Page to Stage – Poetry Out Loud

Contact: fay@fayroberts.co.uk

Website: https://PageToStage25.eventbrite.co.uk

This course is designed as a chance to learn lyrical tips and techniques, all the way from how to get started or break through a creative block, covering the fundamentals of form, discipline, and structure, gaining inspiration as we go, through how to use poetry to tell stories and share personal feelings, all the way to taking poetry to a wider audience via performance, giving you greater confidence in your words and ability to speak them in public.

We’ll be talking about how to centre your own voice and tastes in your writing, and how to find (and build) your audience, and we’ll be talking frankly about the highs and lows of writing and performing, giving you the chance to explore with like-minded folk, both those new to the craft and more experienced writers and performers.

I have delivered a shorter version of this course in-venue, and have decided to make it longer and fortnightly instead of weekly, in order to allow people opportunities to practise the techniques discussed between sessions before moving on to the next. And, while this course is designed with an overall flow in mind, I’m opening it up so that people can either book for the entire thing, or choose individual modules that suit their requirements better.

The events I run are founded on mutual respect and support, so threaded throughout every session will be the no-self-diss philosophy that underpins a lot of the work I do with creative and/ or marginalised folk, and we will always be working explicitly to make these sessions as supportive as possible while encouraging people to tackle difficult topics and new techniques from a position of safety. I am also committed to accessibility to learning and the arts in as many ways as I can, so we will be using tools like closed captioning and, where necessary, images descriptions, etc. Please let me know if you have any particular access requirements.

Come prepared to listen and speak, read and write, and have a good time working to develop your personal style of creating and delivering your work.

Each session will be 2½ hours long at most with a decent break in the middle. We will use breakout rooms so that you can work in smaller groups/ pairs if necessary, and you will have access to each following session’s materials, as appropriate, at least a week in advance.

You can buy tickets for the whole ten-session course (£150), or buy specific ones for individual sessions (£20 each). There are also limited pay-as-you-feel tickets available for folk who can’t afford the full price. See the Eventbrite page for more details.

Meet the Tutor

Fay Roberts is a performance poet, a musician, a storyteller, an events host, an award-winning voice actor, Artistic Director for Spoken Word at PBH’s Free Fringe, and an enormous geek. During weekdays, ze persuades people to make lists and say no to shiny things. For every role, there is a different hat, and a spreadsheet to match. Zir first solo show, The Selkie , was shortlisted for the Saboteur Awards, and gained five-star reviews. Zir first full collection, Spectral , came out with Burning Eye in March 2022, and ze describes it as “a kind of poetry concept album, with illustrations”.

Ze has been producing poetry to commission since 2008, and running creative workshops and facilitating community-led writing sessions since 2014 as part of zir arts organisation Allographic, which functions as a platform for marginalised voices whether in performance or print. Ze loves to teach, and to help people get in closer touch with their own creativity and unique voices.

Find out more at http://linktr.ee/fayroberts

Price: £20.00. (£20/ session, £150 for the whole 10-session course, limited pay-as-you-feel tickets available)

Time: 6:30pm (doors from 10 minutes before start)