Simone Beaubien performs at Erotic Poetry Night at the Cantab Lounge in 2009. Photo by Marshall Goff.
Simone Beaubien has operated as the SlamMaster for the Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge since February 4, 2004. Only the second SlamMaster in the history of the show, she acts as host, booking manager, arithmetic whiz, press agent, and webmaster, as well as performance and strategy coach for the annually selected slam team. To reach her with questions about the show, email slammaster@bostonpoetryslam.com.
Simone first walked into the Cantab in the fall of 1999 upon the repeated urgings of then-regular Jack McCarthy. Only occasionally in the nasty habit of putting pen to paper, and with no theater experience to draw upon for performance, she nonetheless found herself hooked on the competitive aspect of the show. She judged the team selection slams for the Finals-bound 2000 Cantab Slam Team and subsequently was the top scorer in the venue’s 2001 team slams. After a two-year hiatus, she returned to claim the Champion of Champions venue title and to attempt to fill the intimidatingly large shoes of outgoing SlamMaster Michael Brown.
Simone Beaubien hosting the 2008 NorthBEAST Regional Poetry Slam. Photo by Marshall Goff.
Since then, Simone has competed at the National Poetry Slam for six additional Cantab Slam Teams and operated as coach or player-coach for every team save one– she took a little time off in 2011 to serve as the Host City Director for the wildly successful 2011 National Poetry Slam, hailed as the best-attended (6000+ spectators) NPS of all time. She frequently produces shows in the Boston area, including the annual Boston Poetry Slam @ First Night, and she serves as the Tournament Director for the annual NorthBEAST Regional Poetry Slam.
As a member of the Cantab Slam Team, Simone competed in the Finals of the 2008 National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wis. In 2007, she hosted the Finals of the Individual World Poetry Slam in Vancouver, B.C., and in 2010 hosted the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational Finals at Emerson College’s Majestic Theater in Boston. She features frequently throughout New England and has been invited to perform on stages from Seattle to Columbus to Chicago to New York City. She believes strongly in the ephemera of slam and currently chooses not to publish her work; to book her for a show, you may contact her through her personal website, crushingabird.com.
In addition to her poetry slam cred, Simone has also competed nationally in pinball (1999) and ultimate Frisbee (2001, 2005-2006). In 1995, she served as the senior judge for the Crayola Big Kid Coloring Contest. She works as a paramedic in the greater Boston area. Her favorite event is the vault.