Stage Combat
Stay low. Stay centered. Let the person on defense be in control.
Stage Combat class has been awesome. Since we began this class back in July, we’ve learned how to choreograph and execute an unarmed fight, how to duel with swords, and even touched on quarterstaff techniques. We've talked about how stage combat is fuel for storytelling, and how the skills we're learning will help us to be better performers. There's a lot to remember and some of the things we've learned have seemed complicated. But that's made getting the hang of it even more exciting.
Because there isn't enough space to swing weapons around in the Cast Meeting Room, all of our classes have taken place on the stage. Our teacher, Scott Ticen, is a certified stage combat instructor. Learning from him has been wonderful. We all love how excited and passionate he gets about it.
Scott helping Emma and Aaron with their unarmed combat scene.
Something he’s always telling us to remember is that stage combat should "further the story of your scene." Since it's all new to us, it’s easy to get caught up in the technique of everything and forget that the fight should be part of a bigger story. “What sort of conflict has escalated so much, that the only way to settle it is with a fight?” Scott asks us. “Now that’s exciting.”
We began the semester with unarmed combat techniques. We worked on punches, kicks, rolls, pushes, slaps, and even a couple of body slams. We also learned about knaps: noises that can be made by slapping your own leg or chest or arm to make it sound as though like there’s been a hit. This can be done by the person attacking or the one “taking the hit.” Knaps are an important part of making a fight convincing. There are specific ways to do every move and make every sound. Though things may look intense, no one is hurt in the slightest.
The most important thing is that both combatants must stay connected. Stage combat is choreography; like a dance. The moves must be memorized, practiced, and cleaned in order to look convincing. Above everything, the person being attacked is completely in control. If I’m winding up for a punch, I must always wait until my partner is ready. They can communicate with me by making eye contact or by moving out the way before I even go for the punch. Whatever the signal is (dependent upon the choreography) I must wait for it. When we’ve memorized the moves, we’ll be able to go faster and the audience won’t even be able to tell that the defensive partner is fully in control!
After a few weeks of learning the moves, Scott wanted us to begin putting all the things we'd learned together. So he assigned scenes for us to perform. I was paired with Nick. Together, we memorized the scene and choreographed our moves. (It’s crazy how much time it takes! We practiced many hours just for that one-minute fight). Scott let us do a lot of our work on the scenes during class time, which helped with our packed schedules. He allowed us to do most of the choreographing, but was there if we had any questions. Once we had our moves down, he made rounds to help each pair clean their fights. As the moves came easier due to our rehearsing, we were able to speed things up. With the Jonah sets providing a most stunning background, we performed for one another at the end of class. That was a fun and entertaining day!
After unarmed combat we moved on to sword-work. Scott asked us to buy gloves to keep the oils from our skin from causing the swords to rust. If I'm being honest, sword-work was quite a bit harder for me. It’s one thing to work with your fists; it’s another to swing around a metal stick. Even though the blade is dull and would never cut anyone, it was still difficult to get comfortable with it. But the more we practiced and repeated the parries, cuts and evasions, the better things felt.
As we practiced with the swords, Scott gave us key things to remember: The person on defense is still in control, and our swords should never enter one another's “invisible safety bubbles.” Even though you’re making it look like you’re going for a cut to your partner's leg, you should actually be reaching for an invisible target just to the outside. That way, even if they fail to parry, you’re not going to even touch them.
After a few weeks, Scott again divided us into pairs and asked us to find scenes to perform. This time I got to work with Abby. We ran our fight countless times and had a ton of fun working together. Our “show and tell” day, when we performed for the rest of the class, was great. Nick and JT's scene is from The Count of Monte Cristo and will be performed in Showcase!
One of the most interesting things about stage combat is the angles. The audience actually can’t tell depth perception. If the angle is correct for a certain move, the two combatants can be five or six feet apart and yet it still looks like they’ve connected.
The things we're learning are incredibly useful, as we've seen during our show run of Miracle of Christmas. There’s a combat scene in which the Israelite Zealots attempt a riot against their Roman oppressors. Scott choreographed the fight and made very clever use of angles. Although it looks like they’re beating each other up, the actors hardly ever make any physical contact. They do such a great job of keeping up the energy every day, and staying true to the technique that Scott taught them. Done correctly, the fight is awesome and adds so much to the story.
Now we're almost finished with this class. Although it’s been more mentally taxing than I thought it would be, it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve learned so much that I think will be very useful in future. A combat scene adds another layer of interest to a story, and having a bit of experience with the techniques will be nice to have in my back pocket. :)
On a completely different (and non-violent) note, we had fun this weekend getting all dressed up to attend the annual Sight & Sound Christmas party! We spend so much of our time in sweaty dance clothes and costumes, so having a chance to get fancied up was a welcome change. All of the girls met at Hannah's apartment to get ready together. Then it was off to enjoy the great company and good food at the party. We were also treated to a show performed by Servant Stage Company. Their original production of Old-Time Gospel Radio Christmas was fantastic. We enjoyed clapping to the beat of the songs and singing along as the cast performed our favorite carols.
And come this Monday, we'll be all dressed up again. It's Showcase and Graduation! We've been working so hard to get things ready. It promises to be a great show. At 6:30 on Monday, December 11th, we'll take our places on the Sight & Sound stage to perform our highlights from the year.
We may be on the verge of complete exhaustion, but we're really excited to give our all in this true Final Project. :) Let's do this!