AMPLIFY | The Podcast The RISE Collective

In the first episode of our Emerging Futures series, Britny Virginia and Miss Jacqui discuss navigating the ups and downs of the creative industries as black, disabled women. Exploring representation, tokenism and creativity via cheesy jokes, creative exercises, music, poetry and more! 
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Britny Virginia is a poet, writer, director and all-round creative. She was born with Cerebral Palsy on the sunny island of St. Lucia, raised in America, and currently resides in the UK. Her work is deeply influenced by her faith, culture and disability. Her achievements include curating the first-ever disabled-led scratch night called Centre Stage for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (Sept 2022), & self-published author: ‘So, I’ll Stay, Sitting With You.’ (Oct 2019)
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Miss Jacqui is a poet, songwriter, artist and truth-teller. She is someone who always tries to challenge societal perceptions, like what it actually means to be a black woman with a disability. A wheelchair user herself, Miss Jacqui wants her poetry and music to help her listeners to see the world differently, and to inspire others to feel confident in being themselves.
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INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
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www.therisecollective.org.uk
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Hosted by Britny Virginia (she/her) @britnyvirginiaa and Miss Jacqui (she/her) @iammissjacqui
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Produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) @aeparkes for The RISE Collective (Charity number: 1168856)

In the second episode of our Emerging Futures series, Geneva Virasami explores music’s unique ability to inspire change. Discussing sustainability, indigenous knowledge, corporate greenwashing and the power of unity through music, poetry and discussion.
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Special guests include:
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BaoBao Chen & Tim Cole, co-founders of the Small Island Big Song project which unites 100 musicians across 16 island nations on the Pacific and Indian oceans. They join us to discuss their project, ethos and creative journey as well as share some of their work.
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Chantelle Lunt is a writer, public speaker, entrepreneur, and anti-racist activist. She is the founder of Merseyside BLM Alliance (MBLMA), co-founder of the Kill The Bill coalition and chairs the Merseyside Alliance for Racial Equality. She joins us to share her poem, ‘Pass The Mic’.
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Michael Stanton is a musician and composer whose work is inspired by a love for nature and ancestral wisdom, tapping into folk traditions from across the globe.
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Mahesh Parkar is a multi-instrumentalist, mainly playing the piano and tabla. A part of the Grand Union Orchestra (GUO), he is also a member of The Re:Generation Band.
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About Your Host:
.Geneva Virasami is a British-Mauritian journalist and producer dedicated to empowering young people through liberationist politics. She learnt from London’s grassroots activists volunteering at The Spark social justice festival, and demonstrating with such groups as UK Black Lives Matter and Sisters Uncut. She has worked in TV broadcast, online, and radio news and is currently studying Public History.  
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INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
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www.therisecollective.org.uk
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Hosted by Geneva Virasami (she/her) and produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) on behalf of the RISE Collective (Registered Charity: 1168856)

In the third episode of our Emerging Futures series, written by Daniel Grimston and Jack Clearwater, we delve into a post-collapse world. In this, the first of a two-part series, we explore life in barren countryside - or what remains of it.  
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Jack Clearwater is a writer, director and sound artist working across theatre, cabaret and ritual. He has performed at venues including Battersea Arts Centre, Somerset House, KILN Theatre and The Royal Academy of Arts as well as at the Lyric Hammersmith, where he was a member of the inaugural Lyric Ensemble.
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Daniel Grimston is a playwright, poet, actor and podcaster whose work centres an exploration of the borders between humanity and the natural world. Daniel has demonstrated with Extinction Rebellion and Right To Roam. He is currently working on his first full-length play, Corpselight..
INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
.
www.therisecollective.org.uk
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Hosted by Daniel Grimston and Jack Clearwater
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Produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) @aeparkes for The RISE Collective (Charity number: 1168856)

This episode is all about pockets of JOY! In the second instalment of ‘Sippin’ on Black Girl Magic and Disabled Joy’, Britny Virginia and Miss Jacqui discuss navigating the ups and downs of the creative industries as black, disabled women. Exploring the meaning of joy, what it means to find joy in creativity, the importance of connection & more!
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Britny Virginia is a poet, writer, director and all-round creative. She was born with Cerebral Palsy on the sunny island of St. Lucia, raised in America, and currently resides in the UK. Her work is deeply influenced by her faith, culture and disability. Her achievements include curating the first-ever disabled-led scratch night called Centre Stage for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (Sept 2022), & self-published author: ‘So, I’ll Stay, Sitting With You.’ (Oct 2019).
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Miss Jacqui is a poet, songwriter, artist and truth-teller. She is someone who always tries to challenge societal perceptions, like what it actually means to be a black woman with a disability. A wheelchair user herself, Miss Jacqui wants her poetry and music to help her listeners to see the world differently, and to inspire others to feel confident in being themselves.
.
INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
.
www.therisecollective.org.uk
.
Hosted by Britny Virginia (she/her) @britnyvirginiaa and Miss Jacqui (she/her) @iammissjacqui
.
Produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) @aeparkes for The RISE Collective (Charity number: 1168856)

In the second episode of our Emerging Futures series, Geneva Virasami meets Shanice McBean to discuss abolition. Discover the history of abolitionist movements in the UK all the way up to the collectives of the present day as we explore systemic oppression, carcerality and collective power through discussion, poetry and music.  
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Special guests include:
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Shanice Octavia McBean is a Black writer and activist in Sisters Uncut. She grew up in Handsworth, Birmingham, before moving to Tottenham. Describing herself as a revolutionary and Afro-Marxist, she has also organised in anti-racist groups and trade unions. She is the co-author of Abolition Revolution: An introductory guide to the roots and contemporary context of, and resistance to carceral politics in Britain.
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Kemastry is a rap and spoken-word artist, activist and facilitator. He is signed to independent hip hop record label High Focus as part of CMPND, a Brighton based hybrid rap three piece, formed of members Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G. Their latest album ‘Long Live The Court’ was released in 2022. 
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Tayah is a singer-songwriter. Born and raised in West London, Tayah is an artist at the fulcrum of an evolving R&B scene, making music that tells her story, her way. Having performed at The Southbank, Lovebox Festival, and Notting Hill Carnival, as well as airplay on UK radio, Tayah has garnered plaudits among her peers and audiences.
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About Your Host:
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Geneva Virasami is a British-Mauritian journalist and producer dedicated to empowering young people through liberationist politics. She learnt from London’s grassroots activists volunteering at The Spark social justice festival, and demonstrating with such groups as UK Black Lives Matter and Sisters Uncut. She has worked in TV broadcast, online, and radio news and is currently studying Public History.  

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INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
.
www.therisecollective.org.uk
.
Hosted by Geneva Virasami (she/her) and produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) on behalf of the RISE Collective (Registered Charity: 1168856)

In the sixth episode of our Emerging Futures series, written by Daniel Grimston and Jack Clearwater, we delve into a post-collapse world. In 'City', the second of a two-part series, we tune in to a radio show set in a fallen city of the future...
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Jack Clearwater is a writer, director and sound artist working across theatre, cabaret and ritual. He has performed at venues including Battersea Arts Centre, Somerset House, KILN Theatre and The Royal Academy of Arts as well as at the Lyric Hammersmith, where he was a member of the inaugural Lyric Ensemble.
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Daniel Grimston grew up queer in rural Sussex. He is a playwright, poet, actor and podcaster whose work centres an exploration of the borders between humanity and the natural world. He is a graduate of the John Burgess Writing Course, Rikki Beadle Blair’s FIERCE Youth Programme and the Royal Court’s Intro To Playwriting. He trained as an actor at Oxford School of Drama, NYT and Theatre Peckham Rep, and was a founder and co-artistic director of Founding Fall Theatre. As a poet he has worked with the V&A, Apples and Snakes, and London Wildlife Trust, and is currently under commission as Poet-In-Non-Residence for the campaign group Right To Roam. His first play, Corpselight, just won the Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust's Pitch Your Play Competition..
INSTAGRAM - @therisecollectiveuk
FACEBOOK - @therisecollectiveuk
TWITTER - @r1secollective
.
www.therisecollective.org.uk
.
Hosted by Daniel Grimston (@daniel.grimston) and Jack Clearwater (@clearwaterclark)
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Produced by Amy Parkes (she/her) @aeparkes for The RISE Collective (Charity number: 1168856)