Community Guidelines

Our community is committed to creating a safe space to share our work with vulnerability and with mutual support. Abbott Square is a family-friendly environment, so please also respect our venue when choosing what work to share. All levels of experience are welcome; both experienced and new artists.

  1. Respect ourselves for our courage, our audience and the venue.
  2. Please present original material. Genres can include poetry, prose, raps, anecdote, haiku, essay, short stories or excerpts from longer works.
  3. You must sign up to read, and will present in the order you sign up. Space is limited.
  4. Memorization is optional.
  5. You have up to five minutes to perform; feel free to share multiple pieces within that time. Cover pieces, costumes, props, musical instruments are allowed, provided they do not require additional set-up time.
  6. Please respect the family-friendly venue and refrain from content which may be considered obscene, hateful or partisan politics. If necessary, a performer may be removed from the stage by the host for inappropriate content or at the request of the venue.