Verbal Gumbo Reunion to Stir the Pot Again on June 16 at the Benson Theatre
Michelle Troxclair and Felicia Casher (formerly Webster) performing “Verbal Gumbo” at House of Loom. Photo credit: Chris Wolfgang/Omaha Magazine
by Leo Adam Biga
Entertainment is replete with comebacks among musicians, so why not spoken word artists, too?
When Omaha natives Felicia Casher (formerly Webster) and Michelle Troxclair join forces again for the Verbal Gumbo Reunion at Benson Theatre on June 16, they will reclaim, at least for one-night, a scene they birthed and presided over.
Judging by pre-show sales, anticipation runs high for the return of these soul sisters, just in time for Juneteenth, and what Casher calls their intimate “poetic soul church.”
“It’s an opportunity for people to come together for the common good to praise, worship, signify, clap, scream, shout, cry, heal,” Casher said. “It is ritualistic and spiritual. It’s a safe space for confession. The confession is the creativity of the spoken word. That’s Verbal Gumbo.”
Troxclair says amen to that, adding, “There is a spiritual uplifting vibe to Verbal Gumbo that transcends no matter what happened that day or that week.” Call it a cleansing of the soul.
In this church of the spoken word, everyone is accepted for who they are and treated as equals. “If there’s a mask, you get to take it off and get to be who you are authentically in our space.” Casher said. Not even the performers are untouchable or unreachable. “People get to touch you, talk to you. You’re no different than anybody else, it’s just that you went up to the mic. You’re a spirit having a human experience and you came to the planet to give a word for somebody else.”
These high priestesses of word play enjoyed a seven-year run with Verbal Gumbo, the first six at House of Loom. Its last iteration came at Omaha Rockets Kanteen. Neither venue exists anymore. Verbal Gumbo’s been hibernating ever since, except for a virtual event early in the pandemic.
After a Pause, Verbal Gumbo is Back
Felicia Casher (formerly Webster). Photo credit: Eric David
Changes caused the women to put the series on hold. Casher, an arts educator and facilitator, married and moved to her old stomping grounds in Philadelphia. Troxclair, an arts administrator, left her gig as Mind & Soul radio on-air host for a new life in Ghana. West Africa. When things didn’t work as planned overseas, she returned home and in April assumed the executive director position at Benson Theatre, the new arts center that’s experienced much turnover in leadership.
These creators missed what Verbal Gumbo gave them. Said Troxclair, “What I’ve missed is the connectivity among people on a very human level and being able to provide a safe space for people to talk about just about anything. I’ve missed providing support in numbers, being there to snap our fingers, say, ‘Yes!’ or indicate we have your back, we feel you. That’s so important to me.
“We had artists in every stage of their craft. You had novices come in with a printed poem, the paper shaking in their hands, and after coming month after month confidently reciting from memory, doing their thing. It was just this amazing space for people to grow and really hone their craft and be inspired.”
This reunion is also a preview for a new open mic series launching at Benson Theatre called The Red Velvet Curtain hosted by Zedeka Poindexter and Phillip Bauldwin, special guests for the June 16 Verbal Gumbo fete.
Casher and Troxclair believe in passing the art form to its next practitioners.
“One thing we never forget is that spoken word is part of a culture that spans an ocean and two continents,” Troxclair said. “It’s incumbent upon us as elders now to make sure it’s carried through to the next generation. I think it’s in good hands as I listen to some of these young people, so I’m hopeful they will continue it.”
“One thing we never forget is that spoken word is part of a culture that spans an ocean and two continents.”
“If you want to see your community grow artistically. culturally, in diversity, in empowerment you have to pass the baton,” Casher said.
A gallery of local talent is expected to hit the mic reunion night, including newcomers and veterans.
“It doesn’t matter if you are in the beginning stages of your journey or you are a master of language,” Casher said, “we’re going to praise you, we’re going to love you, we’re going to affirm you, we’re going to see you grow and blossom.”
Casher’s son, Omni Webster, a rising young poet and visual artist in Omaha, will do live painting during the event.
The event marks the first time Verbal Gumbo will have a physical venue of its own, though Troxclair is quick to point out that Benson Theatre is not hers, it’s the community’s. Still, she and Casher are thrilled to be in such a setting.
Michelle Troxclair. Photo credit: Eric David
“I’m happy we’re able to use this space for the reunion because it’s gorgeous,” Troxclair said. “I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”
“It’s the cherry on top that it happens to be in such a beautiful, exquisite, communal space,” Casher said, thus allowing Verbal Gumbo “to be bigger, grander, and touch more of the community.”
But, Casher reminds, “Verbal Gumbo is so much more than whatever space we’re able to be blessed by and occupy. It’s more about the community coming together to share in love and passion, poetry and culture, along with diversity. It doesn’t matter where we are, we bring people together.” Troxclair echoes the sentiment with, “For me the reunion is about the people, about the poets, the spoken word artists, the rappers, just the artistry. It’s about the vendors selling their wares. It’s about people who have supported us in the past, who came out and sat in that audience month after month and enjoyed the people that blessed the mic. The reunion is just like The Blues Brothers putting the band back together.”
Or reconvening this “little festival,” Casher said.
What Makes It Gumbo?
The catchy gumbo name refers to the wide variety of performing styles and poetry topics on display.
“The reason we call it a gumbo,” Troxclair said, “is that you put all these different things in a pot, stir it up and everything brings its own flavor. Once you put it all together, it makes the meal.”
“It’s spicy, it’s filling, it’s soul food,” Casher said.
Any good gumbo starts with a roux. So, what’s Verbal Gumbo’s roux?
“That’s a good question,” Casher conceded. “You know, we are likely the roux.”
“Or the power of the words,” said Troxclair.
Whatever the case, there’s nourishment. “It’s not the last supper, it’s the next supper,” Casher said. “We’re constantly being fed at Verbal Gumbo on some level around people’s experiences.”
Casher developed her own rhythmic spoken word chops, including beat-boxing, in Philadelphia. She co-created the performing group Daughters of the Diaspora there. In the early 2000s she resettled in her hometown Omaha, bringing with her a full-blown artistry of word-smithing and mood-making.
She struggled finding a venue for her soul-stirring work until the right fit emerged at Dazy Maze in the Old Market, where she hosted a spoken word series. She and her partner in creativity, Troxclair, became “soul family” when they began performing together in 2000. They were both expectant mothers then providing enrichment activities for an after school program. Casher was already a spoken word veteran but Troxclair was a closet poet who only got on stage to perform her work at the encouragement of Casher.
“She blew them away with her poem, ‘Whose Pussy Is It,’” Casher recalled, and a star was born.
“It was a marriage made in heaven,” said Troxclair, “first of all between me and Felicia and what we brought, but we also brought with us some awesome people who helped support us.”
When Dazy Maze closed the pair became itinerant poets, forming the touring Wordsmiths troupe. before finding a new home at the culturally diverse House of Loom on South 10th Street. Verbal Gumbo took flight.
“I was able to take everything I experienced on the East Coast and weave it into the fruition of Verbal Gumbo,” said Casher. “It was the culmination of my and Michelle’s experiences as poets and spoken word performance artists. House of Loom was perfect because it was very eclectic. Candles burned, diverse poets came and people snapped. That is what made Verbal Gumbo so unique. You felt a different energy.”
Adding to the ambience then and now, MCs engage with the audience in a spirit of community welcoming and building. “It’s important we acknowledge birthdays, we share community announcements, we let people know who’s in the house and what they’re doing, and they get to share it, too.,” said Casher. “It is a community coming together for the greatest good and the greatest expression of the word.”
Social, political, personal issues, traumas, tragedies and injustices get referenced in the poetry and the commentary, which can get rather raw. Anyone visibly triggered finds instant support.
“We all stand up in creative activism through poetry and artistic expression,” Casher said. “Part of our work in the world as creatives, poets, storytellers is to speak the truth.”
As soon as Verbal Gumbo debuted in 2011 it turned monthly phenomenon and must-try experience for artists and audiences alike. The hip vibe, Casher said, made it a “rite of passage” for emerging poets looking to make their mark and established poets looking to engage with its happening scene. “We’ve not only been able to open and create space for people in Omaha to feature or be seen and connect but also outside of here,” she said. “And the thing is they were reaching out to us, They heard about Verbal Gumbo in Chicago, California, New Orleans.”
National spoken word guru Harold Green, now the author of best selling books, performed there.
“Just about every major poet in Omaha has been touched by Verbal Gumbo,” Casher said. That includes Nebraska State Poet Laureate and Nebraska Writers Collective executive director Matt Mason and every Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards winner for Best Spoken Word Artist. “They gave to us as much we gave them.”
Casher herself is an OEAA winner and Troxclair a multiple-time nominee..
On left: Michelle Troxclair. Photo Credit: Eric David. On right: Felicia Casher (formerly Webster). Photo credit: Chris Wolfgang.
The exchanges that happen foster creativity and community. “Once you hear other poets and artists, it inspires you to create,” Troxclair said. “Listening to the amazing stories and experiences of other people you learn about cultures you didn’t know about previously. You understand the experiences of others who are not like you. Then you look for ways to incorporate these things into your own work. You’re inspired to hone your own writing skills. After hearing some poets you’re like, whoa, I’ve got some work to do to keep up.”
Standing in Community
Casher sees Omaha’s arts-culture scene maturing. She takes as a good sign more creatives not asking permission or waiting to do work, but making their own practices, venues, events happen the way she and Troxclair did.
“It’s important people have space to create and showcase what they do. I love the new energy, the new blossoms I see flowering.”
Verbal Gumbo cultivated ardent followers who praised its soul sister founders, but Casher is quick to point out, “The work is not even about us, it’s bigger than us, it’s about the community. It’s about souls coming together, it’s about the ability to disseminate information, to touch, to heal, to inspire, to bless someone else.”
The two women view themselves as stewards for an oral tradition they feel obligated to share and preserve.
“It’s important we tell our stories because our stories have been misconstrued, told incorrectly, filtered through a different lens.”
“It’s incredibly important that we continue to tell our stories,” Troxclair said.
Casher concurs, saying, “It’s important we tell our stories because our stories have been misconstrued, told incorrectly, filtered through a different lens.” “Or not told at all,” added Troxclair.
An annual Verbal Gumbo reunion is the plan for now. Casher likes the idea of building anticipation for something that only happens once a year.
“If you aren’t there this year,” she said, “you missed out. You have to wait a whole other year. You best be sure to make it the next time.”
The pair is open to doing it more often. “We’ll see where life takes us,” Troxclair said. “If we’re able and there’s a need for it we’re open to it.”
Meanwhile she assures Verbal Gumbo fans that despite its absence of late, “Ain’t nothin’ changed but the years.”
Verbal Gumbo Reunion details:
June 16 from 8 to 11 p.m. Doors open at 7. Benson Theatre is located at 6054 Maple Street. Tickets can be bought in advance here.
