STAGE FIGHTING
...a scene of violence can always be safe for performers, exciting for the audience, and organic to the concept of the play.
J. Allen Suddeth, Fight Directing for the Theatre
Stage fighting, also called combat mime, is the staging and execution of fight sequences for theatre. It includes both armed and unarmed fighting, and a significant part of stage fighting as a professional skill is based on real fighting techniques and styles, both historical and contemporary.
However, stage fighting is based on illusion, cooperation and choreography, unlike the reflex-based actions of martial arts or sport fencing. Every move is carefully planned and agreed on beforehand.
I offer stage fighting in the following forms:
◆ Workshops for any group, small or large
◆ Instruction and choreography for specific productions.
◆ Fight performance in a production.
◆ Demonstration and fight shows from almost any time period.
◆ Advice on safety issues related to stage fighting, training and preparing for a production containing fights
◆ Advice on weapons – what to buy and what to avoid.
◆ One-on-one instruction.
Some examples of workshops I have held:
◆ Introductory course (unarmed, single rapier, quarterstaff)
◆ Basic to intermediate level (unarmed, broadsword, rapier and dagger)
◆ Intermediate to advanced (smallsword, quarterstaff, sword and shield)
◆ Knife fighting
◆ Advanced/special weapons
◆ Clown fighting (slapstick)
◆ Workshops for children
◆ Historical fighting for medieval performance groups
◆ Kung fu-style choreography
◆ Fighting for film
I have taught at more than 100 workshops on stage fighting in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia. I have worked with many different groups and levels of proficiency, and have held workshops for from 2 to 50 participants. I also have practice weapons for all but the largest workshops.
Besides teaching and choreographing, I have on occasions been headhunted to productions to do highlighted fights and fights with principal characters, where experienced fighters were needed as a safety precaution.
I have also worked with many different levels of realism in fight scenes, from the very realistic (domestic violence) to the very stylized (dance). A background in circus work also offers many skills that can be used to spice up a fight scene.
As an instructor
I have worked with stage fighting for more than 10 years as
an instructor, choreographer and performer. I have
coordinated fight scenes for contemporary theatre,
historical plays, medieval tournaments, performance art,
circus and variety, and films - all in all more than 50
different productions.
Plays I have staged fights for include Romeo
and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummernights Dream, The Tempest,
Peter Pan, Robin Hood, King Arthur, A View from the
Bridge, The
Beauty Queen of the Leenane,
Ubu Roi, Lysistrata, A Clockwork Orange, The Private
Lesson, The Dumb Waiter, Mio min Mio, The Brothers
Lionheart.
I have
also staged fights for numerous contemporary circus
productions, medieval shows and street theatre
perfomances.
Nordic
Stage Fight Society
I am a certified teacher with the Nordic Stage Fight
Society (NSFS), where I started formal training in 1995.
NSFS is an ideal organizartion dedicated to promoting a
consistent system of safety measures and routines for fight
scenes and to the training actors in the art of stage
fighting. NSFS also educates and certifies instructors. Its
members are mainly professionals from the fields of theatre
and film.
The NSFS curriculum and teaching body are recognized by the
British Academy of Theatrical Combat, the Society of
American Fight Directors, Fight Directors Canada, New
Zealand Stage Combat Society, the Society of Australian
Fight Directors and The International Order of the Sword
and the Pen.
I teach all 8 NSFS weapon curriculums up to certification
level; Unarmed, Broadsword, Rapier and Dagger, Sword and
Shield, Quarterstaff, Smallsword, Theatrical Martial Arts
and Knife (advanced).
I
am also Head of Research and Education in the NSFS,
responsible for initiating research projects and evaluating
the NSFS certification and test systems.
Martial
Arts
I started to practice martial arts when I was 13 years old.
In 1992-93, I lived one year in Japan and studied aikido
and kendo.
I was never one for grades, but I do have a 1. degree black
belt in aikido, and a 1, kyu grade in kendo (equals a brown
belt).
Complimentary
pursuits
I have limited skill in knife and sword smithing, having
taken lessons with renowned smith Stefan Hügel (bless his
kind heart).
In addition, I have a degree in theatre history, with
special emphasis on medieval and renaissance theatre. I
have done research on renaissance and medieval fighting
techniques and written articles on stage fighting and
period fighting styles as they relate to stage fighting.