The common perception of stage
combat involves sword fighting
on stage but this is only a portion
of what stage combat covers. The
practice also includes how to fall
on stage, kick, punch, slap, shove,
and grab another actor that when
performed is convincing to an audience. Actors need to perform
the combat safely and still “sell”
the action to an audience. The importance of knowing the basics
of stage combat cannot be over
stressed as a fundamental tool in
any actor’s toolbox as most projects will at times involve the need
for some sort of physical confrontation.
I interviewed Jared Kirby of Leonia, NJ who has been working
in Stage and Screen Combat for
almost 20 years and is a Certified Fight Director with the Art of
Combat (AoC), an international
stage combat organization. Kirby
and professionals like him are
hired by a theater or film company when any type of unarmed or
armed sequence is needed to be
staged, similar to when productions hire dance choreographers
or musical directors.
Unarmed stage combat, the
practice of knowing how to do
falls, throw stage punches, kicks,
slaps, etc., is the most common
type of stage combat. How important is it that all actors know
these skills? Absolutely imperative. I am disappointed that so
many professional training programs these days under emphasize this important skill. Conflict
is the essence of any good storytelling and therefore many productions will include some sort
of violence. It may be a simple
push, fall or slap, but every actor
will be involved in some sort of
violence early in their career. It is
in these little moments that we
have a tremendous opportunity to
tell the audience more about the
character and express something
that can’t be shared in words.
Many times I see this opportunity glossed over because people
don’t understand how to use vio-
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