Scenic

created by Gemma Connell

I wrote “Scenic” through a series of writing exercises and “remix” tasks that I have developed through six years as a dancer working with spoken word. The tasks are part of a four-stage process:

1. Write a stream of consciousness for five minutes, on a given theme. (The theme for “Scenic” was ‘journeys and pathways’);

2. Go through that writing and think about where you might breathe in the reading of the piece – split lines that in conversation would make one full sentence, and separate them to create new meanings;

3. Delete any unnecessary words – It’s up to the individual writer how they define ‘unnecessary’;

4. Write the remaining text on to a series of cards, splitting them as you did in stage 2. Then rearrange the cards to create a “remix” of your original piece of writing.

I now invite you to use the word slider to rearrange this poem in order to create your own. (Click on the image to play.)

Gemma Connell is a choreographer, dancer and creative producer, working across the UK. Gemma’s artistic practice is rooted in a post-hip-hop context, using dance, text and art, collectively to explore social issues, and exists within museums and galleries, as well as theatres. She is Artistic Director of The Artifact, a company who create dance in conversation with other art forms.