Here's a few testimonials from previous workshop attendees..
"I am writing this with respect to "Words Tell Stories - An Introduction to Spoken Word" workshop that I attended. I have had very little exposure to spoken word poetry, YouTube is the only place where I have seen any performances.
I attended the workshop to increase my knowledge of the art and Rochelle was amazing. She is patient, kind and explained the various facets of spoken word such as ways to write it, perform it and the differences between written poetry and spoken poetry. She gave us writing exercises as well as breathing exercises. Some people had written poems before hand and she gave them tips on how to perform them.
Overall, the experience was great. Not only did I learn more but I also met a bunch of wonderful people" :) - Mahita Ajmera
"Rochelle's workshop introduced me to writing spoken word poetry for the first time in my life. Over the next two weeks I wrote my first piece, and now I'm addicted. It's a powerful, edgy way to convey ideas, especially for activists or social change. It's changed my view on poetry as a art form, since spoken word is live and so packed with emotion." - Nilima Achwal
"This was the most important workshop for me as far as performance poetry is concerned. I don't think there are any such out there in Mumbai atleast. Not only did we get to read/hear/write poems and get them edited but we also got to perform them at the end. Various topics such as voice modulation and how to handle a mic etc were covered which can only be learnt in person. I would hence like to recommend any future classes that Rochelle takes. Thank you for a lovely, fun-filled and productive weekend" - Jitesh Jaggi
" 'Words tell stories' is a workshop that helped me refresh my poetry writing skills in a simple yet effective way. Rochelle's breath of exposure to spoken word poetry helped me review my page-poetry as I found my way to converting the same pieces for stage. Filled with fun free write exercises, it helped me in expressing otherwise verbose ideas in short verses, sometimes as short as 3 powerful lines with just 10 words! She carries with herself little gems of poetic examples that make one think about form and rhythm without discounting the feeling that the poem wishes to evoke.
In a city like Mumbai, which is only beginning to find its voice in the world of performance poetry, Rochelle's knowledge and body of work have tremendously helped me broaden my comfort-writing zones, making me a freer writer and an emphatic performer."
PS: Thanks for all the books you share with me :)
Warmly,
Preeti
"I participated in the first Mumbai instalment of the workshop "Words Tell Stories - An Introduction to Spoken Word Poetry" on Sunday the 13th of July, and I must say it came at exactly the right time. Up until that point I was facing a severe mental block and wasn't really sure if I'd ever be able to get back to writing poetry, and though I really loved Spoken Word I felt I didn't know enough about it to perform properly, especially since I couldn't distinguish between which poems would work on stage and which ones wouldn't. This workshop not only provides a detailed introduction to Spoken Word and how it differs from Page Poetry, but also took us through the history of this art (including a recording of Gil Scott-Heron's "This Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and a number of amazing solo and duet performances), took us through several writing exercises that could help us structure our writing and make it crisper, and used the last hour of the session to help us with the pieces we had brought to fine-tune at the workshop.
What I valued most from this workshop was how at ease Rochelle - in her capacity as a facilitator - made us. I will always remember one of the first things she told us there, when some of us expressed our doubts about whether we could really call ourselves poets: "the moment you write a poem - even just one - you are a poet". She constantly lightened the mood with energizers and gave us the space to share comfortably and safely -- for instance, post our first exercise - a free write - she encouraged us to share, but gave us an option of not doing so if we didn't feel comfortable. She used a number of exercises to help us work on our ideas: such as the 2 + 3 = 5 exercise (one of my favourites) and erasure poetry. In the last segment, she helped us perform our pieces by pointing out where to pause, which phrases to place emphasis, and how to modulate our voices. I look forward to her next workshop, which will expand more on how to bring our poetry pieces alive on stage.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to brush up on their poetry-writing skills, or bring their poems to life on a stage." - Anu Elizabeth Roche