careful drivers in front of us, going no faster than the speed limit), and found JR’s easily enough. It had the look of a country club restaurant. I could see an older couple eating dinner through the window upstairs; it crossed my mind that they probably weren’t the target audience for a poem about the clitoris. It’s a good thing we were going downstairs.

 Once in the pub, we were met by Danielle K. L. Grégoire, curator of The Spoken Word Plot, who took our donations. She is also credited as the catalyst who brought Jessica and Nadine together to perform, and for that she deserves at least a laurel wreath. Already seated around one table were some familiar faces: Wayne Current, Sterling Lynch, Johnathan Koensgen, and his mother Laurie. Ren Tomovcik and photographer Jesse Hildebrand arrived shortly thereafter. A sizeable contingent of Ottawa’s young creative community had come out to see Jessica and Nadine.

(By the way, if you want to hear really great music, experience really great theatre, and read really great literature, the trick is to find out what the creative professionals, the musicians, actors, playwrights, artists, and writers are into, and go immerse yourself. Probably a good place to do that is Ottawa Tonite. Just saying.)

 

Nadine and her husband Phil came in a bit later; we’d saved them seats at our table (alright; it was next to everyone else and it had plenty of empty seats, but that doesn’t sound as nice). This was my first time meeting Nadine in person. It was immediately apparent why she and Jessica work together so well; here is another of those rare people who lives up to their stage presence. Nadine claims to be awkward. In truth, she’s possessed of a deliberate grace; a subtle, gentle yin complement to Jessica’s incisive, fiery yang. Nadine’s smile rarely fades, although it’s often replaced by a wide-eyed expression of childlike wonder.

Danielle opened the evening by introducing the theme: The Evolution of You. Each of the open mic poets were to perform an older poem and a newer poem, representing different stages of their poetic development. Danielle started by reading a poem she had written in 1990. Next, Inez Decker, a slightly older lady with the mien of a school librarian, took the stage and read a poem she had kept in an original Expo ’67 folder. Reflecting on what would have happened if she had come of age in a more recent decade, she said, “I would have been goth! I would have been so goth!”

The following four poets, interspersed with more of Darlene’s performances, shared their own and other’s poems; there was a recurring theme of sexual assault, with the notable exception of Lauryn Kronick’s rousing interpretation of “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” from The Vagina Monologues.

Before the intermission, Danielle gave out a number of notebooks inscribed with inspirational quotes. Anticipating only a brief break, Sterling and I went outside to enjoy the fresh air. It’s a good thing we did, because we weren’t going to be leaving our seats for at least the next hour.

If I had to describe the character of what Jessica and Nadine bring to the stage, I would call it lounge poetry. The impression is one of jazz singers in a smoke-hazed piano bar; rather, Jessica singing jazz and Nadine singing the blues. This is not something you can afford to miss, if you have the chance to see it.

Thankfully, I don’t have to describe that soul-gripping intensity. I can show you (some explicit verbal content):

 

As an aside, “Poet’s Revenge” is my favourite piece of Jessica’s—the first poem I ever saw her perform, and the one I always hope she picks for radio appearances (despite the distinct possibility of a CRTC fine). This set, however, is filled with pieces I had not previously seen, ranging from deeply moving to ribald and hilarious, always provocative.

Towards the end of their set, Nadine and Jessica gave out Jessica’s own haiku magnets—probably the least secret thing in all of Ottawa is Jessica’s love of haiku—one of which I picked up for my own refrigerator door.

On our way out, I asked Ms. Decker about the Lanark County Live Poets Society, which itself was spearheaded, again, by Danielle. I was particularly curious about gender representation; in Ottawa the spoken word community seems predominantly male (especially if you consider slam poetry), but the highly successful Voices of Venus series proves that there’s an equally significant host of female performers as well. By contrast, there’s only one male member of the Live Poets Society at present. Clearly, many of these poets had used poetry as a vehicle to confront and conquer personal emotional trauma, as a form of catharsis. I found myself wondering if this was merely a result of circumstance, or if there was something more fundamental at work. At any rate, there was a sense of community among the poets that evening, and it lent them strength that they might not otherwise have had.

Since my partner and I were returning to Hintonburg for the night, we (and our remaining sandwiches) switched cars and rode with Nadine and Phil. On the road, I mentioned how, as a parent, how deeply Nadine’s poem about their son had touched me. She proceeded to share the story of taking him home from the hospital; any weariness she might have felt from performing was wiped out by the characteristic sound of a mother talking lovingly of her child. The rest of the way back to Ottawa, we discussed the question of whether the fierce attachment for one’s children fades over time, or whether it remains the same, and parents simply become used to it.

Once we had arrived home, my partner pulled out a couple of old notebooks from a shoebox on a shelf; they were her poetry journals dating back to her high school years. She read some of the poems to me. We were laughing (some of them were downright hilarious), yet she was nervous to read them aloud, even in that private space. I could not help but wonder how much more courage it must have taken for those poets to read some of their most personal poems earlier in the evening.

Or maybe the poetry gave them the courage; like a protective umbrella.

In the words of Jessica and Nadine, “We should all have umbrellas on hand… just in case.”

 

Jessica Ruano and Nadine Thornhill will be performing the most exquisite adorkable poetry as part of the Dusty Owl Reading Series on May 2.

To borrow a page from Jessica and Nadine’s book, I digress briefly onto the topic of food:

I don’t eat meat or dairy, but my partner does. When I saw that JR’s Downstairs Pub had smoked duck poutine on the menu, I insisted (against absolutely no resistance) that she get it. It passed with flying colours. The smoked duck poutine, alone, is worth the trip to Almonte.

 

Pack some sandwiches for the drive.

 

 

 

 

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Andrew Snowdon is a theatregoer, concert attendee, and writer living in Lowertown, Ottawa, sandwiched between a MacBook and a typewriter, with a cup of coffee.

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Dusty Owl presents: Nadine Thornhill and Jessica Ruano on Sunday, May 2, 2010

Poetry duo strikes again!

Following an unforgettable evening at the Spoken Word Plot in Almonte, Ottawa-based writers/performers Nadine Thornhill and Jessica Ruano join forces once again and share their poetry at the famed Dusty Owl Reading Series, hosted by the jovial Steve Zytveld, on Sunday, May 2, 2010.

As per usual, the show takes place at Swizzles Bar and Grill, 246-B Queen Street (at Kent Street) in downtown Ottawa. Please note that the new start time is 5pm. Admission is free, but donations are lovingly accepted.

Here are some nice things artsy locals have said about Nadine and Jessica:

“Your set was living proof of the value of hearing poetry rather than simply reading it … personal, intimate, intelligent, aesthetically coherent, pleasing (even if at times challenging), and inclusive.”

Sterling Lynch, Award-Winning Playwright

“How grand to see you perform last night. I was so touched by the generosity of spirit and the pleasure in being alive you both manifested, to say nothing of being delighted by the intelligence, rhythm and clarity of language.”

Jennifer Cayley, Ottawa Storyteller

“Your performance was honest, refreshing and sincere. So glad we made the trek!”

Laurie Koensgen, GCTC Education Coordinator

Nadine and Jessica have previously headlined at the Voices of Venus series at Umi Café and have performed with the Capital Poetry Collective. They are also active participants in Ottawa’s vibrant theatre community. Both feisty and thoughtful, these poetesses bring their personal stories to the stage with an adorkable elegance and a hint of mischief.

And yes, they promise to perform the clitoris poem at the show.

~~~

Following the feature performers, all poets, musicians, and storytellers are invited to perform on the Dusty Owl open mic and compete for the much coveted “Object of Desire”.

Dusty Owl gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council.

For more information about Nadine and Jessica, please contact Jessica Ruano
by phone at 613 355 2531 or by email at ruano.jessica@gmail.com

Dusty Owl Reading Series http://dustyowl.com
Nadine’s blog “Adorkable Thespian” http://nadinethornhill.wordpress.com/
Jessica’s blog “the most exquisite moments” http://jessicaruano.wordpress.com/

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the most exquisite adorkable poetry

The Spoken Word Plot presents the poetic stylings of Ottawa-based writers/performers Nadine Thornhill and Jessica Ruano. Both feisty and thoughtful, these poetesses bring their personal stories to the stage with an adorkable elegance and a hint of mischief. This event takes place on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at JR’s Downstairs Pub, 385 Ottawa Street in Almonte, Ontario. Doors open at 6pm with an open mic stage at 6:30pm, followed by the feature performers. Admission is $5, and free for open mic participants. 

 

Nadine Thornhill is an award winning playwright 

(“The Wedding Night” and “Oreo”) and actor.

By day, she is the Program Co-ordinator for 

Planned Parenthood’s Insight Theatre. She was 

the feature poet at Voices of Venus in January 

2010, and she writes the sex-advice column 

“Dirty Laundry” for Apartment 613.  

Nadine also blogs at “Adorkable Thespian” 

http://nadinethornhill.wordpress.com/ 

 

Jessica Ruano is a writer of press releases, 

newspaper articles, brochures, romantic emails, 

academic papers, and – occasionally – of short 

stories and poetry. She was the feature poet at 

Voices of Venus in July 2009, then at the 

Newstalgica Series in October 2009. And she has 

a soft spot for haikus. 

Jessica also writes the Ottawa Arts Newsletter 

and blogs at “the most exquisite moments” 

http://jessicaruano.wordpress.com/ 

 

The Spoken Word Plot was founded in 2008 by Danielle K. L. Grégoire. 

The open-mic theme for this month’s show is “the beginning of your poetry.” Poets are 

encouraged to bring old and new pieces that represent the evolution of their writing style.  

 

For more information, or to RSVP for the event, please contact Jessica Ruano  

by phone at 613 355 2531 or by email at ruano.jessica@gmail.com

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