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Leon Conrad

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Leon Conrad(born 15 September 1965) is a Britishpolymath:writer, story structure consultant, educator, and specialist in historicneedleworktechniques known particularly for historically-styledblackworkembroiderydesigns.

Early life and education

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Conrad was born inLondon.He grew up inPutney,attendedWillington Schoolfor a year before moving toAlexandria,Egypt where he first attendedEl Nasr Girls' Collegeand thenVictoria College, Alexandria.He moved back to the UK in 1983, studying piano privately withSidney Harrisonand then at theCity Literary Institutewith Kenneth van Barthold gaining his LRAM teaching certificate before enteringTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dancein 1986, graduating with Honours in 1989.

He trained in theEstill Voice Trainingmethod withJo Estill,in Vocal Profile Analysis with Christina Shewell,[1]through the British Voice Association; and in voice withJanice Chapman.He studied physical theatre with Desmond Jones, theatre improvisation withKeith Johnstone,and mask theatre withSteve Jarand.

As a historic needlework practitioner, he was apprenticed to master embroiderer and specialist in Blackwork embroidery, Jack Robinson. Conrad went on to gain an MA degree in the History of Design and Material Culture of the Renaissance (V&A/RCA, 2005). His thesis was on the history of English 16th and 17th century woven and embroidered textile bookbindings.[2]

As a storyteller, Conrad has been studying the little-known Jewish oral storytelling tradition with Drust’syla Shonaleigh Cumbers since 2015.

Career

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Background and work

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Conrad worked as Musical Director in charge of school workshops for Opera Brava (1988–1990),[3]as Lecturer inMusical Theatreat the Maurice Lane Academy of Performing Arts and atCrawley College.He set up the UK’s first specialist voice consultancy, The Conrad Voice Consultancy, (1990), which became The Academy of Oratory (2012–).

As a specialist in historic needlework, Conrad has demonstrated, taught, and published needlework charts and kits inspired by historic techniques in the UK, Europe, and the USA. He founded his design company, Leon Conrad Designs in 1998. He has exhibited widely both as an individual artist and with The New Elizabethans Embroidery Group which he founded in 1997.[4]

Conrad was invited to be Poet-in-Residence at the First Edinburgh Food Festival (2006)[5]and invited back to be Poet-in-Residence at the Pleasance Theatre for theEdinburgh Fringe(2007).

As atutor,Conrad is inspired by classicalLiberal Artseducation and specialises in tutoring gifted and twice exceptional students.[6]

Since 2010, Conrad’s research has focused on the application ofGeorge Spencer-Brown’s work to the analysis and mapping ofstory structure.[7]

He has participated in over 20 exhibitions and has taught at embroidery seminars in the UK and the United States. He is married to Tanya Conrad.

Books

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  • “Story and Structure: A complete guide”, winner of the IPNE Nonfiction Book of the Year Award 2022,[8]finalist in The People's Book Prize 2022[9]and recipient of the BREW Seal of Excellence and two category titles of the BREW Book Excellence Award,[10]demonstrates a much wider application of story than generally assumed; presents new insights into story as a dynamic force of life (ISBN978-1906069254).
  • “Odyssey: Dynamic Learning System”, with David Pinto, an innovative approach to inspirational learning experiences (ISBN978-1782792963).
  • “History Riddles”, a collection of 30riddlesbased on key people and events across a period of over 4,500 years (ISBN978-1782792949).
  • “Aesop The Storyteller”, a collection of 12 versified Aesopic Fables with CD (ISBN978-0955639104). Second edition print only (ISBN 978-0955639180), eBook (ISBN 978-0955639197), also available as an audio book.
  • Contributed blackwork embroidery designs to the bookThe Essential Guide to Embroidery,published in 2002 (ISBN1-85391-988-8).

Articles and reviews

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  • “A Treatise on Plaited Braid Stitch: Parts 1 & 2”, in 'Fine Lines'[11]- the Magazine of the Historic Needlework Guild, Summer 2003, Vol 8, Issues 1 & 2, being the first correct demonstration of how the historicneedleworkstitch was worked in 400 years.
  • Numerous reviews for fringe theatre performances for the British Theatre Guide,[12]Broadway Baby,[13]and Remote Goat.[14]
  • Articles on classical Liberal Arts education, the application ofGeorge Spencer-Brown’s work to the practice ofclassical logic,[15]and the analysis of story structure.
  • Conrad's designs have been published inNew Stitches Magazine,The Needleworker,Classic Stitches,Needlecraft,Cross-Stitch Gold,andFineLines

References

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  1. ^Seehttps://onlinelibrary.wiley /doi/10.1002/9780470745588.ch6andhttps:// tandfonline /doi/abs/10.1080/23268263.2009.10761519
  2. ^"Leon Conrad - Academia.edu".
  3. ^Source:https://operabrava /the_history_of_opera_brava.html- Leon Conrad features third from the left in the black and white photograph.
  4. ^Conrad, Leon."Embroidery: Bibliography and Offerings".
  5. ^"Poetry at the Dome | Pleasance Edinburgh | Festival, Fringe, Theatre, Comedy, ed Fringe".pleasance.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2008.Retrieved12 January2022.
  6. ^https://outschool /teachers/Leon-Conrad-2020#usxZtjjNCi,http://leonconrad /tutor,https:// academia.edu/42123427/Integration_in_the_Liberal_Arts_Harmony_in_the_Trivium_Logic_in_the_Quadrivium_RILKO_Lecture_Fri_28_Feb_2020
  7. ^"Laws of Form - Free Online Course".
  8. ^"IPNE Book Awards 2022".Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE).Retrieved29 April2024.
  9. ^"Entry Page".The People's Book Prize - Nonfiction Category.The People's Book Prize.Retrieved19 October2022.
  10. ^""Story and Structure: A Complete Guide" by Leon Conrad ".The Chrysalis BREW Project.Retrieved30 March2024.
  11. ^T, N. E. E. D. L. E. P. R. I. N. (11 June 2014)."SOLD Fine Lines(4) x 4 * £10 €15 $27 Including Shipping ($30 Australia or New Zealand)".N e e d l e p r i n t.Retrieved14 October2021.
  12. ^"Theatre review: Lola: The Life of Lola Montez at Riverside Studios".
  13. ^"Articles by Leon Conrad".
  14. ^https://robertgoodman.co.uk/,http:// danyaldhondy /(Review of The Recognition of Sakuntala)
  15. ^"Laws of Form–Laws of Logic".
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