Overview

In The Life of Training, John Matthews offers an accessible and original contribution to the philosophy of training for performance, building on his previous works Training for Performance (2011) and Anatomy of Performance Training (2014). With chapters on the seven characteristics of biological life - reproduction, stimulation, heritability, adaptation, growth, organisation and homeostasis - Matthews combines his unique approach with elements of Hannah Arendt’s mature philosophy to reach surprising and essential conclusions about the role time plays in training practices, and about the function of training practices in producing time and its tenses. Ideal for readers seeking to understand the relationship between training practices and human experience, on and off stage, or for teachers looking for a new, innovative approach to performance.

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9781350212527

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Reviews

Extending his Training for Performance (2011), the author unpacks his thesis that the act of training is a human endeavor that everyone does because everyone is limited by having a body. The stories frame ethnographical, political, social, and psychological constructs to unlock aspects of the performer's anatomy ... the book is an intriguing contribution to performance studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals. * CHOICE (on Anatomy of Performance Training) * Matthews offers an insightful, engaging, and imaginative read that urgently questions the place of training, and its attendant implications and values, in the twenty-first-century theatremaking context. * Julie Rada, University of Utah, USA (on Anatomy of Performance Training) * The significance and originality of this research lies in its overturning of the existing narrative of the relationship between performance and training. It provides a rich thesis that shines an entirely new lens on the vital importance and nature of training systems. The book is rich and detailed in its historical reference points from philosophy and theatre history in particular, and deeply knowledgeable about a wide range of training practices. Each chapter offers its own treatise that is clearly presented and articulated, and the conclusion draws together the thesis of the book as a whole to underline its most significant insights to discourses of performance and training, particularly, but not limited to, the field of theatre and performance. * Liz Tomlin, University of Glasgow, UK *

Extending his Training for Performance (2011), the author unpacks his thesis that the act of training is a human endeavor that everyone does because everyone is limited by “having a body.” The stories frame ethnographical, political, social, and psychological constructs to unlock aspects of the performer’s anatomy … the book is an intriguing contribution to performance studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals. * CHOICE (on Anatomy of Performance Training) * Matthews offers an insightful, engaging, and imaginative read that urgently questions the place of training, and its attendant implications and values, in the twenty-first-century theatremaking context. * Julie Rada, University of Utah, USA (on Anatomy of Performance Training) * The significance and originality of this research lies in its overturning of the existing narrative of the relationship between performance and training. It provides a rich thesis that shines an entirely new lens on the vital importance and nature of training systems. The book is rich and detailed in its historical reference points from philosophy and theatre history in particular, and deeply knowledgeable about a wide range of training practices. Each chapter offers its own treatise that is clearly presented and articulated, and the conclusion draws together the thesis of the book as a whole to underline its most significant insights to discourses of performance and training, particularly, but not limited to, the field of theatre and performance. * Liz Tomlin, University of Glasgow, UK *

Author Information

John Matthews is a performer and theatre-maker, starring in BAFTA Cymru-winning BBC Drama series such as Friday on My Mind as well as in BBC Radio productions including Sir Walter Raleigh: A Devon Man, and on stages across the UK. He designed and runs the prestigious Acting programme with Theatre Royal Plymouth Conservatoire, UK. He was also the Inaugural Research Fellow of the Stanislavski Centre.

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