The slam nation video gave a unique insight into the broad range of what can be called theatre. The most noticeable difference between what was seen in poetry slam and what many associate with traditional theatre is the location. Poetry slams seem to have more of an informal feel as they often take place in venues such as bars. However even though the differences in location might seem like a big deal the fundamentals of theatre are there. The audience is engaged, there is a person performing in a given space. What was interesting about the video was that all the poets had there individual style yet they all spoke from somewhat of an autobiographical point of view. For example Beau Sia used humor and pointed out stereotypes of Asians in a unique way.
One thing that I found most interesting about the video was the statement regarding what entitles someone to a poetic license. The statement was “in order for someone to gain a poetic license you must first write a poem that everyone agrees is a poem” , “then after that whatever you write can be considered a poem”. Basically they are saying that they can say whatever they want after they have “proven” themselves. I saw allot of evidence in this video of this in some of the performances that I thought were just strange. However usually when little restriction is given in terms of content that is when people come up with some very interesting and sometimes powerful stuff as seen in Saul Williams performances, Slam may be presented differently than most theatre but the fundamentals and entertainment value of the performances remain to be very similar.
