Who I am
Like many others, my route into training grew from my work as an actor: in drama, actors focus primarily on human relationships and practise as wide a range of behaviours in a given situation as possible.
I read French and Norwegian at University College London, then trained as an actor at East 15 Acting School. I have since worked as an actor and musical director in the UK and abroad, in repertory theatre, at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in TV and in interactive/street theatre. With the Science Museum London I spent many years developing performances to explore physics and astronautics through theatre, for both child and adult audiences. On the back of this work I was elected Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society in 2004. I was also a lecturer in drama at Essex University for twelve years. For anyone interested in this side of me, my actor’s Spotlight cv is here: Ben Livingstone Spotlight CV
My work in training reaches back well over twenty-five years and includes running courses for central bankers, doctors, pharmacists, managers, administrators, lawyers, financial regulators and supervisors. The work has always been practical and mostly in relatively small, intimate groups. I owe a lot to John Holmes of Frontline Training Solutions and to Gemma Lloyd of act-up in these endeavours, both of whom have been instrumental in developing my thinking and skills in this field, as well as sources of frequent employment. At the same time, my own preferences have emerged along the way and my particular interest focuses on extending people’s expressive range in ways that feel authentic and purposeful. It’s my experience that people at work are often hampered by perceptions of how they ought to behave; I like to encourage people both in their strengths and in broadening the palette of behaviours they feel they can usefully draw upon, enhancing their particular capabilities and enabling their work relationships to flourish.
I live in London with my wife, also an actor, and our two sons.