STOMPING GROUND
summer school
STOMPING GROUND: AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PHYSICAL THEATRE SUMMER SCHOOL
"A fantastic experience! A whole bunch of new tools, practical and dynamic, wrapped up in a blanket of holistic yumminess! Stimulating, useful, thought‑provoking and challenging – I enjoyed every minute."
- Julie Nolan (Artistic Director, Red Leap Theatre, New Zealand).
"The best kick-start to a year I’ve ever had.
A kick up the bum mentally and physically – like nitro for an actor; I loved it!"
- Peter Rasmussen (Casting Director).
2025 will mark Stomping Ground’s 27th year. This annual physical theatre summer intensive training program, which was the first of its kind in Australia, is led by Zen Zen Zo founders Lynne Bradley and Simon Woods, Zen Zen Zo company members and guest artist, Shaun Johnston.
The aim of Stomping Ground is to introduce participants to a range of physical theatre disciplines including Zen Zen Zo’s specialty areas of the Suzuki Method, Butoh, and Viewpoints. Stomping Ground provides a solid base in these methods focusing on developing the performer’s physical, vocal and ensemble skills. It is also a journey of transformation – both personally and professionally – as participants begin the new year by refining their goals for the year, shaping their craft, and meeting fellow artists and creative souls with similar interests and beliefs.
2 Week Physical Theatre Training Intensive
DATES:
TIME:
VENUE:
COST:
BOOKINGS:
Mon 5 - Fri 16 Jan, 2026
9am - 3pm
ADC Studios, Judith Wright Centre (Brisbane)
$740 / $640 Conc. Early bird*
$890 / $790 conc. full fee
SOLD OUT!
2 x Full Scholarships are available to First Nations participants.
WRESTLING 2 DANCE Training Intensive
Perth-based performer and director, Shaun Johnston, pioneered Wrestling 2 Dance, after graduating from WAAPA and training extensively in Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Contemporary Dance. STOMPING GROUND will be the first time this innovative training method has been offered in Queensland.
Wrestling 2 Dance is a new partnering practice that incorporates ideas from wrestling, contact improvisation & contemporary dance to explore a full spectrum of touch in performance work. This training embraces using soft and sensitive, as well as firm and playful ways of touching to extend the creative possibilities when using touch in our work. Drawing on wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, this practice offers an exciting way into dramatic territory in partner work.
New movements, games and principles help build a solid foundation for understanding how to safely and confidently explore stronger types of contact, catering to all levels of experience. Different concepts for applying touch in choreography, improvisation & staging will be introduced. Participants can expect lots of play and a dash of light-hearted competition!
DATES:
TIME:
VENUE:
COST:
BOOKINGS:
Mon 12 - Fri 16 Jan, 2026
3:15pm - 5pm
ADC Studios, Judith Wright Centre (Brisbane)
$200 / $150 conc. full fee
Shaun Johnston
Shaun is a Perth / Boorloo-based actor, dancer, teaching-artist and creator with a practice that incorporates acting, physical theatre, contemporary dance and martial arts. In 2025, Shaun starred in the 10-year anniversary production of the multi-award-winning FAG/STAG by The Last Great Hunt, presented at the State Theatre Centre of WA and touring regionally. He also performed in and devised Passports, Undercurrent Theatre Company’s latest work and an international collaboration across four countries. In 2024, Shaun danced in Coalescing Towards, choreographed by Italian artist Michele Rizzo and presented in Perth Festival; he performed in PAWA award-nominated FAKE by Mark Haslam, as part of the 2024 ISPA Congress; and he choreographed The Scramble, which used wrestling and dance to examine touch in male relationships. At the Blue Room Theatre, Shaun acted in PAWA award-nominated Conception (2023), directed by Samuel Gordon Bruce; he performed in and devised My Shout (2021) with Undercurrent Theatre Company.
