Steve Connell

Steve Connell is a spoken word artist, playwright, actor, and entertainer known for integrating poetry, comedy, motivational speaking, and storytelling in live and multimedia performances. Connell has won national and regional slam championships, including the LA Championship and, as captain of Team LA, the National Poetry Championship, establishing a reputation in the competitive poetry community. He has served as poet and creative director for national spoken word tours, including "The Underground Poets Railroad" and Norman Lear's "Declare Yourself."

Connell has appeared at festivals such as PEN World Voices, Bookworm Literary Festival of China, Amnesty International Human Rights Arts Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival. He has performed on HBO's Def Poetry, hosted the San Francisco AIDS Foundation Gala, performed at the U.S. Embassy in China, and presented custom pieces for President Barack Obama and Maya Angelou. His work has been featured on ABC, MSNBC, HBO, Showtime, BET, and MTV, and he has performed privately for individuals including Quincy Jones, Norman Lear, Hillary Clinton, will.i.am, Al Gore, and Coretta Scott King.

As a playwright, Connell's theatrical work "IMPERFECT" premiered with Lincoln Center's Restart Stages Series. His piece "We Are The Lions," developed with YWCA, has received over 10 million views and was performed at the United Nations. He is the creator of Spoken Cinema, a performance concept blending spoken word poetry with custom animation, visuals, and cinematic scores. Spoken Cinema premiered the multi-sensory performance piece "RISE" at Bridgestone Arena, combining figure skating, music, and poetry.

Connell has served as Poet Laureate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, delivering original tributes at the Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner and Enshrinement ceremonies at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. He creates performance pieces for companies, organizations, and nonprofit groups, delivering messages for events and conferences including Life Itself, X-Prize, and the American Cancer Society. Companies such as Sony/Universal, Pioneer, Sonic, Farmers, and Gap Inc. have engaged Connell for multimedia speeches and performances that combine entertainment and information.