2012 GRAND FINALE!!
7.30 Wednesday, 14th March.
Smiley’s: Budapest 1055 Szt. Istvan Krt 13
402,710Ft raised for IHBC Give a Little campaign
The grand finale approaches. As five hopefuls (see www.speechslam.com) are busy rehearsing their speeches and hoping to pull a decent impromptu topic from the hat on the night, the rest of us just need to be sure to book our tickets for the big event. We’re moving to the Orfeum for a full night of entertainment in style. Tables can be reserved in advance and tickets will be on sale from Monday at 2000 ft each. As the next day, March 15, is a holiday so we figured you might be in the mood to party on into the wee hours. After the speeches, THE JOKERS will entertain us and hopefully persuade a few budding singers to give us a belt of their favourite song – it’ll be an Open Mic with a difference with a special prize for the first person to sing a song that mentions Michael Collins! Think of the bragging rights in being able to tell your mates that you ‘played the Orfeum in Budapest!’ Lots of mileage in that one!
We’ve raised over 400 000 huf so far and are aiming for a final figure of 650 000 so that we can get that bed for Norbert. We’re also looking for prizes on the night itself so if you can help out in any way – vouchers for dinners, bottles of booze, tickets for concerts, whatever! – please get in touch with us at gotg@speechslam.com. But the best way to support us, is to buy a ticket and show up on the night. Remember, all proceeds go directly to the Give a Little campaign.
Looking forward to seeing you on the night.
ROUND V
Round IV of the Gift of the Gab saw three IHBC members compete for a coveted place in the final on 14 March. Patrick McMenamin, Mark Downey and Richard Holmes alongside Miriam O’Hara and Gaston Vadasz provided a great night’s entertainment to a record-breaking crowd in Smiley’s on 18 January last (see www. speechslam.com for a full write-up of the night). Patrick is on his way through to what is promising to be an interesting final. Thanks to the negotiation skills of Ms Zsuzsanna Bozo, we’re almost at the point of announcing the venue for the March showdown where we will be ready to welcome the biggest crowd yet.
Not forgetting that our main aim is raise money for the Give a Little campaign, schemes are afoot to give you plenty of opportunities to support this worthy cause… so come prepared. If you’d like to sponsor the event in any way, drop us a line atgotg@speechslam.com. Tombola prizes always welcome!
A huge thanks again to the Fun Palace for sponsoring the trophies, to Smiley’s for providing the venue for the heats, and to the IHBC for sponsoring the January bottle. The final qualifying round is on 15 February – Smiley’s – 7.30pm. Reserve your ticket on the website. And, if you fancy your chances on stage, now is the time to volunteer… we always need a speaker on the reserve list – just in case!
Gift of the Gab round IV:
Round IV of the Gift of the Gabs kicks off on 18 January at 7.30pm. Ticket reservations have hit a record high and it seems like this is our most popular line-up yet. So if you haven’t booked your ticket, do so soon. (www.speechslam.com). It’s our first IHBC triple-billing with members Patrick McMenamin, Mark Downey, and Richard Holmes going head to head to battle it out for a place in the final. Hungarian actor Gaston Vadasz will also be on stage alongside our dark horse – Miriam O’Hara (oh, were I a betting woman…)
Thanks to a rather large anonymous donation, we’re nearing the quarter of a mill mark on the fundraising. Tickets are 1000 ft but you can always donate a little more if you’re in the mood and feeling generous. Come along and enjoy this night-out-with-a-difference. It’s a grand way to break the week and cheer yourself up after breaking all your New Year’s resolutions.
Usual place – Smiley’s. Usual time – 7.30 pm. Usual format. See you on the 18th.
Gift of the Gab round III:
Another great turnout for Gift of the Gab on 23 November at Smiley’s. Lots of new faces in the audience and new friends on stage. Contestants Judy Nix (Ireland), Emese Jankó (Hungary), Julian Ingram (USA), David McCall (USA), and Steve Collison (UK) battled it out for a place in the final. Impromptu topics supplied by the audience ranged from the sublime (the legalisation of prostitution) to the ridiculous (lonely boys and fishes). Julian Ingram took the prize this month (trophy sponsored by Fun Palace and a bottle of Chivas Regal sponsored by PHD Media) and has booked his place on stage in March. More than 70 people turned out to support the speakers and thanks to one particularly generous donation, we have more than doubled the funds raised so far. Check the website for more details (www.speechslam.com). With only five places left, those of you thinking about competing need to get a move on. Remember – regret for what we do is tempered by time; regret for what we don’t do is inconsolable. We’re taking a break for December and will be back on stage in January.
Gift of the Gab round II:
Round II of the Gift of the Gab saw the IHBC’s Gerard Lucey book his place in the final next March. In the face of some stiff competition from fellow IHBCers Declan Hannigan and Pat Loughran, Gerard also charged ahead of Anna Laszlo (HU) and Steve Carlson (USA). It was great to see Anna on stage – our first Hungarian competitor and our first woman, too. (Ladies – if you’re reading – consider this a call to the sisterhood. We need more women on that stage!)
In the first half of the programme – the public speaking section - Gerard shared with us the history of Irish pub music; Declan took us back to when he was six and had to come up with a story to explain to his dad how a puppy appeared in his bedroom; Anna gave us some good tips on verbal judo and how to deal with insults with finesse; Steve took us on a journey to Bangkok where men become women, and Pat delivered a marathon speech about… yes… a marathon! It’s no easy task getting up on that stage in front of a sea of familiar and unfamiliar faces. And to be marked by five judges randomly selected from the audience, some of whom were as eloquent as the speakers in their commentary is harder still. But let this be where you heard it first: Our very own Patrick McMenamin has agreed make the leap from judging to competing in January!
On to the second half – speaking in public – and the speakers really came into their own. The suggestions from the audience were a mix of inspiration and desperation and in true slam form, some won, some lost. The 2010 winner, Rupert Slade, made a guest appearance – who would have thought he’d know so much about ping pong. Honestly, the things people admit to on stage never ceases to amaze me. Declan’s brilliant account of a trip to the Hungarian post office had universal appeal and got the first top scores of the night. Pat’s inspired take on Michael Jackson’s glove – no, not that Michael Jackson, silly; the one-armed Gaelic footballer from Ireland – was hilarious. Anna doused us in surreal shaggy dog stories while Steve had to deal with crash test dummies in Northern California. Gerard had the challenge of convincing us that bald-headed men are sexier than those with all their follicles intact (and him with a fine head of hair himself!). Such was the scoring that we had our first tie-break of the season with Gerard and Pat going head to head over mini-skirts! What a finish to a great evening.
We put another 54 000 huf in the Bank and are that much closer to March and the grand finale. Thanks to the Fun Palace and the Caledonia for sponsoring this month’s trophy and booze. If you’d like to sponsor a future event, let me know. Also, if you’d like 60 seconds to promote your business, event, or worthy cause, drop me a line at gotg@speechslam.com. Round III will take place on November 23. Same time, same place. www.speechslam.com
Gift of the Gab: Round I
Five speakers took to the stage on Wednesday, 21st September, in Round I of the 2012 Gift of the Gab. More than 70 people turned out to see them in action at Smiley’s and to find out who would be going forward to the final in March. In the first half of the programme, contestants – David Trayford (UK), Brian Elders (IRE), Peter Temesvary (USA), David Saddington (UK), Tim O’Sullivan (IRE) – showed us what they could do with a prepared speech. They touched on everything from time travel to the importance of calibrating your vision (both literally and figuratively). They reminded us of the need to say ‘thank you’ and the necessity of not forgetting our passports when we travel. And they reminisced about the old days in Budapest when the city was a hardship posting and Szimpla Kert was new. There is a subtle but important difference between public speaking and speaking in public and we would do well to remember this. If you have the gift of the gab, you can speak easily and confidently in a way that makes people want to listen to you. Very often you’re speaking about trivial matters – just to talk. So in the second-half, contestants showed just what they could do with three minutes. Speaking on topics chosen by the audience, they did their best to gab about unicycling, pets, the first and last entries on their mobile phone contact list, cars and computers, and what it’s like to be a BKV controller. With judges randomly chosen from the audience, the field was wide open and the trophy (sponsored by Fun Palace) and bottle of Irish Mist (courtesy of Jack Doyle’s) were there to win. And indeed, they were won in fine style by the man from Cork – Tim O’Sullivan.
Speaking to entertain is a difficult number. GOTG is not stand-up comedy. It’s not public speaking. It’s speaking in public with a view to entertaining a diverse audience. And it can be nerve-racking, even if it’s all in a good cause [all proceeds go to the IHBC Give a Little campaign]. For more information, to sign up as a speaker, or to use one of the 60-second public service announcement slots to promote your business or event, check the website at www.speechslam.com
A huge thanks to everyone for participating, supporting, volunteering, and sponsoring. See you all for Round II on Wednesday, 19th October – same time, same place, different speakers!
