{"id":3991,"date":"2013-11-30T03:35:15","date_gmt":"2013-11-30T03:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/?p=3991"},"modified":"2013-11-30T03:35:15","modified_gmt":"2013-11-30T03:35:15","slug":"performance-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/stage-combat-2\/performance-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Performance News"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ll start with news items curated by Major WES VON PAPINE\u00c4U. Wes was in town last week, I hope you had a chance to engage him in his always insightful conversation, and read his blog posts about swords and combat pulled from headlines around the world: http:\/\/www.academieduello.com\/news-blog\/author\/wesvonpapineau\/<\/a> <\/p>\n

Custom Swords for a Play<\/h2>\n

For authentic fight scenes, Folger turns to Maryland swordmakers<\/strong> (Jessica Goldstein, The Washington Post) <\/p>\n

\nKerry Stagmer was the only swordmaker Casey Kaleba called when Kaleba found out he’d be fight-directing Folger Theatre’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
\nKaleba has done “Romeo and Juliet” more than 30 times. This isn’t director Aaron Posner’s first time at the Romeo rodeo, either, and Posner suspects he’s been to 10 productions of the most tragic edition of “Family Feud” ever made.
\nBoth Kaleba and Posner wanted to do something with the fight scenes that no one had seen before, and Posner had an additional request: “I knew I wanted it to feel dangerous. … There’s a reason that young people like carrying weapons, and it’s image and energy and power.”
\n\u2026
\nStagmer says that the weapons are safe only insofar as the blades are smooth, instead of sharp, to the touch. “They’re made to be tough rather than made to be sharp,” he says. “But essentially, they are the same thing” as a “real” sword, and Stagmer makes sharp weapons for clients who desire them (like re-enactors and professionals in full-contact tournaments).
\nIn addition to needing to look the part, swords also have to sound the part. “It’s very, very important that they not just sound right but that they sound like what the audience thinks they should sound like,” said Stagmer. Audiences have been conditioned to hear a chiming sound, like a bell, because sword fights in movies are dubbed. “That’s one of the things we’ve worked very hard (on), to create a process so all of our weapons ring like bells. It’s important for theaters so that when the actors go out there and the swords hit each other, they don’t go ‘clack.'”
\nKaleba promises that even though these fights look more dangerous, they aren’t any less safe than typical stage combat. “It’s a lot of trickery,” he says. “It’s sightlines, it’s angles. … You’re making the audience think they saw something that never really happened. And a lot of it is the relationship between the swords, the actors and the choreography.
\n“When all those things come together right, you can get something that’s dynamic, that’s athletic, that’s exciting, and it’s going to make an audience go, ‘Ooooh!’ I’m always chasing that moment of an audience going, ‘Ooooh !’ The adrenaline of watching a piece of violence. Because I don’t think an audience should ever be bored by violence. I think that’s not why Shakespeare wrote ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ I think he wants us to react to it.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article for more details on Baltimore Knife & Sword and the insights of acclaimed Fight Director Casey Kaleba: http:\/\/www.therepublic.com\/view\/story\/fe21350330bf4e06839b914d95401e4a\/DC–Theater-Swordmakers<\/a><\/p>\n

Operatic Accident<\/h2>\n

And from Marl, Germany, an item about sword-on-stage incident during an Opera, \u201cIl Trovatore\u201d. Be careful of revolving stages\u2026<\/p>\n

Jonas Kaufmann: B\u00fchnenpanne mit Theater-Schwert<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.dattelner-morgenpost.de\/freizeit\/buehne\/Jonas-Kaufmann-Buehnenpanne-mit-Theater-Schwert;art274,1124860<\/a> <\/p>\n

Rehearsals Just as Dangerous<\/h2>\n

Boston teen stabbed with prop sword during play rehearsal<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/bostonherald.com\/news_opinion\/local_coverage\/2013\/10\/boston_teen_stabbed_with_prop_sword_during_play_rehearsal<\/a><\/p>\n

Shakespearean Experience is not a Pass<\/h2>\n

Branagh sword fight scene goes wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nAn actor appearing alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh in a UK production of Macbeth was hospitalised on Wednesday night after a fight scene went wrong.
\nThe unnamed man sustained an injury while acting out a sword fight reportedly involving Branagh during a stage production of the show at a deconsecrated Victorian church in Manchester, England.
\nThe actor, who is said to have been struck with a metal sword, played through the pain to complete his turn on stage, but was taken to hospital after the curtain came down.
\nThe production is part of the Manchester International Festival, and a spokesman for the event confirmed the injured actor was not seriously hurt, telling Daily Mail: “An actor was hurt during one of the fight scenes in a performance of Macbeth on Wednesday night.
\n“We have qualified medics on site during each performance and the actor was assessed and told he was fine to continue with the evening’s performance.”
\nBranagh previously said of the play’s fight scenes: “There is enormous concentration (needed)… It is impossible to say that it is without danger. Metal clashes, sparks literally fly.”
\nActors are notoriously superstitious about appearing in Macbeth and many refuse to refer to the dark tragedy by name, calling it \u2018The Scottish Play’ amid fears of a jinx.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2362434\/Has-curse-Macbeth-hit-Kenneth-Branagh-Star-injures-actor-onstage-fight.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Combat Acting Workshops Announced<\/h2>\n

\"Poster<\/a>
\nFight Directors Canada Announces Nationals in Edmonton<\/strong>
\n2014 FDC Nationals are in Edmonton June 29-July13.
\nThere is an early bird Christmas registration discount if you register before Jan 30. Tell a friend.
\nhttp:\/\/www.fdc.ca\/training-events\/nationals\/<\/a> <\/p>\n

FDC Certification Here in Vancouver<\/strong>
\nAcademie Duello has our own FDC course starting January 20. Unlike the intensive all-day nature of the Nationals, our course spreads the 60 hours of training over 7 weeks, which means you’ll have a 3-hour class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to build your skills towards Basic Certification.<\/p>\n

Read more about our Combat Acting Course:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.academieduello.com\/school\/programs\/stage-and-screen\/ongoing-theatrical-combat-classes\/fight-directors-canada-certification\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ll start with news items curated by Major WES VON PAPINE\u00c4U. Wes was in town last week, I hope you had a chance to engage him in his always insightful conversation, and read his blog posts about swords and combat pulled from headlines around the world: http:\/\/www.academieduello.com\/news-blog\/author\/wesvonpapineau\/ Custom Swords for a Play For authentic fight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stage-combat-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/blog-announce.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3991"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3996,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991\/revisions\/3996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}