Teens and parents, get ready for an amazing week with Sunni Patterson. The fire-breathing New Orleans based performer and award-winning poet will take part in Tigertail’s WordSpeak, (March 28 – April 1, 2011) an ongoing spoken word project for South Florida teens that includes workshops, slams and open mike performances. WordSpeak provides Miami teens with the opportunity to learn more about spoken word as a way to express themselves through a blending of poetry, theater and hip hop culture.

Sunni Patterson will lead several workshops for teens to help them find their voice just like Patterson finds her voice. Her work, which centers on social justice, illuminates the systemic social and racial inequalities that continue to exist in America today. Patterson’s work demands change through the art of conversation and poetry. She is a provocative and passionate performer, and this has earned Patterson a featured spot on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. She has also worked with well-known artists and performers including Hannibal Lokumbe, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Sonia Sanchez, Wanda Coleman, and Amiri Baraka, among others.

During her residency in Miami, Patterson will perform and lead workshops for students at DASH, Miami Arts Charter, Miami Northwestern Senior, Miami Senior High School and North Miami Beach High School. Patterson’s Miami visit culminates in a WordSpeak open mike and slam for teens led by Sunni and South Florida-based guest artists at the Miami Beach Regional Library on Thursday, March 31, at 6:00 pm.

A follow-up WordSpeak open mike and slam is scheduled for Thursday, April 14, at 6:00pm and will be led by local spoken-word artist Teo Castellanos. This is an opportunity for teens from 13 to 19 years old to read and perform their poetry in front of an audience. The slam is the first in a series of competitions to win a place on the Miami team sponsored by Tigertail Productions that will travel to San Francisco this summer for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival. WordSpeak Schedule of Events: WordSpeak open mike and slam for teens led by Sunni Patterson and South Florida-based guest artists at the Miami Beach Regional Library, 227 22nd Street (just west of Collins Avenue) on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 6:00 pm. Sunni Patterson will perform for the general public at the Coral Gables Books and Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, on Friday, April 1, at 8:00 pm. Free admission. A second open mike and slam is scheduled for Thursday, April 14, at 6:00 pm and will be led by Teo Castellanos. This is an opportunity for teens from 13 to 19 years old to read and perform their poetry in front of an audience. For more information please visit www.tigertail.org.