I AM LOUD PRODUCTIONS IS A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PRODUCTION & ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY BASED IN EDINBURGH
Founded in 2014, I Am Loud CIC started as monthly poetry night, Loud Poets.
With the simple goal of presenting spoken word poetry in a creative, engaging and entertaining way, the team booked the best talent they could find and pushed the boundaries of what poetry could be.
From their monthly shows Loud Poets went on to produce multiple live shows with the team performing across the UK and around the world at the Edinburgh, Brighton and Prague Fringe festivals, Edinburgh’s Hidden Door Festival and London’s VAULT Festival.
The Loud Poets performed at countless venues and events across the UK and worked with a range of artists to produce the high-quality poetry shows and videos they are known for. Their digital and live back catalogue includes some of the biggest names in spoken word - Shane Koyczan, Harry Baker, Hannah Lavery, Rick Dove and Joelle Taylor, to name a few.
After rebranding as I Am Loud Productions in 2019, the company has gone on to produce a range of poetry projects including educational series Return to Form, in-house podcast The Loudcast, their annual National Poetry Writing Month series, and their latest project, the Loud Poet’s 2022 Live Season.
While I Am Loud has expanded beyond live performance and video production, the team continues to produce unique commissioned spoken word pieces with recent clients including the John Muir Trust and Glenfiddich.
The company has also moved into digital and audio production with the I Am Loud team leading digital production for several literary festivals including the 2021 Saboteur Award-winning StAnza Poetry Festival, Winchester Poetry Festival and the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.
I Am Loud is currently open to enquiries for digital production, audio production, poetry commissions, poetry workshops, live performances, and event hosting.
To enquire about collaborations, commissions or projects contact the team at hello@iamloud.co
THE LOUD CREW
Kevin Mclean
(he/him)
Creative Director
Kevin Mclean is an award winning spoken word poet, the Creative Director of I Am Loud, and the host of Scotland's premier Spoken Word night ‘Loud Poets’.
He has directed, produced, and performed work at the Brighton, Edinburgh, and Prague Fringe festivals, Glastonbury Festival, StAnza Poetry Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Leicester’s Find The Right, Words, STV’s The Late Show, and BBC Radio Scotland’s Culture Show.
As Creative Director of I Am Loud Productions Kevin has worked to direct, produce, and edit film work for festivals such as Winchester Poetry Festival, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, and StAnza Poetry Festival along with organisations like The John Muir Trust, Glenfiddich, and the Irish Consulate.
Kevin is also an actor and voiceover artist who has worked with companies including Skoda, Scottish Water, Orchard Pig, Napier University, Premier Sports, and Macsween Haggis.
Mark Gallie
(he/him)
Operations Director
Mark Gallie is an Edinburgh-based voice actor, poet, producer and editor. He is operations manager and a director of I Am Loud. He organises and hosts I Am Loud’s Fringe shows and monthly events.
Mark has performed across the UK and internationally as a feature performer at Edinburgh festival, Glastonbury Festival and VAULT festival. He also supported Shane Koyczan during the Scottish leg of his 2019 tour.
An accomplished editor, Mark has produced podcasts for I Am Loud, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and Edinburgh City of Literature. He has also produced and edited digital events for multiple literary festivals including the award-winning StAnza Poetry Festival (2021), Winchester Poetry Festival and the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.
Dr. Katie Ailes
(she/her)
Producer
Dr. Katie Ailes is a poet, researcher, producer, and educator focusing on spoken word poetry. Since 2015 she has worked with I Am Loud in multiple capacities, including as a producer, publicist, and performer, and she currently leads their educational programming.
In 2022 Katie researched, scripted, and hosted the podcast ‘Building Stories,’ commissioned by Edinburgh City of Literature and Historic Environment Scotland. She has co-devised and performed spoken word shows with Loud Poets across the UK, including at the Edinburgh, Prague, and Brighton Fringe Festivals. Her poetry has been published widely and her poem “Outwith” was chosen as one of the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best of the Best Scottish Poems in 2019.
Katie’s PhD focused on the performance of authenticity in contemporary UK spoken word. Katie is also a classically trained dancer and choreographer interested in the intersection between speech and movement, as explored in her cinepoems “Polos” and “Breathing Space”.
Bex Bidgood
(she/they)
Marketing Manager & Producer
Bex Bidgood is a spoken word producer, performance poet, digital artist and social media manager based in East Lothian. They have a track record of writing and performing ‘nonsense’ poetry, reflected in their debut pamphlet Poetry for Cows (2020).
In addition to writing and performing poetry, Bex is a key member of the I Am Loud Productions team. She was instrumental in producing internal projects including Return to Form, the Loudcast, the 2022 Live Season, Loud Poets Happy Hour and all seasons of NaPoWriMo. They also produced the ‘Building Stories’ podcast for Edinburgh City of Literature and Historic Environment Scotland and created corporate training videos for Ed-tech company Sumdog.
Bex is the co-host of Jingle Belles, a seasonal Christmas movie review podcast. Her poetry has been published by Coin-operated Press and she has produced artwork for Edinburgh band Gefahrgeist and Young Women’s Scotland.