These are the workshops I’ll be leading at VISS, the Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium. The conference runs 15-17 February. You can get a pass to participate in all workshops and events, or you can get a auditor rate to quietly watch. Information on tickets, schedules and everything else is at the Vancouver Swordplay Website. Bringing […]
The Hero Sword A work of art. Any closeup of a sword in Lord of the Rings was a Hero Sword. Hero weapons are frequently made of stainless steel for its shine. Like your cookware, stainless steel will keep an edge well, but it’s brittle. That means that hitting them can cause them to shatter […]
The Paddy Crean Conference in Banff is a week of some of the greatest fight instructors and stunt people teaching an incredible group of enthusiasts. So every two years we get the newest innovations in stage combat and stunt work in one venue. And the food is fantastic. I want to share some of what […]
Victim control. It is an essential element of stage combat, but often misunderstood, and more often performed badly. It means that when there is physical contact between two actors, the apparent victim is in charge. This principle applies to pushes, pulls, grabs, strangulation, hair pulls, and most falls and throws. Tyler Durdan Take a lesson […]
The month of December is like a gift of stage combat. It ends with the Paddy Crean, and everyone is preparing for it for the weeks leading up to it. The Paddy Crean Workshop I’ve written about Paddy Crean and the workshop in his honour before. It’s one jam-packed week of stunts, stage combat, and […]
We say that the first rule of stage combat is safety. All stage combat must be safe so that actors will never be hurt in rehearsal or performance. Focusing on safety also gives actors the confidence to move at high speed with full acting. When safety is deprioritized, actors start to flinch or otherwise compensate. […]
Stanislavski’s primary book on Method Acting is called “An Actor Prepares,” which points to the central question: How to be an actor? In one sense, what he’s saying is: “Don’t neglect rehearsal. You can’t control what happens on stage and you can’t rely on your raw talent in the moment to save every show. A […]