The Life of Training [Hardcover]

InThe Life of Training, John Matthews offers an accessible and original contribution to the philosophy of training for performance, building on his previous worksTraining for Performance(2011) andAnatomy 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.

John Matthewsis a performer and theatre-maker, starring in BAFTA Cymru-winning BBC Drama series such asFriday on My Mindas well as in BBC Radio productions includingSir 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.

Extending hisTraining 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 lC&