Staff Spotlight: Ian Johnston
Theater Facilitator Ian Johnston is an actor, educator, psychic entertainer, academic, fight arranger, and artistic director of Cavort Theatre. Ian has acted in theatre, film, television, opera and cabaret, including work for the Royal Opera House, the Discovery Channel, Sci-fi Weekender, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, The British Library, Sir Ken Robinson’s Institute of Imagination, the Boomtown Festival and the Camden Etcetera London Horror Festival.
His work. The Universe (101), premiered at the Hollywood Fringe and won the coveted “Pick of the Fringe” award, the “Encore Hollywood Producer’s Award,” the “Better Lemons Audience,” and “Double Sweet Award,” and was nominated for Best Cabaret. He has performed his one-man shows in the West End, Off-Broadway (Monday Night Magic), in Southeast Asia, and theatres across the UK, as well as bringing his riff on the Dr. Faustus legend “The Devil Without” to Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals to five-star critical acclaim.
Ian was mentored in mind-reading by the son of Houdini’s prop maker, lectures around the world to the magic community, and is a member of Hollywood’s prestigious Magic Castle. Ian holds an MA in performance studies with Rose Bruford College and Manchester University, and is primarily interested in combining aspects of contrasting theatrical practices with new technology. To that end, Ian has utilized infrasound, hypnosis, VR, and auditory illusions in his projects. He also devises interactive and immersive performances, such as using puppetry interventions at bedside in hospitals to promote rehabilitation in stroke patients and creating atmospheric theatrical happenings for events.
As a theatre-maker and lecturer, Ian has travelled, taught, and performed in multiple countries including India, Singapore, Thailand, Chile, Malaysia, the U.S., Norway, Portugal, Australia, Oman, Dubai, Poland, and China. He has taught in world-class educational institutions, such as United World College, Singapore American School, The Canadian International School of Hong Kong, and is an examiner for Cambridge University IGCSE and a teaching artist for the International Schools Theatre Association.
With iLEAD, Ian has delivered workshops to teachers as well as teaching IB Theatre and recently took students to the 43rd annual Chapman University Shakespeare Festival, where the students won best acting and design awards. Ian is also passionate about making sure the arts are available to all iLEAD schools, and is part of iSALT and the five-year plan to thread arts throughout our curriculums.
When not working, Ian enjoys devising new shows, playing guitar, climbing, martial arts, hiking, cooking outrageously exotic food and writing creative biographies.
