After The Auditions

The 3 winners of the TEDxSMU Auditions were very solid choices. Belinda Baldwin, Jasmin Brand, and Will Clarke each demonstrated a well crafted comfort with the stage, and presented topics that were intriguing. Each topic could easily be expanded into longer in depth presentations.

Sarah Hodge has posted a complete recap of the evenings presentations. Thanks Sarah for doing that. I mentally missed half of the presenters while trying to calm down from my turn under the spot light.

Here is my totally self absorbed, center of the universe recap of the evening:

From the beginning I did this for the fun, and because it was my way of showing support for TEDxSMU. I have seen how sending out a Call To Artists can result in lack luster returns in both quality and quantity. Happily in this case, TEDxSMU did end up with over 50 applicants. Dallas does have a lot of engaging topics and dynamic people.

Each of the 13 presenters approached the microphone differently. Some had that envious natural ease, some followed learned presentation techniques, some approached it as a short performance, 3 minutes on the dot. And some, well 3 minutes can be a long time.

Personally, I followed the school of practice, practice, practice. I practiced until all my cats ran out of the house. Then I went down to the railroad bridge not to through myself off, but to practiced some more.

Reflecting back on my performance, I can see where the text lacked clarity, and where I verbally stumbled due to technical issues. Sense part of me seems to enjoy this form of punishment, maybe I should seriously educate myself in the art of public annunciation.

Tick Tock the TEDxSMU Auditions Clock

Here is the itinerary for tonight's TEDxSMU Auditions. Thank god I"m not going last, but on the other hand, most of my friends are well known for running late...

Brad Ford Smith                "What People Reach For When Things Fall Apart"

Christian Genco                "Outsource Your Brain: Why Everyone Needs to Learn How to Program."

Golbahar Dadyan             "Unlocking the Creative Genius: Living the Dream Circuit"

Jon Eric Fountain              "Follow My Heels"

Will Clarke                           "Seeing Through The Haze: Why Do We Haze?"

RJ Daum                               "Wild Mustangs, Wild Life"

Short Break- music

Sean Springer                    "Making Good Product: Inspirations, Sensations and Values"

Stacy Cherones                 "Make Cafeterias Complete"

Jasmin  Brand                    "What Ike Turner & Social Media Have in Common"

Belinda Baldwin                "The Power of You"

Darren Collins                    "Disaster Relief Housing: A Clown's Perspective"

There will be a short intro of each speaker- just name and talk title.

Each speaker will only have 3 minutes. Anyone that goes over 3 minutes will be pulled off the stage, but in a fun way :)

Doors open at 6:00 and we will begin the program at 7:00. We will have one short break with live music by Kerri Arista. She will also perform at the end while we are counting ballots and the judges deliberate. A winner will be announced that night.

We strongly urge any additional guests buy their ticket online since we will only be selling tickets at the door if we don’t sell out before. Ticket link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2042078913/mcivte

TEDxSMU Auditions

On October 11th I'll be giving a short 3 minute presentation: What People Reach For When Things Fall Apart. 

Its part of the TEDxSMU auditions, a chance to be part of the longer presentation/program in December, that's why it's only 3 minutes long. Each of the 13 presenters will have to boil down a 20 minute lecture into a short, concise teaser. Pretty hard when you love talking about your topic.

I'll be talking about how art conservators get a unique opportunity to see how people solve problems. There will be images of duct tape wrapped legs, Candle sticks tied up in red ribbon, pools of glue and of course lots of things nails but not really together.

I asked several members of the North Texas Association for Art Conservation (NTAAC) for photos to include in this presentation. Thanks Melanie at Textile Preservation Services of Texas, Tish at the Center for Art Conservation, and Cher at Art Restorations Inc, your contributions are wonderful.

The event is open to the public. You will help select who goes on to present in December.
More info and tickets click HERE