Writing Bodies

CALL FOR PROPOSALS.

Language can sometimes feel immaterial. Writing, in particular, can seem static or disembodied. Through performance we unfurl, propel, project words into the world, devising new language dynamics with and through our bodies as diversely political and plurally gendered sites. How can language move through a body? How can a body move through language?    

SLANT’s third event, ‘Writing Bodies’ will be a live-streamed exploration into the moving body and its role in language creation, investigating the word-producing body as a site of origin, support or obstruction.

We seek proposals for 5 to 15-minute performances exploring the performative interaction between body and text in any way the practitioner(s) sees fit. 


This call is an open invitation. We are looking for pieces including but not limited to:

Embodied acts of reading & writing, physical bodies of text, dancing letters, spoken movement, choreographed poetries, somatic approaches to language… 

& bodies — holding / folding / tearing / wearing / carving / bending / stealing / casting / crushing / erasing / fixing / pouring / eating / drinking / kicking / twisting / breaking / breathing - text.

We welcome new experiments as well as more developed pieces; we hope to include contributions from artists who don’t have a literary/movement/performance background, as well as those who do. Works by/with/for differently able bodies are particularly welcome.

If your proposal is selected, you will be invited to take part in our event. This will be either with a performance filmed on the evening of the 13th of March at our venue, IKLECTIK (Old Paradise Yard, London SE1 7LG) or with a remote contribution to be streamed between the 21st and 22nd of March, alongside three poets / performers whose practices explore experimental uses of movement in poetic performance.

The selected performers will be taking part in the event on a voluntary basis but all funds collected through online donations will be divided equally between them.

Deadline: 13th of February 2021, 5pm.

SELECTED EXAMPLES

Here are some examples of performances exploring body, movement and text which we love:

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

To apply, please send the following to SLANT curators, Iris Colomb and Camilla Nelson at info@slant-events.com with the subject ‘Writing Bodies Proposal’ by 5pm on Saturday 13th of February. We will get back to you by the 21st of February. Please note that submissions which disregard our guidelines will have to be disregarded.

  • A single pdf containing: 

    • A short description of your performance which details how your piece engages with body, performance & text (500 words max). 

    • Technical considerations (see details below).

    • A brief third-person bio (150 words max).

  • We also accept applications as video/audio recordings: Please send these as a link and not as an attachment. (10 minutes max)

  • In your pdf (or email, if applying through a video/ audio recording) please also include:

    • A link to footage of your proposed piece or to a previous work which we can view online (please suggest a 3-minute extract for us to focus on)

    • A link to an audio recording of your proposed piece if available/relevant (please suggest a 3-minute extract for us to focus on) 

    • Up to 5 images showing your process/visual elements of your work if available/relevant

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

We will be recording performances at IKLECTIK on the 13th of March if circumstances allow. However, we also welcome performances that have been devised as remote pieces. Please note that due to automatic copyright protection on most livestream platforms that can disrupt a performance, we recommend you do not use licensed music in your piece.

If you are planning on filming at IKLECTIK:

  • Please detail your expected technical requirements, as far as you know, including sound and AV. Remember that you will need to be mic’d for your performance to be recorded. IKLECTIK have a small stock of standard live performance microphones, an analogue mixing desk, a small stage mixer, a stereo PA system and a projector (onto a large white wall).

  • List any materials you are planning on using. Make sure you comply with reasonable health and safety precautions, and with the venue’s terms, which can be found at the end of this page.

  • Tell us how your performance will work as a remote piece if the circumstances make that shift necessary, eg. a stricter lockdown occurs or the team has to self-isolate. 

If you are planning on participating remotely:

  • Please indicate whether you will be sending a pre-recorded video to us to include in the livestream, or whether you intend on using another medium/platform. If the latter, please provide details and tell us how you see this working technically/logistically. 

  • If your piece involves an interactive element, please briefly describe the audience members’ experience.

VENUE GUIDELINES

For those thinking of filming with us at IKLECTIK on the 13th of March, please consider health & safety as well as our venue’s Terms & Conditions when putting together your proposal. IKLECTIK is a very open art space which celebrates experimental approaches to performance but cannot accommodate performances involving glitter, drilling, flames and other elements detailed in the following document: IKLECTIK T&C.pdf. Please note that we will be taking multiple steps to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection for staff and performers including social distancing, mask-wearing and disinfecting.

ACCESSIBILITY

IKLECTIK is wheelchair accessible and equipped with accessible toilets, for any questions please contact: info@iklectikartlab.com