DEFINITION & APPLICATION

Stage combat is a variety of theatrical techniques designed to create the illusion of physical violence whilst maintaining the safety of the performers and audience.

Employed to create effective story telling of physical conflict, stage combat encompasses an endless variety of unarmed and armed techniques. From simple slaps, falls and bar room brawls through to martial art techniques and weapon based systems, stage combat techniques provide a theatrical adaptation for any type of dramatic action. Fights can vary widely from true realism to outright fantasy depending upon the requirements of a particular production and the director's vision.

Used across a variety of media including theatre, opera, ballet, film and motion capture it is a valuable field of study for actors, dancers, stunt and circus performers and is increasingly being taught in schools due to its social and educational attributes.

BENEFITS OF STAGE COMBAT TRAINING

INDUSTRY & PERFORMANCE SKILLS

Actors can get injured or injure others because they either haven't been trained in safe techniques, don't have the appropriate skill level for the task they are performing, are working with unsafe equipment or are being directed by people with no training.

Safety is at the core of good stage combat training and the techniques it employs. It adapts real martial art applications, historical and modern weapon techniques and military training specifically for performance. It's rare that anything in life is 100% safe but effective knowledge, training and acquired skills will greatly reduce the chances of any accidents and potentially reduce the severity of injury if something does go wrong.

Stage combat is like motor racing - it's fast, furious and fun though potentially dangerous. It's not a good idea to get behind the wheel without driving lessons, lots of practice and a roll cage. Stage combat training teaches you how to fight like you mean it whilst keeping yourself and others safe. Being safety conscious also means people are more likely to want to work with you.

Stage Combat is high stakes acting at its most intense. All drama has conflict and in stage combat you learn how to build the tension in a scene dramatically to the point when words are not enough. Character analysis, communication, timing, intention and motivation are also core acting components of stage combat training.

Whilst some stage combat techniques are easily learned others can take a long time to master. Being able to perform a dramatic sword fight at speed whilst maintaining character, avoiding props, other actors, expensive cameras and even audience members is not something to attempt without appropriate training.

With stage combat training you add another dimension to your acting skills. Even a basic understanding of stage combat will enable you to communicate more effectively with a fight choreographer or director enabling you to take direction more effectively and contribute where appropriate from a more knowledgeable position. The higher your skill level the more marketable and versatile you will be and the more ambition projects you can attempt.

Time and money is often short on theatre and film productions and having actors that can already fight can be a key factor in casting. A fight director will likely spot someone who can't fight safely and believably in under a minute at an audition, so having good stage combat skills can greatly increase your casting potential for roles requiring fights.

Stage combat helps actors get to know their bodies and how to use them as an effective instrument for telling a story. From finding a character's physicality and showing the effects of pain and injury to being able to work physically with other performers stage combat training can help improve your general physical awareness. Posture, co-ordination, the ability to learn choreography quickly and general reflexes can all benefit.

EDUCATIONAL & LIFE SKILLS

Due to the safety required for staging violence actors must learn self-control and specificity as they take responsibility for their actions.

No matter how skilled an individual may be in stage combat it requires good partnering and trust to perform an effective fight. The nature of learning stage combat encourages students to consider what makes a good partner and how they can judge themselves against that criteria.

Unlike many things we face in life, stage combat does not hold an individual up to some imaginary ideal of perfection. The beauty of acting is that it thrives on variety and individuality. This translates to the stage combat classroom where an individual's differences, be they big or small, short or tall, have long hair or no hair, all become positive attributes that can be used to make a fight exciting. This can be a refreshing change for individuals and can build confidence and self-awareness. Combined with the sense of accomplishment that comes with learning a new skill and achieving goals with one or more classmates, stage combat can be a positive way to spend your time.

Stage combat training offers useful skills to incorporate with curricular and non-curricular work and can cover many aspects of study including:

• Acting
• Industry Knowledge & Professional Conduct
• Physiology
• Psychology
• Risk Assessment
• Scene Analysis
• Sociology
• World and Military History