Discover the world of collaborative poetry improvisation in these three workshops with Robin Vaughan-Williams on Thursdays 10th and 24 October and 7 November (7 to 9pm).

Poetry improvisation is about trusting in your voice, opening up to others, and seeing where it takes you. In these workshops the focus will be on collaborative improvisation—bouncing our voices off one another and developing threads that sometimes twist together and sometimes spin off in their own directions. We will be working as a whole group and also in pairs and threes—no one will be expected to improvise solo. 

We'll explore different improvisation techniques, such as working with music and prompts, using breathing and voice exercises, and ways of structuring an improvisation. There'll also be space to share observations on the experience and our compositions, and to move towards performance or recording, for those interested in taking this path. 

The workshops will involve some lying on the floor and moving around. We won't be seated at tables as in a conventional poetry workshop. There might be some writing, and improvisation can be used as a writing tool, but we will primarily be working with our voices.  

A couple of quotes from participants in past workshops:

•      'One of the collaborative pieces felt like being in a poem as it was being made. V powerful!' 
•      'It was really exciting to see a different approach to poetic collaboration.' 

You are welcome to attend a single workshop as a taster, or book all three to develop your technique and spontaneity and explore how we can use poetry improvisation as a group. If you may have some challenges with lying down or moving around, please let us know in advance so we can find ways to accommodate you. 

About the Facilitator

Robin Vaughan-Williams is a poet and producer and first started exploring poetry improvisation in 2008. He developed an improvised poetry performance with a group of emerging poets for Apples and Snakes in 2015 ('Grey Parrot Singing'), has collaborated with Quick Shifts dance improvisation collective in Leicester and Sheffield's jazz improvisors Charlie Collins and Derek Saw, and ran a poetry improv group in Nottingham with Mark Goodwin and Rich Goodson. 

You can listen to some of the poetry improv soundscapes he has put together on SoundCloud. 

Robin's publications include The Manager (Happenstance Press), How to Fix a Human (Sampson Low), and numerous poems in magazines like Acumen, Anthropocene, Dream Catcher, Ink Sweat & Tears, and Under the Radar. He has a background in live literature, having run events like Spoken Word Antics in Sheffield and Word of Mouth in Nottingham, and organised a series of sound-poetry collage performances weaving together the voices and sounds of poets and musicians. 

@robinrvw on Instagram. 

What to bring

• Please bring a yoga matt if you can. 
• We also recommend an extra layer in case the floor feels cold. 

Venue

The workshops take place at Open Ealing arts centre, Unit 14 School Lane, Dickens Yard, London, W5 2TD. Open Ealing is just 5 minutes walk from Ealing Broadway Station (Central, District, and Elizabeth Lines). 

Like to hear more?

If you'd like to hear about future poetry improv workshops, projects, and productions, sign up to my MailChimp newsletter.