Speak It Easy founder/host Samantha Parks (far right) performs with her a cappella trio Bedlam Lullaby at last month’s event. Photo by Alexandra Jack.
Every second Wednesday of the month, all is fair game inside the banquet hall of Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen in Long Beach. Tap dancers, acrobatics yoga duos and spoken word artists casually come through the doors, as do local musicians, poets and artists. Now two years strong, Speak It Easy: Creative Food for the Soul is equal-parts a Vaudeville-style showcase and a mecca of unconventional creativity for artists and appreciators.
Leading the charge is its founder and host Samantha Parks, a 27-year-old Kansas native who moved to Long Beach eight years ago to pursue the life of a full-time artist. A vibrant multi-disciplinarian, she grew up singing in choirs and loving dance. After studying theater at Cerritos Community College, she became active in the LA-based theater company, Urban Theater Movement, for some three years before taking on teaching dance and vocal lessons. The acrobatics-yoga enthusiast is also training to become a certified yoga instructor with the intent of exploring the ripe intersection where yoga meets dance.
Beyond that, Parks is the founding member of an a cappella trio called Bedlam Lullaby, which performed at the Angel’s Stadium this past October. She’s involved in another new a cappella project called Straight No Chaser Trio, in which her vocals and spoken word poetry are accompanied by two tap dancers.
“I just want to be innovative, you know?” Parks said. “That’s what SIE is. It’s a melting pot of art and inspiration.”
The birth of Speak It Easy (SIE) can be described as a “happy accident.” About two years ago, a friend tapped Parks to help book a weekly event at The Factory gastropub in Bixby Knolls. Inspired by Vaudeville, Parks shirked the conventional open mic idea and decided to organize a multifaceted and polished showcase involving a refreshing array of sound, movement and prose.
Three months in, with her friend moving to NYC, Parks decided to ride the momentum. She has since recruited three other core members: Donovan Brown of SIE’s house band The Black Noise, comedian Lance Lowe and musician Alexandra Jack. After a brief stint at Eco Coffee, SIE found a home at Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen about a year ago.
The current iteration of Speak It Easy has a different theme every month and features up to two acts in the categories of music, prose and movement with limited signup slots in between. Past spotlights have included everyone from burlesque dancers and tappers to sign language performers and poets, bringing in talent from as far as Burbank. With the goal of paying its artists and expanding the event, they have recently started collecting donations.
“The whole mission with SIE is artist camaraderie,” Parks said. “I think there’s a beautiful thing where you can come and experience someone outside of your circuit, and you receive inspiration as well as having the opportunity to give it.”
This month’s theme is Silent Night, inviting personal interpretations of silence and silent expression. Featured artists include Long Beach-based soulful R&B band Voltronne Soul; filmmaker Caprice Castano, who will show an original silent short film with live musical accompaniment; improv duo Chaddy; sign language performer Stephanie Evans, and yogi-dancer Erika Gasztonyi, who will perform an original act with Parks. House band and indie-soul crooners The Black Noise will open the night.
“I just wanna keep pushing boundaries,” Parks said. “I want to keep people on their toes. I want to keep myself on my toes. It’s easy to become complacent and feel isolated in such a big mecca of art.”
Parks called the SIE mantra “love, not levels.”
“It’s been that from the get-go,” she said. “Just coming in and keeping an open mind about who you can meet and maybe how you can expand as an artist.”