John Britton

'How To Teach Performance' is a step-by-step practical guide for Artists/Performers who are intending to run teaching workshops. It combines big picture thinking with practical guidance, pointing out things you might have ignored and things you might have thought you understood - in others words, all those 'things' that make a difference between running an excellent workshop and falling flat on your face. Based on 30 years of teaching actors, dancers. circus performers, improvisors, clowns and… Show more

'How To Teach Performance' is a step-by-step practical guide for Artists/Performers who are intending to run teaching workshops. It combines big picture thinking with practical guidance, pointing out things you might have ignored and things you might have thought you understood - in others words, all those 'things' that make a difference between running an excellent workshop and falling flat on your face. Based on 30 years of teaching actors, dancers. circus performers, improvisors, clowns and many more, 'How To Teach Performance' is available in e-book or print form. Show less

This is a straight-ahead guide to understanding Presence - what it is, why it's important and techniques for becoming more present in your daily life.
At its core are The 8 Principles of Presence - simple thinking tools that you can use to help you destroy distraction, quieten mental noise and connect with what's going on in your life. Only from a place of connection can you make good and effective choices based on reality, not on your fears, assumptions and expectations.

This is growing collection of short blog posts I publish on Medium that explain different elements of Self-With-Others, the approach to training presence, connection, communication, confidence and charsima that is at the heart of all my work.

If you want to exude presence, you need to be present. It's so easy to say and so hard to achieve or maintain. Presence, liveness and spontaneity - fundamental requirements for any performer on stage or screen - are disciplined psychophysical techniques, they combine ways of thinking with ways of using the body.

'Climbing the Mountain' contains 30 short talks given by Master Trainer John Britton across a six-weeks training process. It is a journey that takes you from the slightly nervous… Show more

If you want to exude presence, you need to be present. It's so easy to say and so hard to achieve or maintain. Presence, liveness and spontaneity - fundamental requirements for any performer on stage or screen - are disciplined psychophysical techniques, they combine ways of thinking with ways of using the body.

'Climbing the Mountain' contains 30 short talks given by Master Trainer John Britton across a six-weeks training process. It is a journey that takes you from the slightly nervous first morning, through a process of building ensemble and encountering the self, to the final day of the course, as a group who have shared so much, head out into the world again. Along the way there is laugher, philosophy, silliness, questioning, struggle... all the elements of a performer's journey. There is also joy; always joy - for this book charts a training based in a radical commitment to enjoyment, empowerment and ensemble.

Though this book is for all performers, its appeal is much wider. To be open, joyous, and authentic requires a performer to find and nurture those personal qualities in herself or himself. Dynamic, charismatic live performance requires a disciplined and radical process of personal growth. The approaches that work for performers work for everyone. 'Climbing the Mountain' offers a training for anyone who wants to become more present in their daily life, in their work, and in their relationships.

'Climbing the Mountain' takes you into the privacy of the rehearsal room as a group of actors and dancers learn to stand fearlessly, joyously and passionately in front of their audience. You are invited to join them. Show less

Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject.

Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written… Show more

Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject.

Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written collaboratively with practitioners and members from the academic community and is divided into three sections:
1. Introduction and an approach to training ensembles
2. Practitioner case studies and analysis of specific practical approaches to training ensembles (or individuals in an ensemble context)
3. Succinct perspectives from practitioners reflecting on a range of questions including: What is an ensemble?; the place of ensemble in the contemporary theatre landscape; and training issues. Show less