Climbing the Mountain

The Performer's Journey into Presence

By: John Britton

Narrated by: John Britton

Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The world’s chaos.

Too many demands on your time. Your mind’s a whirlpool.

You’re fighting low-level exhaustion, possible burnout, and a mounting sense of panic.

You’re trying to remember what you need to do next.

You’re wondering if you can trust yourself if things don’t go how you want them to—can you cope?

People are relying on you.

People are watching ou.

People are judging you.

You’re judging yourself…. Suddenly, you find your place of calm. You find your power. You fly.

This is the life of an actor—working in detail, brilliantly, under the eye of an audience.

More than that: It’s the life we all live—on or off stage. It’s being human.

Climbing the Mountain was written for performers—30 short talks from when I ran an MA in Ensemble Physical Theatre.

I edited them, put them in a book, and thought no more about it. A small personal insight intended for specialists. A road map for actors learning techniques of presence. Instructions for delivering excellently and collaboratively under the intense stress of live performance.

Then something strange happened. People—many of them not performers—began to tell me how much it meant to them.

One said it helped her though illness.

Another that it reconciled him to the loss of his father. A business woman said it helped her manage her team better.

Another, lost and lonely in a new city, discovered comfort and hope.

They found calm in this book. Inspiration. Hope.

They told me what I’d always known: Climbing the Mountain isn’t just for actors; it’s for all. It’s a conversation—as I guide performers through a training program. It’s about sustaining presence, self-confidence, communication, connectedness, creativity. It’s about learning and growing. It empowers you to take ownership of your journey.

It’s personal, universal.

I offer it to you now, in the hope it’ll guide you into the heart of your own glorious, unfolding day-to-day life. Let’s climb.

©2017 John William Britton (P)2023 John William Britton