SLAMbassadors UK 2008/09

COMING SOON

The UK’s only professional development ONLINE slam


"Listening to last year’s respect poets reinforced my belief in the power of the word. These poems were more powerful than any political speech, they were more honest than any lecture, they spoke of history, they spoke of now, they spoke of the future…"
Benjamin Zephaniah, Poet

 

Page fright? Stage fright? Got a mobile phone with video recording, or a camcorder?

SLAMbassadors UK online slam is open to all 12-18 year olds living in either London or Liverpool.

If you’re keen to develop your writing and stage skills, this is the competition for you.

What?

Original poem or rap (with or without beatbox - no music) written by you.

How?

Film your performance piece using your mobile or a camcorder, and email it in. Download an entry form from the website and post in to accompany your entry. No video will be uploaded until an entry form is received. 

Length?

3 minutes max

Theme?

Respect

When?

The competition will launch on National Poetry Day, 9th October. Until then, DON'T send your videos in. A reminder that all entries must be accompanied by an entry form.

All entries will be vetted by a team of professional spoken word artists, and uploaded to our website, where the general public will be allowed to vote on each of the videos. The public will have the opportunity to pick the Audience Choice winner. Professional judges will have the final say, selecting winners from both London and Liverpool. These winners will be mentored by professional artists before having the opportunity to perform on stage in front of a live audience. 

 

Note to Teachers and Youth Leaders

If you want to increase your understanding of performance poetry and the slam arena, or even just to look at creative entry points into the curriculum, then this is just what you're looking for:

FREE SLAM INSET WORKSHOP
with Joelle Taylor 
on 18 November 2008
from 5-7pm
at The Poetry Society, 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX.

To book a place, contact Joelle Taylor on 020 7420 9893 or jtaylor@poetrysociety.org.uk

The SLAMbassadors Online Slam is an excellent and innovative way of getting your students involved in the art of performance poetry, and helps improve standards of literacy, as well as raising confidence and developing communication skills. As the theme of the slam is ‘Respect’ and involves the discussion of socio-political issues, it is also a great way of provoking debate in the classroom. So, whether you teach English, Drama, EAL, History or Citizenship, the slam can be relevant. Please note that all entries are vetted and will contain no offensive language.
 

Joelle Taylor, on stageJOELLE TAYLOR has worked extensively as a performance poet, spoken word artist and storyteller since 1986, and also has a background in theatre. She has led numerous writing and performance workshops in schools, theatres and art centres. She has toured nationally both as a solo artist and as a member of Atomic Lip, a polyphonic performance poetry group which fused spoken word with popular culture. Once described as 'Poetry you can dance to' by The Independent, Atomic Lip produced two pop-poetry videos funded by the National Lottery. She has performed her poetry, stories and plays at venues as diverse as the ICA, Dingwalls, Ronnie Scott's, the Globe, the 100 Club, Glastonbury, the Oval House and Drill Hall Theatre. She has had four full length scripts produced for theatre. She was the Hot off the Press UK Performance Poetry Slam Champion 2000 and currently hosts Mother Foucault spoken word night. Her writing has been published by Scarlet Press and Routledge, and her scripts have featured in several texts about women's theatre. She is currently awaiting publication of her poetry in two separate anthologies. She has taught courses at the Arvon Foundation, as well as appearing as a featured artist there. She recently travelled to Zimbabwe with the British Council, and having won the Power in the Voice slam, also toured Botswana in the summer of 2008. She has worked in a variety of educational settings and has delivered Performance Poetry and Slam INSETS for a number of agencies across the UK.