Join us for our second Open Mic of the year, hosted by Jen Kwok and Ed Lin. Writer, activist, and Def Poetry Jam star, Staceyann Chin reads from her new memoir, The Other Side of Paradise, which tells of her coming up in Paradise, Jamaica.
As The Washington Post said, “ we saw her perform in 2000 and never forgot it.” You won’t either. Last year, stand up comedian Vidur Kapur was one of the top three booked acts on US college campuses, where he and moved South Asian and LGBT students on the margins to the campus core. Come have a drink on us.
Friday, March 19, 2010 @ 9PM
Sign up starting at 8:30 (come early as our slots will fill!)
Open Mic begins at 9:00
Staceyann Chin is a fulltime artist and winner of countless slam titles. A resident of New York City and a Jamaican National, she has been an “out poet and political activist” since 1998. From the rousing cheers of the Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe to one-woman shows Off- Broadway to poetry workshops in Denmark and London to co-writer and performer in the Tony nominated, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, Chin credits the long list of “things she has done” to her grandmother’s hard-working history and the pain of her mother’s absence. Staceyann has enjoyed great success internationally, with much lauded performances in London, Denmark, Germany, and New York’s own Central Park- Summer Stage.
Vidur Kapur was nominated in ‘08 for a “NewNowNext” Award by MTV Network’s Logo as “Brink of Fame: Comic”. Vidur was selected as a New York finalist by NBC’s “Stand Up for Diversity” initiative and performed as part of the famous New York Comedy Festival where he was described as “a comedian to remember”. Vidur starred in a VH1 tv pilot called “Carolines” which will be aired soon. Vidur’s most recent stand-up special “One Night Stand Up” Vol. 2 is currently airing on Logo. He was listed by India Tribune as one of the “Top 31 personalities of Indian Americans”. He has co-starred with Margaret Cho in MTV LOGO’s “Outlaugh Festival on Wisecrack” and has toured internationally including Canada, India, the UK, Ireland, the Caribbean and South Africa.