FAIRBANKS — Michael Shaeffer is more than just hyper. The West Valley High School English and theater teacher has made the jump to hyperspace for his slam poetry performance Saturday at the Empress Theatre.

“The show I did earlier this summer (June at Empress) was such a success I felt the need to do another,” said Shaeffer, a national slam poetry champion.

Much of the new material in the show, dubbed “Pancakes in Hyperspace,” focuses on modern pop culture, which for Shaeffer drifts back to his 1970s youth and builds from there. The show includes about 16 poems about popular movies, like “Transformers,” the “Twilight” series and “Star Wars,” as well as an adults-only poem about the Muppets.

“I won the annual erotic slam competition in Minneapolis last year with this,” he said.

But the performance is really about using poetry as a platform for humor.

“I try to describe the show and people hear the word poetry and are turned off and skeptical whether they’d actually enjoy the show,” he said. “I describe it more as a stand-up comedy routine that’s structured like contemporary poetry. ... It’s mostly pretty silly stuff, irreverent stuff. But there are a couple touching or somber pieces that show variety or a range of talent.”

One piece that should get howls of laughter is “Twilight Fades,” which aims at squashing the current vampire popularity brought on by the movie series. Shaeffer said he wrote it for his little sister, who went somewhat gaga over the Edward Cullen character played by Robert Pattinson.

“It’s written as a sibling intervention to try and get (my sister) to consider other vampires other than the ones in ‘Twilight,’” he explained with a laugh. “I performed it for my students and they thought it was hysterical. Even the sophomores who had seen (the movie) appreciated why a big brother might be concerned that his little sister was obsessed with Edward. You can go back over the last couple decades and look at all the actors that have played vampires and how they would be a more acceptable suitor for my sister over Robert Pattinson.”

Shaeffer also slams music. “Number One with a Bullet” implies 2Pac (Tupac Shakur) actually faked his death and is planning to release another CD. (FYI: More CDs by 2Pac have been released since his death than before). “Bedlam on the Bedrock” is about a woolly mammoth stomping to death the members of Fleetwood Mac, while “New Songs for the Narrow-Bottomed Girl,” dedicated to women with a more petite backside, is a take on Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.”

Shaeffer said the obscure references to 21st century pop culture icons such as William Shatner, super heroes, cartoon characters and TV shows are part of the fun in his show. He feels particularly happy when he notices audience members catching those references or explaining it to someone else.

“Throughout the evening I hope to make enough references that the obscure ones that audience members get, they’ll feel like they’re part of a secret club. But, I want to make sure the strokes I use are broad enough to appeal to a wide audience as well,” he said. “I’ve got to walk the line of being entertaining but not being too obscure and losing my audience along the way.”

One poem is being resurrected from Shaeffer’s June show, sort of. “Hot Lava, Revisited,” is an update on the originally impromptu “Hot Lava.” The poem tells the tale of a volcano that erupts and no one, not Chuck Norris, not William Shatner, not various current celebrities or politicians and not even superheroes Flash and green Lantern can stop the volcano. In the end, it is Aquaman who saves the day.

“Aquaman is a grossly underappreciated superhero in my mind,” Shaeffer said, in all seriousness.

“It’s short attention span theater is what it is,” he added.

Contact features editor Glenn BurnSilver at 459-7510.