Word Adelaide’s Freestyle MC Competition was held on Friday 16th August 2013 at the Thebarton Theatre and it wasn’t what I expected.
In my mind I was going to a public speaking competition for masters of ceremonies. I didn’t realise it was “MC” as in MC Hammer – rap like dudes and dudettes battling with three rounds including acapella, beat boxing and rapping to specific songs in a boxing ring.
My first reaction was what are we at – a rapper comp with some colourful language?!
A date night for Scott and l his comment was:
“To learn more about how to speak well, present well, and connect with the audience, Wendy and I decided to go to an MC competition to see other public speakers…. We misunderstood the context of the event. To connect with the rest of the crowd, I have pulled my boxers up, trousers down and getting my groove on to the beats. Yo, yo, peace out bro’
A while back Scott took me to a Mai Thai boxing competition as a surprise night out and his felt a bit similar with the lit up boxing ring. Some of the MC’s were even wearing boxing gloves but the punches were with lyrics.
Standing out a little bit from the crowd, feeling overdressed, I now know I should have worn my hoodie and snapback. The battle rounds start at just 30 seconds for the MC’s to make an impression with the audience, tell a story, get a one up on their opponent and hopefully a laugh too.
One of the light weight battlers was an older gentleman with the red shirt and bow tie – see the videos below:
Old MCIMG_3644 and then his opponent’s response Old guy opponent IMG_3645.
My favourite battler was a comedian who entered as a bit of an experiment, he did a great job of connecting with and focussing on the audience rather than himself or his opponent.
Brainstorming possible MC names for us I think Scotty Dog (for Scott) and my kids suggested Mamma Wend aka Disapproving Diva or W Pez… Dispenser, with a tag line of “…that’s not appropriate!” plus I need a signature walk with swag and accent to match.
My Mum and Dad found our experience hilarious considering what we thought we were going to:
Mum said via text, “U rapper u. Should have worn your silver Sh’bam shoes and finger lights, Yo yo.”
Dad said: “Bunnings have got specials on M C hammers and Woolworths have specials on Yoyo’s!”
What did we learn from the night out?
- Don’t make assumptions, have an open mind and enjoy
- Practice your presentations and ensure they are smooth with a rhythmic feel
- Focus on your audience and get them to participate and agree with you early on
- Speak clearly and match your body language to what you are saying
- Think about your stage presence and make a good impression
- Bring it every time!
The MC battle has inspired another video clip, this time to Vanilla Ice’s, Ice, Ice Baby song particularly this line, “All right stop, Collaborate and listen” so look for this vid, out soon.
By Wendy Perry, 17 August 2013