I am currently a full time associate teaching fellow at Exeter University drama department where I teach vocal training and performance writing amongst other things.

I also....

teach Creative Writing for Plymouth City Council, Adult and Community Learning. 

We cover short story writing, poetry, performance poetry, novel writing, and script writing through exercises, games, and group discussions.

I run workshops for young people, adults, student and artists in the following areas: Poetry & Performance, Theatre Skills, Play & Improvisation in the theatre, writing for performance, use of the voice. I am interested in issues surrounding collaboration and cross-disciplinary work, and use games and group tasks to help participants to access their imagination and writing skills.

Several of my adult ed. students have gone on to do degrees in creative writing, be published, and generally impress important people (& me!)....Here are things my students have said about my creative writing classes:

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I work as a press officer and before that a journalist for about 15 years so can write news stories and statements very quickly, which are factual and based around a particular angle

I wanted to kick-start my imagination and have talked about doing this for years but never actually found the time. My first few weeks were frustrating as I could not break away from reality, but automatic writing started seeing my thoughts wander and I have started to look at things in a different way, to try to find the unusual in the usual.

I have been surprised at how much I enjoy writing poetry. A few months ago, I would have totally scoffed at even reading it.  Now I write it and read it and that feels like a liberation.

The course has opened my eyes and has made me excited about writing – a feeling that has probably been ground out of me over the last few years. I don’t think I ever stopped to think about the sheer scope there is for the written word until this course. I read a lot and would still love to write a cracking novel, but more than ever, I appreciate how hard that must be.

You never quite knew what you were getting into every time you walked into the room! I liked some of the bonkers stuff we did, walking backwards and forwards...writing on the walls!

I have also been bowled over by the incredible talent lurking in the class. I think everyone has come up with some amazing pieces that have blown me away. 

-Jane, Press Officer

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I have really enjoyed the course....much to my own surprise!

Whilst I began the course with the intention, as I am sure many people did, of hopefully writing a novel, I have found an unexpected calling towards poetry.  It was a genuine surprise to me, but it is something that I have really enjoyed and the course has given me confidence in my own writing ability.  My poetry writing has also developed a full interest in poetry, and over the last few months I have found myself reading poetry, listening to poetry and attending poetry evenings – an unexpected outcome of writing!

Some of the creative elements have been really good, to get the ideas..some of the exercises that you introduced I can keep going back to.

-Andrew, IT Manager

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I've found new ways of picking at my subconscious to get ideas out. Thanks to your brilliant input I found that I had the confidence to send some of these pieces for consideration to a couple of magazines...Without this course and your excellent teaching I would never have had the confidence to do this.

-Katie, student

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I've really enjoyed the class and the group discussions, all the ideas flying around is very stimulated. It's made me very interested in reading more books. I wanted to achieve writing on my own, which I've done.

-Kay

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I've enjoyed everything about it! The poetry, learning how to use a wiki, getting feedback and to actually write poems again. Now I've got a few poems that I like and enjoy. Writing a short story was amazing for me. I've got so much from this course, thank you so much!

-Cris

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I've learnt just to start with anything and keep going back to it, to edit, and edit again. Everyone is so different, everyone has different styles, which is so helpful.

-Dominique, teacher

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My objective of writing every day for seven days was actually a lot easier than I thought. I just have to pick up a pen and paper and get on with it, that's something I've discovered from this course. When we went to the (Apples & Snakes) performance poetry night I had an absolutely fantastic time!

-Sam

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I was very straight about what I thought writing would be, so to have all these weird ideas - but I have loved every minute. I've learnt so much. My goal from writing a novel has completely changed because I've enjoyed everything I've done.

-Amanda