If you had told me a few months ago that I would be adding ‘Election Adjudicator’ to my CV, I’d have given you a funny look. Poetry can be political, sure. But they don’t tend to let poets near the electoral process. Too many ideas.
But then there I was, with my rules clipboard and my box of ballots to count and the most severe glasses chain I could find. That last part was very important. How else could I glare down my nose at anyone violating the rules or going over their allotted five-minute performance time?
You’ve probably deduced by now that I’m talking about a mock election, not the real national one that happened on the same day. Oh, but what a mock election it was. The Battle of the Ballot.
Eight talented candidates gathered to compete for the title of MP (Mighty Poet). Campaigning on behalf of the Spotty Party were the talented James Brittain, Sky Shone, Norman Johnson (played by Shevek Fodor) and Yasmin Lewis. Meanwhile, the Stripy Party was represented by wonderful Aaron Wright, Andi Down, Sam Tuff and Anna Holland.
Any resemblance between these two parties and real-world political entities were purely coincidental. The same was true of the two constituencies of Wordsmouth West and Wordsmouth East, where those candidates were battling for seats!
…here’s a photo of the seats in question:
A mighty prize, no? I can see why real politicians careful so much about winning seats now.
The whole event was masterminded by the devious Dearest Haley, who invited me to co-host and fulfil the very important role of Election Adjudicator. This was something of a Lawful Evil role, which I enjoyed more than I should probably admit. Maybe it’s for the best that I don’t hold any serious administrative power in real life.
In all seriousness, it was a great night. Wonderful creative chaos, with just enough structure to hold everything together and make for an uproarious evening of quality poetry and comedy. The energy was incredible, and it reminded me how much fun it can be to play showrunner; you get to shape something incredible, while celebrating the creative talents of the community around you.
And speaking of talents, the winner for Wordsmouth West was Sky Shone, and the winner for Wordsmouth East was Aaron Wright! Not to mention the Fraudulent’s Choice (a bonus prize which goes to whichever candidate received the most official sanctioned fake votes in their name), an accolade that went to Yasmin Lewis. Congrats!
Now, you might be asking. Since the Spotty Party and the Stripy Party both got the same amount of seats, which party won the election? Well the answer, of course, goes without saying. In the Battle of the Ballot, as with any good election… love wins!
