The Poe Show

From AZPoetrypedia

Founded in 2002 by the Non-Native Transplants, the show has become the largest celebration of Edgar Allen Poe's birthday held "west of the Mississippi River". The show was an annual feature at The Paper Heart arts venue in Phoenix until that venue closed down in 2007. In 2008, the show was held at Chyro Arts Venue. In 2009, the show is being held at The Mesa Arts Center.

The show has always been a variety show, with various acts sometimes extremely loosely based on the author's work. Always infused with a sense of comedy as well as tremendous readings of Poe's work.

The show is an annual fundraising event for Anthology, Inc.

1 #9 January 16, 2010
2 #8 January 17, 2009, Poe's 200th Birthday
3 #7 A New Venue
4 #6 January 19, 2007, the Biggest One Ever
5 #5 2006
6 #4 2005
7 #3 January 17, 2004
8 #2 January 18, 2003
9 #1 January 19, 2002, Humble Beginnings
10 Related

#9 January 16, 2010

2009 Flier	HB reads Annabelle Lee	Robert X. Planet	Jeff Falk
Poenyata Head	Aaron Johnson	Lauren Perry	When Ravens Attack
Doubly Dead Lenore

VENUE
MADCAP Theaters
PERFORMERS
Lindsey Miller of the 2009 Tucson National Poetry Slam Team
HB of Homebase Poetry
Nightwolf (Ryan Avery & Andrew Jemsek)
Caffeine Corridor host Shawnte Orion
Neil Gearns of the 2009 Mesa Poetry Slam team
Robert X. Planet and the Planet Poe Players
Jeff Falk of Deus Ex Machina
Doc Luben of the 2009 Tucson National Poetry Slam Team
Aaron Johnson and the Josh Hill String Orchestra
Lauren Perry of the 2009 Mesa National Poetry Slam Team
Performance artist Trish JusTrish
The Arcana Collective featuring Provocatease
And of course, your hosts SGR and The Klute!

#8 January 17, 2009, Poe's 200th Birthday

2009 Flier

SGR and Trish (JusTrish)

The White Room frolics prior to the arrival of The Red Death

VENUE

The Mesa Arts Center, in the Farnsworth Studio.

PERFORMERS

Sacred Om
The Klute & SGR -- Intro-Birthday Sing Along
Harry Zona -- El Dorado
Nightwolf
Trish JusTrish
Sharon Skinner & Harmony & Aura Nelson -- Short Film
Shawnte Orion
Arcana Collective with Kevin Patterson
Jeff Falk
Robert X. Planet and Roxanne DeWinter
Johnathan Standifird
Bob -- Outro

Backstage video by Kevin Patterson.
2009 New Times Article
Phoenix Performing Arts Examiner

#7 A New Venue

With the closing of The Paper Heart in December of 2007, The Poe Show moved east to Scottsdale's Chyro Arts Venue. The Show effectively sold out, filling the venue to capacity. Several tremendous acts performed, continuing the tradition of eclectic range and style. The Poe Show had shown a tremendous ability to overcome adversity and continue to draw crowds and interest.

SGR and The Klute do Lenore	Robert reads The Raven	Julie Peterson	Shawnte Orion enjoys a snack
The Klute and Jonathan Standifird

#6 January 19, 2007, the Biggest One Ever

2007 Flier

By far the largest show held up to that time, filling The Paper Heart to capacity, and featuring several standout performances, including Sharon Skinner and The Nelsonettes short film based on The Raven. Stephen G. Roy and The Klute are also credited with a standout performance of their traditional Lenore performance piece.

Additional performances included Bob Nelson depicting Poe attempting to write in the Romance Genre.

The Free Street Band

Shawnte Orion with

#5 2006

Ryan Avery and Andrew Jemsek as Nightwolf

#4 2005

#3 January 17, 2004

2004 Flier

#2 January 18, 2003

Bledsoe's Poe

VENUE
The Paper Heart Gallery

222 North Fifth Avenue

Phoenix AZ 85003

Symbolist Painter Richard Bledsoe created the painting, also used for a later Poe Show flier

Steve Gompf animated the Po flier image into a perpetually-looped film.

PERFORMERS

Robin Graves, Jonathan Standifird and Brian Visel provided music.

#1 January 19, 2002, Humble Beginnings

Sometime in 2001 after one of Jeff Falk’s subversive variety shows, one Non-Native Transplant turned to another and said, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we did a show like this based on Edgar Allan Poe?” And then walked off into the sunset, never to be seen again. Some time later, the Californian said to the Floridian on a particularly punishing and brutal summer day, “you know, we could do this” And an evil grin lit the face of the Floridian. A 501(C)3 promoting literature in schools was shanghaied into the madness, and we all ‘became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity’.