Today was my first day back at university, and the outcomes of the UniSlam Competition are only just starting to sink in! I absolutely adored the entire experience, despite how anxious I was throughout the pieces! This was my first ever proper competition for poetry and I feel that with that considered, I did an incredible job representing The University of Derby!
This post, is basically me prattling on about my experiences and what I hope I can do better in the future!
So, how did Team Derby do in UniSlam 2018?
We came! We saw! We... made it through preliminaries!
But that isn't a problem in any way, shape or form. Team Derby came to UniSlam for the first time this year and I found myself enthralled by the process of learning in workshops and performing! It was incredible nerve-inducing, but that was part of the fun!
In our first round / bout, Team Derby came third out of five competing teams! We were delighted we could kick off to such a great start. In Bout One, we performed four pieces; 'Zimbabwe', a solo by my teammate Sile, ((@siles16 on Instagram!)), a team piece called 'New Year New Me', 'Half A Painting', a solo by my teammate Mole ((@my_unsafe_space on Instagram)) and then a trio piece between me and my teammates, Aoife and Grace called 'Letters To The Deceased'.
In Bout Two, we came fourth out of five competing teams, and despite being disheartened we did not make it to the semi-finals, it did not invalidate the immense ammount of effort and enjoyment that surrounded the experience. In that particular round, we opened with a solo called 'Mother', performed by my teammate Grace, ((@gracelporter on Instagram)). We then went on to have a duet called 'Mankind', which discussed veganism and was performed by Grace and Mole, and then my solo, 'Rationalise;' and Aoife, our team captain, ((@aoifepoc on Instagram)) closed the set - and the bout, with her solo 'Femme'. We did amazingly! And I am so proud of every single one of my teammates!
And now! Let's not forget our amazing coach! Dan Webber ((Dan Webber Spoken Word)) performed on Friday at the Coach's Slam, performing a peice on gender equality and the free the nipple campaign. This was a brilliant performance and he represented our city and university just as well as the rest of the team. Not only was he greatly supportive of our team, he provided great insight etc. throughout the entire weekend! I am beyond grateful to him for the continued support!
Now! To tell some stories!
Friday!
A huge highlight in terms of humour had to focus on the misadventures my team and coach had in our disasterous attempt to make our way from the preliminary on Friday night to our hotel so we could prepare for the Coach's Slam. And we managed to end up trekking for an hour through Leicester Town Centre in search of the hotel. Google Maps was of absoluetly no help, and of course, it really doesn't make the experience very positive when the entire team is dragging their weekend's worth of luggage along with them! However, finding out we had walked in the complete opposite direction from where we were meant to be was hysterical!
Saturday!
One word. Birmingham! One of my favourite performances of the competition had to be the one that concluded Team Birmingham's performances in the first semi-finals and secured their place in the final. I was up in arms after seeing their piece 'Thoughts And Prayers'! It was incredible!
Sunday!
After running into a unimate, Tamara, at the semi-finals on Sunday Morning, we gained ourselves a mascot throughout the last leg of our journey through unislam! Having another familiar face alongside me made the experience even greater! The poetry was incredible! The poets were so friendly! The experience was amazing!
Being part of the Derby Unislam team was an all in all amazing experience! I adored almost every moment of the experience - only discounting the panic attacks!
I learned so much about myself and how I can exceed my own expectations of myself to not only become a better poet or a better performer, but a better writer as a whole! I feel that going to the slam and meeting so many unique individuals with a passion for arts and poetry will have my motivations on a high for the next few months! I am so excited to go to Twisted Tongues tomorrow with my team and share our works with Derby and show them what would have been performed, had we actually made it to the semi-finals!
I really hope I can make the team and go back to the slam next year to make our university even prouder of our achievements!
Thank you for reading!
Hey Poets? Audition for your uni's team!
Hey Writer's? Give poetry a shot! THEN audition for your uni's team!
Hey Competitors? Congratulations on your achievement! We all did amazingly!
And remember!
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley
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