Mentoring & Facilitation Practice

I have a holistic practice exploring the principles of creative community building and the poetics of embodiment.

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'Somatic Poetic Writing' is a set of principles born from my creative practice of writing from the approach of  'the body is the ear'. I believe in encouraging participants to listen with the whole body and have developed a distinct set of technique and exercises to attune to the 5 senses to bring into harmony thoughts, feelings, poetry writing abilities, an also use voice and performance techniques to enhance and encourage writing that feels authentic to the participant.

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Zena studied at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) and learned about mask work and movement, improvisation and storytelling. At Middlesex University, she studied drama, media and communication studies, and theatre lighting and sound at The Half Moon Theatre.  These three courses amplified her understanding of the wholistic approach a writer can take to write a poem that engages an audience entirely in the moment.

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Cross Art form and Multi-Media Approach of Teaching

Zena’s personal practice for generating and developing her poetry involves using photography an mixed-media collage and visuals. For performance uses classic and contemporary theatre techniques, voice work and song, and, with a focus on writing down the bones of a performance poem and Live Literature.

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"My promise:

• to encourage complete individuality in style and voice, using diverse cultural storytelling techniques in writing, voice and performance

• to develop with you a sustainable personalised practice of intuitive flow for highly imaginative creativity.

• to encourage brave exploration of contemporary societal issues to autobiographic memoire.

• to empower YOU, as the artist participant, to engage with the many ways poetry & spoken word serves for well being, cultural expression and an artistic outside-the-box way of processing your writing and performance.

• to provide established and bespoke performance techniques for the beginner to the  advanced poet so that you can improve your confidence for public-speaking and develop your self-awareness for stage-presence. Learn to fill a venue with your voice, energy and focus."

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Working with Individuals And Groups

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1-2-1 Work

Zena can be booked for 1-2-1 mentoring sessions to upgrade your poetry and spoken word performances, and embolden your writing practice for performance.

Zena has an intensive, gentle but tenacious practice of facilitation to further empower  participants to push themselves to the next level.

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Working with Groups

As a poet educator and practitioner, Zena has travel around the globe collaborating with organisations and institutions such Winnipeg University, Canada; as Contact Theatre Young Peoples Theatre, Manchester, Open East School, The Battersea Arts Centre, and the British Council.  Her work with schools groups, intergenerational and community groups and in the academic sphere, has led her to writing and performance poetry projects internationally.

Her work with groups is dynamic, invigorating and generates thought provoking and impact shifts in a participant's practice.

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