Get up on stage in Smythesdale

BARRY Wemyss has been rounding up help for the upcoming Smythesdale Community Arts and Music Fiesta he’s organising for Sunday, 20 October.

He has seconded musician Andy Stanhope to run the Woady Live Wires open mic session at the Courthouse Hotel on the day.

Located on the main street the architecturally splendid hotel already has a reputation for good music thanks to Mr Stanhope who runs the monthly Sunday Sessions.

“We’ve been going for about a year, getting good local audiences who appreciate the community feel,” Mr Stanhope said.

He wants to encourage locals and visitors, especially amateur musicians and song writers, to get up on stage and perform.

The Woady Live Wires session runs for three hours kicking off at 2pm.

“Anyone who maybe isn’t gigging themselves and who’s looking for an opportunity can come and play their own stuff,” he said.

“There are probably around 15 to 20 slots over the afternoon for anyone to have a 15-minute bracket, time enough to play two or three songs.”

The Ballarat Ukelele Club will make a special appearance during the afternoon and there’s a professional comedian booked for 5pm after the open mic session.

Poet and writer Megan Riedl also happily found herself in Mr Wemyss’ sights when asked to take on the MC role for the Woady Words Outloud open mic session from 1pm.

The venue for the spoken work session, Thru the Gate Café, is across the road from the Courthouse.

“Anyone who is interested in speaking is more than welcome to come along,” Ms Riedl said. “It could be reciting poetry, reading their own story or reading a piece written by someone else.”

Ms Riedl will present a workshop beginning at 10.30am to help first time performers. She will explain what spoken word is, how to do it and tips for beginners.

“I will provide hints on how best to make the words on the page come alive,” she said.

Smythesdale Community Arts and Music Fiesta will be held at various locations in Smythesdale on Sunday,20 October from 11am to 4pm.

Expressions of Interest from musicians can be made by calling Andy Stanhope on 0407 025 743 or email [email protected]. Expressions of Interest from wordsmiths can be made by calling Barry Wemyss on 0487 225 881.