He trained at the Lecoq School of Physical Theatre and also studied with Decroux, Grotowski, Alvin Ailey, Mike Alfreds, Ed Berman, Peter Brook, Master Lim and Augusto Boal. David is a citizen of the world who resides in London. He is a leading international theatre teacher and has taught and influenced three generations of theatre makers in 73 countries. Past students include Simon McBurney (Complicite), Emma Thompson (Actress), Amit Lehav (Gecko Theatre), Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter (Told by An Idiot) Lloyd Newson (DV8), Liam Steele (Physical Director), Tina Ellen Lee (Opera Circus) and Jim Chim Hoi (Theatre Ensemble Hong Kong). He has influenced industry leaders such as Tom Morris (War Horse) and John McGrath (Artistic Director of Manchester International Festival) and has been influential in shaping the creative lives of performers such as Kathrine Hunter, Anna Marie- Duff, Sarah Parrish and Gong Lee. Always a maverick, David is often sighted by theatre leaders as a defining force in world theatre. He has spearheaded collaborative practice that has helped shape the creative approaches of his early collaborators Rae Smith (Designer), Jamie Vartan (Designer) and Paule Constable (Lighting Designer). Whilst many of the artists he has influenced have settled in the mainstream, David has always looked for new creative avenues unconcerned by fashion or commercial success. For fifteen years David helped shape arts policy and delivery for both the Arts Council of England (1988-1992) and The British Council as a consultant and panel member. He established the learning criteria for Physical and Devised Theatre at GCSE and A Level at schools in the UK. Along with Penny Mayes, they helped establish a home for Physical Theatre in the UK’s cultural life through major financial uplifts. Without their lobbying and arts panel work companies such as Complicite, Improbable, DV8, Frantic Assembly, Adventures In Motion Pictures and Gecko Theatre- to name only a few- would never have achieved a secure platform in the UK. From 1978-1990 he was an award winning solo physical theatre performer touring to over 48 countries and creating 10 works, including ‘The White Women’, which won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award. He performed alongside American clowns Bob Berky and Bill Irwin and was the first mime artist to teach Footlights Review (Cambridge, UK), influencing a generation of actors and comedians such as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson, to think with their bodies. His teaching at this time influenced luminaries such as Stephen Daldry (Dir. Billy Elliot), Roxanne Silbert (ATC, Birmingham Rep Theatre) and Anna Furse (Paines Plough, Goldsmiths College). During this time David was influential amongst a generation of emerging dance artists including Shobana Jeysingh, Benji Reid, Aletta Collins and Lloyd Newson. In 1999 he established the David Glass Ensemble and has toured productions to 32 countries, including Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast that won him the TMA Best Director Award in 1992. He spearheaded theatrical adaptations of films including Les Enfant de Paradis with Mike Alfreds and Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, as well as the first ever stage adaption of Popeye and a celebrated version of Paul Theroux’s Mosquito Coast. His Lost Child Trilogy broke the mould of how theatre could be made. It was a collaboration with over 6000 street children in 22 countries. And his return to performance in 2004 with Disembodied co-created with Tom Morris, changed the map of physical performance. With The Chimp That Spoke, David spent two weeks with chimps that spoke American Sign Language, creating a work ahead of its time around the theme of ecocide. In 1997 he founded the groundbreaking Lost Child Project working with over 10,000 street children in 22 countries and established the first Centre For Creative Development with VBNK in Cambodia in 2000. David designed and led on a two year Youth Peer to Peer Forum Theatre on reproductive health with the Ministry of Education in Vietnam funded by the Ford Foundation. The troupe went onto become the leaders of Applied Theatre across Vietnam working in Hanoi University and establishing Life Art Company. In Cambodia he wrote his five stage Creative Practice book which is now used worldwide to help organisations such as Save The Children, UNICEF, UN/ILO and numerous Universities around the world helping them to think and work more creatively. His Ensemble practice has been a key element in the corporate development work of David Pearl Associates. In 2002, he established Ensemble Films with Paul Zetter to make films and film writing around development and arts issues. In its fourteen years it has made hundreds of films across SE Asia and is now branching out in Europe with partners Robert Golden Pictures and BAFTA award winner John Dale. In 2016 he established The Centre For Creative Practice, which teaches creativity across a wide range of organisations and learning institutions in 16 countries. He is lead Creative Practice and leadership trainer for the UN and Senior Foreign Consultant on Creativity to the Ministry of Education China as part of the 111 program. His Creative Practice is used by Save The Children, British Council and Embassy as well as companies and universities around the world. Always visually stunning and provocative, his recent productions include an acclaimed production of Bleak House, a visually powerful adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, a site specific version of The Shining in a hotel, an epic work of physical theatre inspired by Naomi Klein’s seminal work on capitalism and climate change- This Changes Everything, an outrageous work on the Feminine Principle (that developed as the #MeToo movement was unfolding) called The Brides for The Brides Collective of Siena (Italy)- a new company that he helped establish. Always planting new seeds, David has also helped establish Theatre Ash (Hong Kong) with his hugely visual work based on Kowloon Walled City, City Of Darkness that opened Yogyakarta International Festival, 2018. In 2019 he directed Tempest, a co-production with KL Shakespeare Players that gained much praise at PenangPAC and KLPAC (Malaysia). In 2019 he also had another offbeat hit, Mortgage, which toured Greece, UK and Norway. David continues to work internationally in 24 countries. The reformed Ensemble has partnership homes at Bath Spa University (UK), East 15 Drama School (UK), LASALLE College (Singapore), Central Academy of Dramatic Art Beijing (China), The Haque Centre for Acting and Creativity (Singapore), DPAC (Malaysia), Marphy’s Playhouse Chengdu (China), National Theatre Of Serbia, Teatro Espanol (Spain), Artogether Guangzhou (China), Created A Monster (UK) and Athens Festival (Greece), and its reach is growing as his work focuses on the coming generation of artists around the world. Over the next five years David is working internationally on four legacy projects. AB Project is a nine country youth arts empowerment project using the Anders Breivik attack on 69 young people as a provocation to celebrate the potential of those lost voices at this time of youth polarisation and marginalisation. This Changes Everything is a theatrical adaptation of Naomi Klein’s seminal work on climate change and capitalism. A DEvine Comedy is a trilogy of works celebrating the madness of theatre and the modern world. In 2021, David and the Ensemble are partnering with Bath Spa University to establish Alchemy of the Extraordinary: a two year part time MA in Creative Practice and Innovation with the vision of creating the theatre and digital arts mavericks of the future.

Natalie is passionate about supporting companies whose work crosses many art forms and is based in London & Turin. She supports artists and companies with fundraising, financial administration and budgeting, tour booking, programming, marketing and promotion, promoter liaison, advocacy and tour management for international productions. After 10 years as a theatre and venue manager working in a variety of venues across London including the Apollo Victoria Theatre, the Arts Theatre, Blackheath Halls and Riverside Studios, Natalie moved into producing after studying theatre arts at Goldsmiths College. She worked for touring theatre company Trestle for 6 years between 2004-2010 as both General Manager and Administrative Producer and was the first Associate Producer for The Hat Factory in Luton between 2010-2012. There she supported the development of touring work by emerging and established artists.

Supported by the Stage One bursary award, and a recent alumni of the inaugural New York/London producer exchange between Stage One and the University of Colombia, Sam works both independently and with organisations across the globe. Sam is a partner at Covent Garden Productions and also currently working as a producer for Histrionic Productions, and the David Glass Ensemble. Sam’s current credits include: ROOM, the Stage Adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s bestselling novel in association with Theatre Royal Stratford East, the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and National Theatre of Scotland. Room will play The Grand Theatre Ontario, and CAA Theatre Toronto, directed by Cora Bissett, Carmen Jones directed by John Doyle, playing at Classic Stage Company, New York, winning the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival. In Development: a new play by Neil LaBute, as well as a stage adaptation of award winning documentary, The Work, and the stage adaptation of William Ivory’s Burton and Taylor. As an investor Sam has been recently represented in the West End by Dear Evan Hansen, Kenneth Lonnegan's Starry Messenger starring Matthew Broderick, and The Man In The White Suit by Sean Foley.

Since then Maj-Britt has worked as a producer and curator. From 2014-2018 she was head of the National Danish Art Council responsible for working grants for the most sublime and inventive Danish artists within the Performing Arts industry. She is now international producer at the Danish National School of Performing Arts. Deepening and expanding the knowledge and craftsmanship of the performing arts is at the core of her work. As an artist she still works as an actress mainly in Television and on Film while also developing new artistic projects of her own. For David Glass she works as the Scandinavian producer. With Glass ensemble she finally has found her artistic tribe so to say. Courage, with, warmth, research, compassion, bravery, interdisciplinarity, education and true profound dedicated artists.

Gavin is a Creative Development Coordinator and Assistant Producer for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (National Theatre of Wales). He is a Producer and co-founder of theatre company Mad Wolf Theatre and an Associate Producer for new writing company The Signal House. He is also a board member for Hastings based theatre company Spun Glass Theatre. Gavin is passionate about new writing, devised theatre and re-imagined telling’s of classic stories. He supports artists and companies with fundraising, budgeting, tour booking and programming.

Drawing on a lifetime’s experience in opera, theatre and film, David has pioneered the use of the arts in business and is creative confidante to high-profile CEOs and their teams across the globe. An ex-BBC broadcaster, David is responsible for designing, orchestrating and animating on & off-line high-stakes meetings the world over. He is also the founder of non-profit social venture Street Wisdom and keeps his creative instincts sharp with his improvising ensemble, Impropera.   David describes the common thread between all his work as finding the wonder in the everyday. Every day.

As a director, Josette Bushell-Mingo was Founder and Artistic Director of PUSH, a Black-led theatre festival with the Young Vic Theatre.  Through her work with PUSH, she was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts, a Judy Craymer Award for Innovation, and the Southbank Cultural Diversity Award.

For 13 years, she was also the Artistic Director for The National Touring Swedish Deaf Theatre ensemble Tyst Teater, where her work focused on fostering the understanding, respect and potential of sign language arts and the artistic, linguistic and cultural rights of the deaf.

She has served on the board of the Swedish Film Institute, as the chairwoman for CinemAfrica, a Swedish Non-Profit celebrating African and Diaspora film culture, and is Patron of the Unity Theatre, Liverpool.  Josette travels internationally giving lectures and workshops in the creation of sign language theatre, cultural diversity challenges and inclusion, and has taught in Stockholm, Malmö and Luleå theatre schools, LAMDA, the London College of Fashion, and New York University’s TISCH School of the Arts amongst others.

She co-directed Flight Paths, The Last Days of Limehouse and directed Yeh Shen and Why the Lion Danced as well as numerous play readings for the company. She has taught at numerous drama schools including Mountview, Central School of Speech and Drama, Arts Ed and ALRA and was core tutor at Clean Break Theatre for over 10 years.   In recent years she has rediscovered her love of masks and had been teaching annually in Japan until the pandemic hit. Kumiko is also co-Artistic Director of A Thousand Cranes, a company she set up with children’s director Vicky Ireland, to bring the stories and art forms of Japan to UK young audiences. She is a trustee for Curious Directive and True Heart Theatre.

Since 1996 she has directed 13 site-specific productions and 16 theatre productions for Theatre-Rites including Houseworks (1996), a seminal site-specific show for children commissioned by LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre), the award winning Mischief (2007)in collaboration with Arthur Pita, a co-production with Sadler’s Wells and Dance Touring Partnerships, 3 productions for the Ruhrtriennale Festival (Salt 2008, Paradise 2010 and The Welcoming Party 2018 which was premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2017) and Zoe's Peculiar Journey Through Time, a co-production with Burgtheater Vienna, 2021. Under Construction Outside of Theatre-Rites she has worked with many companies including the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and Complicité. In 2015 Sue directed Chotto Desh (a version of Akram Khan’s award-winning Desh for family audiences) which toured extensively for 3 years and, in 2020, she collaborated once again with the Akram Khan Company to direct Chotto Xenos, an adaptation of Akram Khan’s award winning Xenos, for family audiences. Sue is delighted to be an Advisor for a range of organisations including Sadler's Wells, Polka Theatre, Schauspielhaus Bochum and, of course, the David Glass Ensemble. Sue has an MA in Contemporary Theatre Practice from the University of Essex, which included a thesis on the Psychoanalytical Study of the Power of the Puppet. In 2018 the University awarded her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her inspiring leadership in theatre direction and puppetry. In 2021 Sue co-authored a book about Theatre-Rites with Board Member and Lecturer at University of Essex, Liam Jarvis. Theatre-Rites, Animating Puppets, Objects and Sites celebrates the company's 25th birthday and explores their unique approach to visual storytelling.

Throughout a career that spans more than 40 years, Dr McDonald has worked tirelessly to improve the well-being of children and families around the world using scientific research to build a family strengthening program proven to bring about life-changing outcomes.   When Dr McDonald launched FAST in 1988, it was one of the first prevention/early intervention programs to develop practical applications for mental health and family theory research findings. “I had worked as a clinical social worker and I was a mother raising my own children, so I keenly understood how parents and child development professionals needed practices that truly worked to give children the best possible start in life.”   Dr McDonald’s own childhood experiences also influenced the foundations of FAST. Her experiences growing up in Germany, France, Turkey, Egypt and the United States instilled that families and children are key to every society.  FAST has been run in 20 countries around the world, has an 80% retention rate, one of the highest among early intervention parenting skills programs and produces significant improvements in children’s academic performance, behaviour and emotional well-being.   In 1976, Dr McDonald was awarded a PhD in Psychology from University of California-Irvine – a unique cross-disciplinary approach to research. She began her professional career as a Psychiatric Social Worker with the University of California-Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute, then moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she launched a 22-year career working as a Researcher with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, as well as an Assistant Professor of Social Work, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   In 2008, Dr McDonald joined Middlesex University, London, as a Professor of Social Work Research and worked there until she retired and moved back to Madison. Even in retirement, she continues to work with Families & Schools Together on a consulting basis.

Benji currently holds the position of Associate Artist at the Royal Exchange Manchester.

Prior to his role on the global team, Conor worked in Cambodia for the Better Factories Cambodia Programme, where he established the programme’s training and advisory services and played an active role to help develop the Better Work Global Programme. He also spent one year in Vietnam establishing Better Work Vietnam before moving to Geneva in 2009.   Conor joined the ILO after 12 years working on capacity building and leadership programs for development, private and public sector staff and organisations in Cambodia, Tibet and Canada.   His technical knowledge of working conditions in global supply chains spans a wide range of industries. While the vast majority of his experience involves work in the apparel, textiles and footwear industries, he also has practical experience in the pharmaceutical, aquaculture and electronics industries as well as in the forestry sector. He holds Irish and Canadian citizenship. Conor has an MBA in Educational leadership and a BA (double major) in Psychology and History.

John led consultancy teams for new broadcast TV channels in Turkmenistan, Georgia and Zimbabwe. He then decided to stop being a grown-up and created Limetools Ltd., a company that uses John’s storytelling and educational experience to build behaviour change tools for areas of organisational high risk, primarily Cyber and Energy Security and Innovation Management. He lives in Bournemouth and still occasionally fire-eats.

He has worked all over the world, including China and Mongolia, staged over 200 productions and won awards both at home and abroad. He has adapted novels for the stage, devised performances and translated the texts of several of his shows. He maintains a parallel career as a teacher. He was a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University and on the staff of LAMDA and currently teaches at several drama schools and theatre departments. He frequently gives courses on acting, directing, and storytelling which has become a strong focus of his work. He has written two books on acting, Different every Night and Then What Happens? which are on most theatre training syllabuses.

As well as making her professional acting Theatre Debut as Cecile in Les Liaisons Dangerues at the Maltings Theatre. And has performed her poem 'Say it with my chest' at Cambridge International Arts Festival and Anthroplay Theatre's spoken word event. Maisie is also a founder of Textured Theatre Co, a new theatre company which focuses on collaborating with artists to share underrepresented stories that start a conversation. Maisie performed in The David Glass Ensemble's show as Marla in Mayhem as a collaboration with East 15 in 2019 Southend, in addition to The Brides Uk research and development as part of London Mime Festival 2022. Maisie trained with the ensemble in the lost child project in London 2021 and travelled to Exeter that June to assist David in facilitating.

Theatre includes: Museum of Austerity (National Theatre/ETT); Peter Pan (Regents Park Open Air), Flying Bath (Little Angel/Lyric Hammersmith) Macbeth (Flabbergast / Tour), Dragonfly - reading (Park Theatre) First Time in a Dress, The Odyssey (Jermyn Street Theatre) Directing/Movement includes: Orlando (Jermyn Street Theatre) The Guilded Splinter (David Glass Ensemble) Charlie Comet and The Magic in The Attic (Nottingham Puppet Festival/Nottingham Theatre Royal) Television includes: The Windsors (Raw TV/Netflix) Reading Between The Meaningful End (Sky One) Film include: All The Ordinary Angels, Cost of Living (Rhyming Films)

His aim is to continue exploration into the structure of race through work with varied groups of people from varied communities, not just through a study of the self, but through collaborative creation of poignant and provocative art centred around our societal norms. With focus on aiming to give a conscious and fair view of situations from every perspective, giving voice and recognition to the voiceless, challenging the norms of the everyday and working to promote equity for all, and to move and inform those that don’t accept or understand the scale of these problems caused by Humanity. Works with David Glass Ensemble include Mayhem (2019), Galapagos (2020).

After studying with the infamous storyteller and performer Marco Paolini, she developed her own storytelling style: a social and intimate voice to be shared thanks to a community vision and practice, as well as through the tools of fairytales, framed in a natural environment. In her Theatre/Nature method Silvia Priscilla mixes storytelling, mask construction and uses kitchen and food as tools to express and communicate oral Italian and German traditions, physical and devised theatre, as well as basic knowledge of the natural environment.   Over the years Silvia Priscilla has been studying and deepening her experience in theatre improvisation and impro matches, performing many shows both for children and adults and applying improvisation methods to her special storytelling technique. Since four years Silvia Priscilla is, together with Margherita Fusi, co-director of Topi Dalmata company, teaching yearly to over 500 people of all ages, from primary school age to elderly people. The company has been awarded prizes and funding for their intergenerational and community theatre.   Focussing on female empowerment for many years, Silvia Priscilla, together with Margherita Fusi, have conceived a new storytelling project about the role of the bride and of women in Italy. After devising and performing for a couple of years, the project is renewed and deepened after the meeting with David Glass. Now “The Brides” is both a physical theatre performance and a broader social project aiming to involve women from all over the world, mixing their voices and expressions with an Italian community approach to theatre and sharing.   Silvia Priscilla and Margherita both lead the AB Project in Italy for the David Glass Ensemble.

Since graduating Jack has collaborated with the David Glass Ensemble playing the “Boy” in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett and facilitating workshops for young people focusing on taking play seriously again. Other work includes Tess (Barrell Organ Theatre/ ETT), Brother don’t preach (Theatre 503), Home (The Pappy Show), DisillusionIllusion (Poetic Fools Theatre), The Polar Express (MNR). Requiem – Winner of Best Post Graduate film 2022 at Royal Television Society.

As The AB Project's documentarian, Finn helps to inform members of the project's progression via blog posts, podcasts, interviews and more, as well as exploring the project's themes and issues. While he works primarily with The AB Project, he occasionally contributes to the development of some of the Ensemble's other ongoing projects.

Current projects include working with UNAMI, The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq designing a project called “Futurers 2050” an Alternate Reality Game played across ten cities in Iraq aimed at building youth motivation on the issue of water scarcity.