Jonathan D’Young Movement

BIOGRAPHY

From a young age Jonathan had a love of rhythm and music. In particular he was drawn to the songs, and effortless and precise dance skills of Michael Jackson. This developed into a passion for theatre and whilst exploring ‘Greek Chorus’ in a youth theatre production of Oedipus he realised that the body was key to the communication and relationship between actor, audience and space. His interest in movement deepened at Middlesex University, where he studied mask, bouffon, devising, chorus, improvisation and clown under the tutelage of John Wright. Following this, he worked with numerous companies and directors as an actor, and developed performance skills in puppetry and stage combat. Jonathan also has a musical background as a drummer and percussionist and was the front man of the theatrical post-punk grunge band Myernark, which he formed and created music for.

He later combined all of this experience into developing the theatre company, NMT Automatics, which updates classical texts and myths, giving them relevance to a modern audience, fusing dance and drama and taking music as a primary source of inspiration. As Artistic Director he has produced, written, and created narrative based work that has explored free movement, choreography, multi-media, object manipulation, expressionism, naturalism, epic, poor and total theatre. Productions have been performed in non-conventional spaces in Berlin and London, as well as theatres, museums and festivals UK wide, including several ACE funded tours.

In order to gain a greater understanding of movement, the body, and his practise, he completed an MA in Movement: Directing and Teaching at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2019, and now has an approach influenced by experiential anatomy, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurythmics, Laban, Lecoq’s sense of play and cognitive science.

‘Working with Jonathan in Animal Studies and Laban has transformed my work as an actor. Approaching character work through this lens has gotten me out of my head, heightened my presence in scenes and allowed me to create embodied, three-dimensional characters. 

‘I feel like Jonathan has enabled me to fully delve into animal studies, learning about the movement of the animal and how we can let that influence and mold those characteristics into characters we have been focusing on during the classes.

Jonathan has been an inspiring influence for the development of my movement repertoire and confidence as an actor. Firstly with his teachings of the Laban efforts he has helped me understand the fundamental concepts of grounding and freedom as I act through my body. Recently, we have focused on animal studies, during which he has provided with a clear set of instructions on how to research and understand how an animal lives and moves, thereby exploring their reality first embodying the animal and then moving towards a more human characterisation of it. Jonathan is a very good teacher with a clear teaching method often linked to acting skills and improvisation, and which allows enough time to explore and develop a certain skill.

Jonathan’s expertise in both animal studies and Laban Movement Analysis shines through in his dynamic teaching style and thoughtful curriculum design. Jonathan’s movement classes offered a refreshing and enlightening perspective that inspired us to move with intention, creativity, and embodied presence. It has been fantastic working with him.’ Tara

‘Jonathan is a kind and encouraging tutor, whilst being thorough in his teaching and incredibly knowledgeable in his field. I’ve learnt a lot from him in terms of Laban movement analysis as well as Animal studies.’  Tom

PRODUCTIONS AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

AS A MOVEMENT TEACHER

2023 and ongoing, Laban, animal studies, and character journeys to MA Acting, ArtsEd

2021 and 22, Mask to all years of the BA Acting (Performance) at the University of West London. Workshops combining mask, ritual and devising.

2022, Pure movement, devising and animal studies to BA Acting Yrs 1 & 2, Arts Ed.

2021 and ongoing, Movement tutor at The School (formally The Poor School) for the 2 Year Acting Diploma & Short courses. Developed and delivered curricula including rhythm, play, fundamentals, imagination, neutral mask, and Laban

2021 Greek Tragedy, ensemble and chorus to MA Classical Acting, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, in collaboration with Ingrid MacKinnon. Developed and delivered a curriculum with a focus on rhythm, dance, antiphone, and mask.

2015 – 2018 NMT Automatics, workshops at UK tour venues working community participants of ages 10 to 96 of all abilities into a Greek chorus to perform with professionals on Dido & Aeneas: Remixed and Pandora’s Box.

MOVEMENT EXPERIENCE (WHILST ON THE MA MOVEMENT: DIRECTING AND TEACHING)

2019 Movement teacher to BA Theatre Practice: Puppetry and Design, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, mentored by Ioli Filippakopoulou, developed and delivered a curriculum with a focus on body prep, body consciousness and physical dynamics including fixed points, stillness, rhythm, materials, clown and play.

2019 Movement Director, A Message From The Sea,  The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and The Little Angel Theatre, tour. Ensemble, storytelling, clown, physical dynamics and support for the overall physical language of the piece.

2019 Movement Director, False Flag, 3rd year BA American Theatre at Rose Bruford College, Director Steve Dykes. Enhancing physical awareness, character movement, and exploring stillness for live camera and theatre for achieving authentic actions in multi-media piece of new writing.

2019 Movement Director, Liberation Hypothesis, 3rd year BA American Theatre at Rose Bruford College, Director Steve Dykes. Enhancing physical awareness, character movement, facilitating devised movement sequences and exploring stillness for live camera and theatre for achieving authentic actions in multi-media piece of contemporary theatre.

SELECTED DIRECTING EXPERIENCE

2018 Co-director,  Pandora’s Box,  Greenwich Theatre and Tour, NMT Automatics, also produced, wrote and performed

2016 -2017 Director, Myths of an Island: Aeneas in Sicily, The British Museum and Greenwich Tall Ships Festival, NMT Automatics, also produced, adapted and performed

2014 Directed, The Orpheus Project, Edinburgh C Too & The So & So ON Festival, London, NMT Automatics, also produced, co-wrote and performed

SELECTED TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2018-2019 Mary Dunne Theatre school, London. Regular drama workshops with young people.

2011 onwards Creative Spotlight, facilitated various workshops involving drama at secondary and primary schools across London.

SKILLS

Greek Tragedy, chorus work, ensemble, Laban, animal studies, devising movement, comedy, physical theatre, storytelling, inclusive practice, reading music, drums and percussion, clown, comedy, improvisation, children’s theatre, puppetry, writer