Lilah Kemp: Then & Now

"...And of course we are living in dark times but I believe it is possible to be both a realist and an optimist. There are people out there who love you. There are people out there who, through a simple gesture of kindness, can help you change your life in the same way my friends helped change mine. So don't worry. Keep going. Things will get better. Everything will be okay."
(excerpt from my outro speech - L.K. Season 2, Episode 1)




It was two years ago when I came up with the idea to start a new reading series for Halifax. I had read for an event called the 'Allan Street Reading Series' which was a monthly salon-style reading series that took place in the home of writer Jenner-Brooke Berger. It was like a house party for local writers to get together and share their fiction and poetry. The audience would gather around and sit on the hardwood floor and have a few drinks as they listened. 
It was beautiful and inspiring and innovative. When the series ended, I was bummed out. 

I wanted to keep going to these readings and meeting writers and listening to their stories. So I attempted to recreate it with Lilah Kemp. I got in touch with the Allan St. alumni and most of the writers who had participated were very encouraging and supportive. At this point, I really didn't know any writers in Halifax other than Jenner and Ben Stephenson. I didn't know any artists, really, other than a few musicians who have been my closest friends since J.R. High. So then I started meeting people. From February-August 2011, I organized one session a month and hosted them out of my friends' living rooms. A lot of people didn't feel comfortable with the idea of going to a strangers house for a public event, but the turnout was great. 

After hosting the first two instalments of Lilah Kemp, I had a feeling that this series would not catch on in the same way Allan Street did. If I continued to use living rooms and change the location each month, L.K. would probably never find an audience for its readers. So in April 2011, I organized a session at a public venue called the Khyber. There were 4 readers and 4 music acts, and the show worked phenomenally well. 

 In May, I hosted it out of a living room again, hoping that the Khyber show had generated some positive buzz and that maybe more people would attend this "house party reading series" that I was trying to get off the ground. I was wrong. Lowest turnout ever. Luckily, my friend Alison Lang offered use of her backyard in June. It was a beautiful evening full of poetry and music and stories. I also contacted The Coast and they helped me out with this: http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/love-for-the-lilah-kemp-reading-series/Content?oid=2602459

And then a lot of people came:

In July, it was back to the living room! 
We held a great session at my friend's house with Carol Bruneau and Cory lavender. July was a busy month for people, so this was the only space that was available for me to hold the session:

That's the thing about these living room sessions - they were really cool. If you are among the few that attended a L.K. living room session then you probably had a good time. If not, then I'm sorry if you thought it was weird. In August 2011 we were back in Alison's backyard. Sue Goyette, Andrew Hood, and Chris Benjamin read. It was amazing. Great turnout. We did another living room episode in September, and it was around this time when I started experimenting more with the way I was organizing the show. I knew something had to change. I wanted to involve more music. More theatre. More artists. Any kind of artist. And the series would no longer be a free-for-all "read whatever you want. Play whatever you want" kind of thing. I wanted each session to have a theme, and I wanted each session to involve a piece that one would not normally see at a literary event. 

The last living room session we did was in January of 2012. (http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/lilah-kemps-public-speaking/Content?oid=2885235 )
It was the largest turnout we'd ever had for an indoor house show, and for personal reasons, I think it's one of the best instalments I've ever hosted. I acted like myself for the first time and took the series in a new direction. It was on this night that the series started to become what it was always meant to become. I told a personal story about my experience with addiction and how reading at Allan St. helped pull me out of a depression. I was honest about how much Lilah Kemp means to me, how much Allan St. meant to me, and about how much I value and appreciate having such supportive friends, who helped make all of this possible. The theme for that one was 'hopefulness.' 

I attended a show at a venue called 'The Bus Stop Theatre' on Gottingen St. and I fell in love with the place. It was a perfect venue for the series to grow and become something truly incredible. I met Clare Waque and she provided Lilah Kemp with everything it needed to stay active. L.K. is no longer homeless. The series has arrived. 

It can't get much better than this. I never thought the L.K. project would reach its full potential after just two years, but here we are. And again, it's all thanks to the support of my friends and fellow artists who are the hearts and souls of this show. Keep it alive, friends. Express yourselves. Come see a variety of great artists all working together and sharing ideas. Fiction, poetry, music, performance art, short films, stand-up comedy and live theatre - all centered around an interesting theme.
 (http://www.thebusstoptheatre.org/ - 2203 Gottingen St.) 

Thanks to all the artists who have been involved with this series. 
Thanks to all the fans of this series. You guys are amazing and it's been very encouraging to see people coming back every month. 
Thanks to my friends, co-hosts, and my current co-curator. 
2012 was an awesome year. Let's make 2013 even better!

-Corey Mombourquette (founder/curator)