Jodie Vanderslot | Health Editor
Featured image: Michael Pillarella is using spoken word poetry to promote mental health. | Courtesy of Michael Pillarella
Spoken word is a performance art that is creative and unhinged, it is poetry that is recited aloud and expresses the rawest of emotions.
Michael Pillarella graduated from York in 2015 with a BA in Communication Studies, and like many others, he saw the difficulty in pursuing a career in the arts, “but I always felt unfulfilled in a workplace that didn’t allow for creative expression,” he says.
Pillarella entered the film industry nine years ago as an actor, writer, and producer. He has made appearances in television series such as 12 Monkeys and The Detectives Club: New Orleans.
“I’ve always been passionate about making my own films; in 2012 I made a film called Pizza Bagel, which premiered at the TIFF Bell Lightbox alongside Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love,” says Pillarella. The film went on to screen at over 40 film festivals around the world, including the Cannes and New York City International Film Festivals.
Most recently though, Pillarella released a video, I REMEMBER, that received over 100, 000 views in its first month of release. The video is a spoken word short film about persevering through difficult times, heartbreak, and loss.
“I originally wrote the piece while I was going through a difficult stage in my life. I have always found writing to be the most honest, beneficial, and healthy form of catharsis. So, writing naturally became my own form of therapy and healing.
“Once I had finished the poem, I decided to share it with a close friend of mine who had also been dealing with a similar situation. As he began to read the words, his face became overrun with emotion. He broke down. He couldn’t believe how my personal experience and feelings mirrored his own.
“The words really hit home for him and showed him he wasn’t alone. It was after this experience that I decided to turn my poem into a short film and share it with others,” he says.
Talking about your struggles and addressing the challenges that come with managing one’s mental health can be a difficult, but you don’t need to be defined by them.
“I’m thankful everyday for having a creative outlet to express myself, and release my emotions and thoughts in a healthy and productive way. I am proud to say that I am in the best place of my life, mentally and physically.
“My message is you’re never alone through what you’re experiencing. At times, life can get difficult in many ways. People will let us down, and things will happen that are out of our control. But, it is in these times that we must always remember to find strength in ourselves and know that there are always people around to turn to. We are never alone. Whether it be family, friends, or even strangers. There is a lot of love in the world and we, as individuals, are so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.”
Pillarella recently performed for a sold-out crowd at the Drake Hotel. He explains that he wants people to watch his video to see how someone can take a negative situation and turn it into a positive.
“While I used an artistic form of expression, I want to encourage others to find their form of expression, find their form of release, and use their negative situation as fuel to do something better with their lives. Something positive and something that will make them better and stronger as individuals.”
