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Come celebrate the opening of Urban Legends’ 15th anniversary season! Join us for a presentation of Body Politics, a multimedia, interdisciplinary full-length spoken word show, written and performed by acclaimed spoken word artist, Shasparay, joining us from Austin, Texas, and directed by Mark H. The show will be followed by a Q&A session. “Body Politics takes audiences on an intimate journey through award-winning performer Shasparay's experiences as a fat woman navigating issues of shame, bullying, health, love, and fetishization within a fatphobic world. Employing a vibrant mix of storytelling, slam poetry, movement and stand-up comedy, this multimedia theatrical tell-all is full of vulnerability, teachable moments, and incredible fun.” See you in the LabO Theatre, doors at 7:00pm, show at 7:30 SHARP! Runtime: approximately 1 hour, plus a 30 minute Q&A session. This event is part of a weekend of events, along with a poetry slam featuring Shasparay on Friday September 14th, and the CityFolk Slam, a new invitational poetry slam on Sunday September 15th. Face masks are required for Friday and Saturday’s events, and COVID screening will be in place. See our full COVID Safety Plan here: https://bit.ly/ULPCcovidSafetyPlan Tickets for Friday and Saturday's events are Pay-What-You-Decide, with suggested donations listed on the ticket page. Get your tickets to Friday or Saturday's events here: https://bit.ly/ULPC15SeasonOpenerTicketsSept13th14th A CityFolk day pass or festival pass is needed for admission to the CityFolk Slam. The venue is located on floor 0 of the OAG. It can be accessed through 10 Daly ave, or through the Fringe Courtyard on 67 Nicholas by going down the hall past the OAG double doors. __ Shasparay (she/they) is a Black, fat and queer performing artist who is the Founder and Artistic Director of the annual Black Arts Matter Festival and was the 2022 4th Ranked Woman Slam Poet in the World (W.OW.P.S). Recently featured in the New York Times, Shasparay completed a Masters in Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business Bolz Center and holds a B.S. in Theatre from UW-Madison. She was a recipient of the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Full Tuition Scholarship, a speaker at the 2016 TEDxYouth Austin conference, and is a National NAACP ACT-SO Gold Medalist. Shasparay has been a finalist in national and regional slam competitions such as Women of the World Poetry Slam, Stone Wall International Poetry Slam, Southern Fried Poetry Slam, Texas Grand Slam, and is a two-time Lip Stick Wars Poetry Slam Champion. She has been featured on platforms such as Button Poetry, Huffington Post, Youth Speaks, Buzzfeed and is a cast member of the award-winning horror anthology podcast Old Gods of Appalachia. ULPC gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa.

[Image description: Text reads “Urban Legends 15: Body Politics + Q&A by Shasparay. Sept 14. Doors 7pm. Lab O. A one-person show experience. She is fat & beautiful & so much more... directed by Mark H.". At the bottom reads "Follow @UrbanLegendsPC on Instagram" and "masks required". Graphics of blue leaves and squiggly lines surround the poster for Body Politics. Shasparay holds herself and closes her eyes in front of pink and blue clouds. Urban Legends and City of Ottawa logos.]