May 11, 2015 By Cara Host 3 min read

The theater room at Bethel Park High School resembled a coffee shop’s open mic night – minus the coffee – as young poets took turns performing spoken word pieces at a poetry slam led by a performer with the Pittsburgh Poetry Collective.

The creative writing students have been writing poetry all year, and the workshop on April 30 helped them learn how to perform their work.

“Performing poetry, as opposed to just writing it, adds a different dimension to your poetry. You get to put your own feelings and your emotions on display. You’re saying something, but you’re also showing it,” said Danielle Estelle Ramsay, a poet who performs in poetry slam events around the country.

“We hope it inspires them to not only write their own work, but perform it,” said Chelsey Casagranda, English and creative writing teacher for Bethel Park.

Ramsay hails from Spokane, Wash., but is living in Pittsburgh while she studies at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She started performing at poetry slams and open mic events when she was in high school. Using gestures, facial expressions and body movement, Ramsay not only read her poems, but performed brief, one-woman shows as she demonstrated her techniques. Later, she helped the 30 students write poems and several volunteered to read their work. The students seemed apprehensive at the beginning of the workshop, but towards the end, the teens almost battled each other for the microphone.

“It’s my first time performing,” said Kayliegh Moon, 16, who took several turns reading her poetry. “I’m still shaking, but it got easier the more times I did it.”

Topics for the poems were wide ranging, from broken families, losing the innocence of childhood, gender issues, politics, labels, love and even ice cream.

It can be nerve-wracking to perform a spoken word piece in front of an audience. Ramsay started by watching others perform when she was 15 years old. She said she was awkward and shy, so she spent most of her time in the back of the room, until one day, she worked up the courage to walk to the stage.

The first thing she learned? “Don’t write performance poetry in light pencil when a spotlight is on you, because you really can’t read it,” Ramsay said.

Pittsburgh Poetry Collective organizes several events and activities for local writers and performers, mainly in East Liberty. Representatives from the group also visit schools to help students with their creative writing.

“It’s really interesting to see from where they carve their poetry,” said Leigh Ann Totty, Bethel Park English teacher.