Workshops and Creative Shenanigans
My creative practice incorporates anything with words, in all their glorious forms. There are some examples on this page of what I do, and who I do it with, with some recent projects at the bottom of the page. You’ll find me leading poetry and fiction workshops for young people, older people and everyone in-between; being a writer-in-residence; gathering words at events as a community writer; helping organisations future plan; devising curious and exciting schools programmes; leading drama sessions; and going into schools as a children’s author. I also deliver talks and lectures for organisations and on MA programmes, as well as provide mentoring, and am currently doing so for Developing Your Creative Practice (Arts Council England) recipients, and through New Writing North and Curtis Brown Creative. I’m a professionally qualified community development and youth worker, with enhanced DBS and public liability insurance.
This is a tiny sample of what I do and the organisations I’ve worked with. For further information, or if you’re interested in how we could work together, please contact me.
Schools events
Lisette was very engaging. She had the pupils in the palm of her hand. It is one of the best creative writing sessions that I have seen.
I love delivering workshops and whole school assemblies about the wonderful world of words, my job as an author and playwright, my books and inspiration. This can be a full or half day and includes a combination of your choosing from:
- School assembly – 45 mins -1 hour – an interactive presentation about my books, identity and
inspiration. Why we need to write our stories. Includes us creating a story together and time for a Q&A session. - Book signing.
- Workshops with classes of any age, up to 35 pupils at a time. Options include wordplay, world building, identity, inspiration and activism. These can cover a mix of genres or focus on theatre/film, poetry, spoken word or story.
- Sessions with creative writing club or keen writers.
- Focus on SEN pupils.
- Focus on reluctant readers and writers.
- CPD for teachers.
Get in touch via my contact form for more details. Read more feedback here.
Writer-in-Residence
As Writer in Residence for MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) I spent an intensive month listening, talking, writing, gathering, setting wordy homework, drinking lots of tea, working with all the groups who use the building, the staff and the visitors to work out what was missing and what I could add. This ended up being An Invitation to Be Curious – mima’s schools programme based on all things curious, sparking a wonderful wordy adventure for all those young people who come to mima. This also involved choosing a piece of art from the stores and writing a creative response which now hangs in the gallery. I continue to have a wonderful relationship with mima, working as a freelance writer on lots of exciting projects.
As Writer in Residence for Disconsortia, a two day gathering of disabled artists in the North East, I designed and delivered a creative workshop, performed a spoken word multi-character headline set as the Crip Mistress, and wrote a commissioned lyrical essay based on the event.
Poet-in-Residence
Crossing the Tees Book Festival – I spent a month planning and designing numerous workshops, then over the course of an intensive fortnight during the festival I delivered five schools workshops (including SEN), five poetry workshops, a poetry masterclass and attended festival events meeting people and making lots of notes. This work came together in a book of poetry and illustrations entitled Ink Flows.
Creative Workshops
I deliver these for absolute beginners, those who have written lots and been published, and everyone in between.
I devise new, curious and imaginative workshops, specifically designed for each group I work with, ensuring that they are completely accessible, challenging in a productive way, and fun.
My way of working is that the arts should be open and accessible to all, and that means working in ways that make a group feel safe and nurtured to be able to write their best and most amazing work. I also deliver craft sessions using pottery, collage, banner making and a myriad of other fun stuffs that help a community grow, learn and have fun together.
I have delivered workshops for many different groups including Darlington for Arts, Celebrating Age, Whizz Kids, PopUpPoetry Durham, women’s community groups, older people in residential settings, and in schools, prisons and probation hostels.
Workshops for schools and young people
I ensure that I have a full range of information about the young people I’m going to work with such as age, group size, literacy level, access needs and learning outcomes before I begin to plan a session to ensure that it is suitable for EVERYONE and I can tailor make it to be both effective, and fabulous. Every workshop is unique and planned meticulously, but my skills as a writer, community development and youth worker mean that I can adapt these as necessary – quick thinking on the hoof! I’ve worked with many schools on subjects such as identity, place, home, myths and legends and have provided skills in poetry for the page and spoken word performance techniques. As a disabled artist, I specialise in working with young people with special educational needs.
Talks, Lectures and Mentoring
I have worked with numerous organisations and individuals to deliver talks, lectures and provide mentoring. These are in person and online, and are in all aspects of the areas my writing practice covers including authorship, playwrighting and film; being a freelance creative juggling a portfolio career; admin and finances; disability activism and access riders.
I am currently mentoring individuals who are in receipt of Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice Awards, New Writing North Creative Associates and those on the Breakthrough Mentoring Programme for Curtis Brown Creative.
I have delivered talks, lectures and workshops for organisations such as Northumbria University, Penguin Random House UK, The Society of Authors, Writers’ Block North East, Northern Gravy and Blue Cabin.
Get in touch if you’d like to learn more.
Community Writer
I work in settings where an organisation or a group want to capture the feel of an event and the words that have been spoken. The end result can be anything the client desires from straight forward reportage, to lyrical essays, to poetry and a combination of all three. I listen, talk, drink tea and write. I use tools to provoke conversation and debate, such as a boiler suit covered in questions, or an adapted twister spinner. Or I blend in and listen, allowing events to unfold as I paint a picture of it with words. These pieces are then displayed in galleries, given to the participants, placed on websites and recorded to be heard.
Recent commissions include the LIKE Project which was displayed in the ‘This is Water’ exhibition at mima, ‘Who Are We’ to collect stories for a City of Culture Bid, and North Ormesby Hackathon.
Performance Skills
I design and deliver exciting, original and innovative sessions for actors and poets who want to further their performance skills.
I also work with drama groups on their devising skills and blocks of work such as – What Makes a Story Work?
Examples include working with Full Circle Academy comprised of learning disabled actors, with New Writing North on their summer schools, and as Movement Facilitator working with the community cast to devise and perform work for Occupation by Pauline Heath, produced by Little Cog, performed on the main stage at ARC Stockton.
Recent Project Examples
Lead Author on Imagine a Story with the Southbank Centre
Writing workshops with Darlington for Culture
Writer in Residence for Creative Future
Associate Artist with Blue Cabin working with care experienced young people
Invited author on the week long Inclusive Stories tour with the Scottish Book Trust
Qualifications, Training, Certification and Memberships
Completed:
BA Hons in Theatre Acting: Devised Performance
MSc with Distinction in Community Development and Youth Work
JNC Professional Qualification in Youth Work
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)
Greater Tees Practitioner Training Programme – strengthening skills and tools to effectively facilitate creative practice with socially excluded communities such as: young people including NEETs and PRU pupils, older people, disabled people, people experiencing homelessness, and refugees and asylum seekers
SPECAL Training with the Contented Dementia Trust
Allyship in the Workplace – The Other Box
Introduction to Community Organising
Creative Leadership, delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs and funded by Arts Council England’s Transforming Leadership Programme – 2 years
Disability Equality Train the Trainer delivered by Disconsortia
Relevant certification and memberships:
Current Enhanced Portable DBS
All relevant and up-to-date local Safeguarding Qualifications
Public Liability Insurance
Member of the Society of Authors
For further information, or if you’re interested in how we could work together, please contact me.
Lisette Auton Does Stuff With Words 