Our congratulations go to emerging spoken word artists
John Osborne and
Deborah ‘Debris’ Stevenson, who have been selected to take part in 'The Verb New Voices', a spoken word partnership project run by Arts Council England and BBC Radio 3, and in this region Writers’ Centre Norwich and Norwich Arts Centre.
The project is being run in three regions and helps to support emerging spoken word artists in developing new work. John and Debris represent the East of England and were selected to take part in the project which offers mentoring and support and which culminates in an appearance on BBC Radio 3’s
The Verb to be recorded at the Norwich Arts Centre on Tuesday 11th October (free for all to attend) and to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 10pm on Friday 14th October.
The other two regions will also be putting on shows involved are the North East (managed by Stockton Arts Centre (ARC) and West Midlands (managed by Midland’s Arts Centre (MAC)).
We are looking forward to seeing the culminations of Deborah Stevenson from Ilford and John Osborne from Norwich's work. Between April and September Deborah and John are working with a mentor to develop a short performance piece for their live performance on The Verb.
Both artists have chosen local sites as their inspiration point. John is tracing the train journey from Norwich to seaside town Sheringham, to create an interactive audio piece that explores the idiosyncrasy and etiquette of train travel; unravelling stories about toasters and Christmas stockings and tractors. Deborah’s journey takes us south, to Ilford, the town where she grew up. Here, a particular, unsettling event forms the framework for a poem that gives voice to the sounds, smells and characters inhabiting this neighbourhood.
BBC Radio 3’s acclaimed weekly cabaret of the word The Verb is presented by poet Ian McMillan and features the best and most innovative offerings from the world of words.One Tuesday 11th October, Deborah and John will perform their work alongside other guests in a show presented by Ian McMillan, at Norwich Arts Centre.
The show is free to attend but seats are limited so please book your place through
Norwich Arts Centre.
Dyslexic Deborah Debris Stevenson was followed by Channel four, hosted a festival in front of thousands, performed alongside the likes of John Agard and has been published in a bespoke book by Louis Vuitton with illustrations by Chris Ofili. She currently runs her own young poets collective called The Mouthy Poets: inspired by passion to empower young people through poetic creativity and practice. Currently in the top 5% in her class at The University of Nottingham, Debris stands for the things creative writing can achieve and conquer. A stance that is echoed in her students, 'if only the year 9s could meet people like Debris, then they'd all love English!'.
ABOUT DEBORAH’S MENTOR
Ross Sutherland was born in Edinburgh in 1979. He was included in The Times’s list of Top Ten Literary Stars of 2008. His debut poetry collection, Things To Do Before You Leave Town, is published by Penned In The Margins. Ross is also a member of the poetry collective Aisle16 with whom he runs Homework, an evening of literary miscellany in East London.
John Osborne is a writer and poet based in Norwich. His first book,
Radio Head, was published by Simon&Schuster in 2009 and broadcast as Radio 4's Book of the Week. His second,
The Newsagent's Window was published in 2010. He is a member of poetry collective Aisle16, and performed at festivals including Latitude, Glastonbury, Port Eliot and the Edinburgh fringe. He has had poetry published in
The Guardian, The Spectator and The Big Issue, and his first pamphlet,
What if men burst in wearing balaclavas? was published in 2010 by Nasty Little Press.
ABOUT JOHN’S MENTOR
Abigail Conway graduated from Goldsmiths University in 2006 where she studied Drama and Theatre Arts. Since then she has led the development of the Home Sweet Home live art project by bringing it into different contexts including schools. She has devised, produced, and directed, spectator led performance at the Shunt Vault venue and been involved in producing youth theatre through the Battersea Arts Centre. In 2007 she put on a live art installation at the Toilet Gallery, Kingston in collaboration with Martin Delaney, the VJ. Abigail currently works as an Assistant Producer for The Battersea Arts Centre. Abigail's other ongoing projects include the development of an online interactive website ilovepix.com.
How We Found The Artists
If you are interested in how the selection process for artists took place, see below.
(this opportunity is now closed)
Do you want to develop your spoken word practice, with professional creative support and an opportunity to feature on BBC Radio 3’s acclaimed weekly cabaret of the word The Verb, presented by poet Ian McMillan?
Criteria
We are looking to work with emerging spoken word artists who have clear and original ideas, and are at the right point in their career to benefit from working with a creative mentor. This is an opportunity, not a prize, and artists will be selected on the basis of how much they can benefit from the process as well as the strength of their ideas.
Although there will be a broadcast element to the project, we are not specifically looking for artists developing spoken word for radio. However, this project is aimed at writers who can clearly demonstrate a true performance element in their work. Your work should primarily be language-based and make creative use of words.
The final selection of the two artists will be made by Writers' Centre Norwich/Norwich Arts Centre and the other partners (ARC Stockton and Birmingham MAC). The BBC will have editorial control of the broadcast.
Eligibility
To apply you must be:
• Over 18 years of age
• Living or working in the East region (Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authorities of Peterborough, Luton, Thurrock and Southend)
• Open to working with a creative mentor to develop your practice
• Able to demonstrate a track record in spoken word performance
• Employees of the BBC and Writers’ Centre Norwich are not eligible to apply
Commitment
Applicants must be able to commit to:
• Approximately 10 days work between April – September, developing a new piece of work
• Willingly working with a creative mentor
• Attendance at a partnership meeting on 4 May in London
• Participating in an evaluative process
• Making themselves available to participate in BBC Radio coverage of the project
Fee
£1,500 (including all expenses) with a separate fee for appearing on The Verb.
The two winning artists will be informed by Wednesday 16 March.
To apply, please submit no more than two sides of A4 including:
• Contact details
• An outline of your idea
• How you might work with a creative mentor and how this would benefit your proposed piece
• Why this opportunity is right for you now
• Name/contact details for someone in the spoken word world who can recommend your work
• Links to an online audio and/or video recording of your performance (CDs of recorded work will not be returnable.)
You should also submit one piece of creative writing to support your application (maximum 50 lines).
The deadline for applications is Monday 7 March at 5pm.
Please send your applications electronically to info@writerscentrenorwich.org.uk
Further Information
If you have any further queries, please contact
info@writerscentrenorwich.org.uk with BBC Spoken Word in the email subject line.
Partners
