The Ampersand Review October 22nd Writing Series

Join us for a two-hour Performance Art workshop with multidisciplinary artist Charlie Petch! Join us for The Ampersand Review's second October Writing Series with award-winning multidiscplinary artist Charlie Petch. Bullied for their lateral lisp, Charlie Petch went from silent to feeling happiest onstage. Now an award-winning theatre and spoken word artist, Charlie will show you tips and tricks for public speaking and performance in “Love Your Embarrassment.” Part microphone training, performance coaching, and comedy writing, Charlie will break down the elements of handling a microphone and stand, performing with and without notes, and offer tips for engaging an audience. He will lead with a writing exercise that will embrace embarrassment in a way that will leave you feeling empowered. “Love Your Embarrassment” will boost your confidence and have you excited for the next time you’re onstage or public speaking. You can interact or just watch, have fun, and learn. **Writers should please bring a notebook and pen Charlie Petch (they/he) is a disabled & transmasculine multidisciplinary artist. Their debut poetry collection, Why I Was Late (Brick Books), won the 2022 ReLit Award, and was named "Best of 2021" by The Walrus. Petch received a Golden Beret Spoken Word Prize from the League of Canadian Poets. Their play “No one’s special at the hot dog cart” debuted in 2024 with sold out shows at Theatre Passe Muraille and Public Energy. Petch's latest poetry book, "Infinite Audition" by Brick Books, was launched in 2025, and is being used both as a poetry book, and theatre resource for trans and non-binary actors. It also contains a full album of music created by Charlie. They founded "Hot Damn it's a Queer Slam" and have worked in spoken word organizing and curation since 2011. They do workshops and write plays, librettos, poems, and music and perform their work for audiences all over Turtle Island. Please note that this event will be taking place in room B222 in the B-Wing of Sheridan College's Hazel McCallion Campus.