Full Title: “This Toronto spoken word show serves as a beacon of hope for those struggling with mental health in the Black community (via Now Toronto)”
This Toronto spoken word poet is shedding light on the importance of having conversations surrounding Black mental health in a new stage production.
Created by award-winning producer, playwright, poet and educator Luke Reece, As I Must Live It is an endearing, yet hilarious show that touches on the poet’s personal experiences growing up with a mentally ill father in a mixed-race family. His goal is to assert and de-stigmatize conversations surrounding mental health within the Black community.
In an interview with Now Toronto, Reece shares how he got into spoken word poetry trying to advertise a play while at a Fringe Festival in Hamilton.
“It was Hamilton Fringe 2013 I believe and I went to a poetry slam to promote a show. And then I was like, oh my gosh, poetry slams are amazing. I didn’t know it was a thing,” he said.
The poet, who is also Soulpepper Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director, said he always loved writing poetry when he was younger, but felt constrained by the traditional structures and forms he was taught in school. He felt there was a disconnect between seeing his words on the page and simply reading them.
“When I discovered spoken word through the competitive form of slam, I was like, this is it. This is my form. Then, I started going to poetry slams in Hamilton, and eventually Toronto…It’s just really allowed me to open up and find my voice even more,” Reece said.
He adds that he appreciates the audience for truly listening and understanding his wordplay and messages, especially since a common theme within his work is real world issues, such as racism, social culture, the environment and so on.
Reece emphasizes that it’s crucial for the topic to be important to him because it helps to articulate and connect with his piece. When it comes to choosing which topic to explore, he says the ideas come from his emotions.
“Sometimes it comes from a moment that I’ve experienced and that I just really try to build from. Usually, it is literally just like, I’m extremely frustrated about something and then I find a metaphor to use it as a vehicle for that thing. And my metaphors can be all over the place from cereal to paper, to childhood nostalgia,” he explained.
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Links:
Now Toronto | Luke Reece | As I Must Live It
