From the first Tuesday of the month, something special will be happening in Central Swindon. Bringing together wordsmiths across the town, ‘Wonderwords’ is an acoustic spoken and sung word event that seeks to bring together the various wordy creative communities in the area and promote the art of performing from memory.
‘Wonderwords’ founder, Wroughton resident Chantelle Smith, explained, “While we have lots of creative wordsmiths in Swindon, there didn’t seem to be an evening event that brought them together, let alone encouraged people to memorise their performance to share with others. Performing from memory is such a powerful skill and I’d like to see more of it happening.”
Chantelle had seen the format of a spoken and sung word event work really well at Stroud Out Loud, an event held in Stroud that inspired ‘Wonderwords,’ and Moving Voices at the Art House Cafe in Southampton and she wanted to have a similar event to go to closer to home. Not finding one, she decided to set one up herself.
“I wanted to use a venue that was a community asset so when someone mentioned the venues managed by The Mechanics Institution Trust, I knew they would be my first port of call.” Things have worked out as hoped and the first three events will be held in the Activity Room at the Health Hydro before moving to the Main Hall at the Central Community Centre in May.
‘Wonderwords’ welcomes all wordy art forms: storytelling, songs, poetry, anecdotes, stand-up comedy, monologues, and instrumentalists needn’t feel left out as they too are welcome to perform. Although performers are encouraged to perform from memory, performing by reading is also allowed although those performers will get slightly less time on stage.
“I really hope my fellow wordsmiths will join me for a wonderful evening of wordy sharing,” said Chantelle, adding, “and people who would just like to listen are very welcome too.”
The first ‘Wonderwords’ event will take place on 7th February from 7:30pm in the Activity Room of the Health Hydro. Entry fee is £2 which goes towards the cost of hiring the venue. To find out more, go to https://swindonwonderwords.wordpress.com.
