Stanley Arts & Apples and Snakes: Scratch Lab Call Out
Calling poets, rappers, MCs, lyricists and writers!! SCRATCH LAB: A development programme led by world-class artists.
Join a free performance development programme for early-career poets, rappers, and lyricists aged 18–35! Work with world-class artists across 4 sessions, sharpen your skills, and perform live on 26 July in South London.
Selected artists will take part in four dynamic sessions led by top-tier mentors, building powerful poetic pieces for live performance. Expect expert guidance, 1-2-1 feedback, and the chance to showcase your work on stage at a final public sharing.
The programme begins with an open workshop focused on writing and performance. From there, 10 finalists will be selected to take part in a series of sessions led by expert practitioners, including a theatre director exploring movement, a poet guiding writing ideation, and a final workshop connecting movement and your words to enhance your performance.
Saturday 21 June: Successful applicants (maximum 25) will be invited to attend a workshop focussed on writing and performance.
Following this workshop, a maximum of 10 will be selected. The final 10 will attend 3 in-person workshops and receive individual advice on improving their performance. You will perform your piece at the end of the programme.
Workshops will take 2 – 5pm on Saturday 5, 12 and 26 July with a final sharing of work on the evening of 26 July.
Location: Stanley Arts, 12 South Norwood Hill, London, SE25 6AB
Criteria:
Aged 18 – 35
Minimum 2 and maximum 10 years of experience of being a practising artist
Priority to those who live/work or study in Croydon or surrounding boroughs, Bromley, Lambeth, Lewisham & Southwark.
To apply, please complete the application form here. Please include a video of you performing a piece of your writing, this can be filmed on a phone (max 2 minutes)
Deadline for applications – Friday 30 May @ 5pm
You will be notified by 11 June if you have a place at the workshop on Saturday 21 June.
About Apples and Snakes
Apples and Snakes is England’s leading spoken word poetry organisation, delivering high-quality creative projects and events that make a lasting impact on artists, audiences, and participants across the country. Performance is at the core of our work, and we are widely recognised for our commitment to artist development. We run the annual Words a Stage programme and co-deliver the BBC Words First initiative. Poets we’ve supported from the early stages of their careers—such as T.S. Eliot Prize winners Roger Robinson (2019) and Joelle Taylor (2021)—have gone on to achieve national and international acclaim.
