 In 1968, she went to London and joined (as Maggie Nichols) an early improvisational group, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, with John Stevens, Trevor Watts, and Johnny Dyani, and the group performed that year at Berlin's then new avant-garde festival, Total Music Meeting.In the early 1970s she began running voice workshops at the Oval House Theatre, using free improvisational techniques that Stevens had introduced her to.She both acted in some of the productions and rehearsed regularly with a local rock band.