Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye of Project VOICE Appear at Eccles Center Tonight

"Poetry is a house with enough rooms for all." Award-winning poet Sarah Kay doesn't put her art on a pedestal. As she and fellow critically acclaimed poet, Phil Kaye, take to the stage (or the classroom), they reach for the poet in everyone while entertaining, educating and inspiring. Kay, Kaye -- and their young, spoken word peers -- are redefining what it means to be an American poet and delivering funny, poignant performance in the process.

Spoken Word with Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye comes to The Eccles Center tonight, March 26. Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 435-655-3114 or online at EcclesCenter.org. Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye will also participate in a full week of student outreach.

Both Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye took to the stage as spoken word poets in their teens - barely a decade ago. When they tour and perform together, they riff off of each other's wit and pure creativity, creating humor, tension and thought-provoking art. On stage and in the classroom, they also inspire new voices.

"This is extraordinary, eye-opening, thoroughly entertaining, raw, wonderful entertainment," says PCI executive director Teri Orr. "Forget any preconceived notions of poetry and let the words of these brazen, unpretentious poets wash over you -- or slam into you -- for an evening."

Sarah Kay -- a poet, founder of Project VOICE (a non-profit promoting empowerment through literacy), documentary filmmaker, singer, songwriter and teacher -- speaks across generations and cultures. At age 27, she has been performing for 14 years. Best known for her 2011 TED Talk (which garnered two standing ovations and more than 8 million views), the eloquent New Yorker has published two books, including the best-selling "B" and "No Matter the Wreckage" as well as poems and articles in everything from the Huffington Post to Treehouse Magazine. She's been a featured poet on Russell Simmons presents HBO Def Poetry Jam and toured the world as a performance poet and guest speaker.

Phil Kaye, co-director of Project VOICE, fellow Brown University alum and two-time recipient of the National College Poetry Slam (CUPSI) award for "Pushing the Art Forward," has performed in international and stateside venues ranging from sold-out theaters to maximum security prisons. Recently, he was invited to perform at His Holiness The Dalai Lama 80th birthday celebration. Kaye's work has been featured on NPR, Al Jazeera America and Upworthy.com (as well as other media outlets). His first book, "A Light Bulb Symphony," was published in 2011.

In addition to the Eccles Center performance, Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye will participate in Park City Institute's free, Student Outreach Program for an entire week of assemblies and workshops with local high school and middle school students.

Park City Institute presents Spoken Word with Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye tonight, March 26, 2016 at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City). Tickets range from $25-$75 (20-percent discount for seniors, ½ price tickets for children ages 16 and under; $5 seats are available in the Copper Section for Summit County students (K-12). Tickets and information are available at The Eccles Center box office, 435-655-3114 or EcclesCenter.org.

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