Over the years, I've given a number of talks and presentations at medical conferences, young adult cancer patient events, etc. It's one of my favorite parts of my career - speaking with specialist audiences and people who can 'use' the information in a direct and practical way. Here are a selection of some of my more favorite talks. Career highlights include: Harvard Medical School, Lagos Medical School, McGill Medical School, Performing Medicine Conference in London, Seymour Centre Sydney, National University of Singapore, and more. I am particularly proud of my regular talks at FIND YOUR SENSE OF TUMOUR - run by Teenage Cancer Trust - and by events with the BRIGHTLIGHT research team.

While You Wait for a Podcast (and Short Film) below. Also featured on FOUR THOUGHT, Radio 4, click here.

While You Wait is a series of podcasts, each of which is a different meditation on the idea of waiting created by artists in collaboration with academic from King's College London, produced by Fuel. Artist Brian Lobel says: "For the "While You Wait" series, I thought it would be cheeky and subversive to write “Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis” and to try to put into practice some of the thinking that I have done in the past 12 years since I was diagnosed, treated and cured of testicular cancer. Because I have spent so much time working as a professional cancer patient - performing my personal patient narrative as well as creating work about how cancer patients exist in public space - I thought that the podcast would be able to be both simple, personal and profound. I wanted to make something that was well-researched, built in consultation with a professional, and that was a bit funny, sexy and political. I wanted and expected it to be easy, especially as I've thought about this subject for so long. Of course, the moment one agrees to write “Waiting... for a Cancer Diagnosis”, suddenly, karmically, it happens. The bump. And the theoretical ideas you have about what you would do while you wait seem like a distant memory. This bump is not a metaphor, or an idea: this bump is serious." More about Brian... "I create performances about bodies: politicized bodies, marginalized bodies, dancing and singing bodies, happy bodies, sick bodies and bodies that need a little extra love. After being sick as a young adult, I became fascinated with unique bodily experience and how it is conceived, discussed and witnessed by others, leading me directly into my current performance practice. While the work takes many different forms — installation, stage shows, cabaret, interactive performance and publications — each project is keenly interested in how you (the audience) relate both to me and to others. To do this, I combine my intimate stories with grander public narratives (about illness, technology, nationalism, economy, sexuality and more) in an attempt to show that we are all in this together. The work playfully inspires audiences to consider the world around them with renewed vigor, generosity, reflection and an insatiable desire to engage with others." Image: Sheila Burnett

Waiting... for a cancer diagnosis by writer and performer Brian Lobel, in collaboration with Iain Perdue, a Research Worker in the Psychology Department at King's College London. Brian Lobel creates performances about bodies: politicized bodies, marginalized bodies, dancing and singing bodies, happy bodies, sick bodies and bodies that need a little extra love.


PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS

In addition to performing, Brian leads a number of workshops for students, emerging artists and interested community groups.  LET ME HEAR YOUR BODY TALK is a workshop on autobiography & performance which was developed for DaDa Festival at Bluecoat, Liverpool and also facilitated for HOME (Manchester), Performing Medicine at Shoreditch Town Hall (London), Limmud (Warwick) and National University of Singapore. To enquire about a workshop please be in touch.


BALL/MEDICAL TEACHING

Since 2003, Brian has toured his show BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer to medical schools and universities extensively, first through support of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine and the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, and then through lots of other organisations.  Performances of BALL and follow-up workshops were brought as special events or keynote speeches at over 50 universities and organisations.  Although BALL went into semi-retirement in 2007, upon moving to the UK, Brian began producing the show for new audiences, and crafting medical school lessons around autobiography and medical/performance ethics. Since 2009, Brian has worked as an Associate Artist for Performing Medicine, a project by the Clod Ensemble. During this time he’s convened courses, given workshops and performances at King’s College School of Medicine, Imperial University, Southampton University and Barts & The London Hospital, Sydney University Medical School and Harvard Medical School.