Poetry knows no bounds at Verse & Vision.
It’s flexible. It’s in anything and everything according to writer Kristine Esser Slentz.
In 2024, she co-founded Verse & Vision with Indy-based poet Corey Ewing. Poets are paired with different artists to produce a 10- to 15-minute theatrical performance.
Slentz said some poets have collaborated with a smoke artist, puppeteer, a pianist and even an expert in Japanese rope bondage.
Verse & Vision seeks to showcase the stories and lives of the underrepresented creatives around them. Since its founding, the cast has been predominantly made up of LGBTQ+ artists.
“Verse and Vision is really this collective, this movement of artists and writers that are trying to amplify narratives that get lost sometimes,” Slentz told Mirror Indy. “We want to show the audience what poetry can be, what it can look like, beyond academia.”
On June 13, Verse & Vision will host a $5 preview of its IndyFringe Festival showcase from 7-8:30 p.m. at Chatterbox Jazz Club, 435 Mass Ave. They will run three shows August 21-23 at the Basile Theatre.
At the event, two groups will perform: Autumn Pryor and Sylvia Thomas; Emily Reese Castro and Slentz. TXC with also perform a solo set.
Thomas, a poet and musician, joined Verse & Vision because she said she believes there’s no “true” collaboration between different disciplines in the arts scene in Indianapolis. She and Pryor will use poetry and music to convey the experience of trans and other gender diverse people in Indiana.
“(The audience) will be able to feel how the stories are meant to be felt with music and scoring, and that includes the beautiful parts and the ugly parts,” Thomas said.
Slentz and Ewing also run a micro-residency program for Verse & Vision in New York City, where she primarily lives and works.
“We want to try to hold up and bring together as many artists as we can, especially with everything that’s happening locally, nationally and globally right now,” Slentz said.
If you go
Verse & Vision IndyFringe Preview
🗓️ 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, June 13
📍 Chatterbox Jazz Club, 435 Mass Ave
🎟️ $5
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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