IDEA Performing Arts Center Launches Open Mic With Poets Ms. Wise and Black Ice

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct. 26, 2011 - Poets Ms. Wise and Def Poetry Jam veteran Black Ice will be featured performers for the debut of the Institute For Development of Education in the Arts (IDEA) Performing Arts Center “Open Mic Night”  on Friday  October 28, 2011. The event kicks off the monthly series at IDEA, located in the Susquehanna Bank Center on the Camden Waterfront. Doors open at 7:30pm and admission is $10; the cost is $5 for students with proper identification.

Ms. Wise, founder of the mixed-artist production and movement "Love, Us", is an internationally-ranked spoken word artist and poetry slam champion. She is also a Camden native. Black Ice, a cast member of the 2003 Tony Award winner "Russell Simmons Def Poetry on Broadway" and six-time performer on HBO's Def Poetry, is an  artist-in-residence at IDEA.

The IDEA Open Mic will expose up and coming artists and poets from throughout the Delaware Valley to new audiences and will also feature established performers. This week's showcase features a performance by singer/songwriter Tejay Gilliam. Due to an overwhelming response, online sign ups have closed, but interested artists are encouraged to sign up on site by 7:30pm for the remaining slots.

The IDEA Performing Arts Center is host to a 130 seat black box theater, as well as classroom and meeting space. Memberships are available and the space can be rented for private events. Proceeds from the Open Mic will directly benefit and subsidize programming at IDEA, which is typically offered free of charge, or at a discount, to area youth.


About IDEA

The Institute for the Development of Education in the Arts (IDEA) was founded in 1996 to serve as a healing presence in the lives of  Camden's adolescents, 46 percent of whom live in poverty.  IDEA is a creative learning organization, contributing to better futures for youth in Camden, and throughout the Delaware Valley, by tapping into their creative spirit in order to give power to their dreams and aspirations through arts education.

IDEA's mission is to  provide a safe and supportive artistic environment that enhances and respects the diversity of all cultures and inspires excellence by offering opportunities to under-served youth and their families to explore and participate in the performing, literary and multimedia arts.

For more on the IDEA Open Mic, including artist sign up, visit the Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=206652922741417

For more more on the IDEA Performing Arts Center, including space rental inquiries, visit the website:
http://idea-arts.org/

IDEAartsTV on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/IDEAartsTV

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