Stage combat is broadly used to define any physical confrontation that is performed on stage. These confrontations can range from a slap to a massive battle sequence, and they can be performed by as few as two people (as in a duel) or by large groups (as in a bar fight). Unlike conventional martial systems, stage combat is meant to function as entertainment, not as a series of defensive and offensive techniques. Its main objective is to create an entertaining and exciting experience for the audience.
During the English Renaissance (in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) the London Masters of Defence (a professional organization of British fencing masters) rented out playhouses to test their students publicly. Men who could afford to do so were trained in the ways of swordsmanship with one of the recognized masters of this organization. Also, there were opportunities to train with foreign masters if one was so inclined. At this time, however, the foreign masters ran serious risks in order to teach in London because of the monopoly that the Masters of Defence held in the city; if, however, they could find a powerful enough patron to offer them protection, it was possible. By the 1580s, Italian and French styles of swordplay had come into vogue, and several Italian schools were in operation in London. During this time, duels settling a private difference through combat were extremely common; therefore, these fencing masters had no shortage of students eager to learn their skills. Thus, sword fighting was so prevalent at this time that everyone had some personal experience with it, either as a participant or an observer. Thus, theatrical sword fighting was a popular form of entertainment, and the fights themselves were spectacular displays.
Like any acting apprentice in the sixteenth century, William Shakespeare would have spent considerable time training with at least one master swordsman, until he himself was an accomplished fighter. The weapons found in Shakespeare’s plays—the buckler, dagger, rapier, long-sword, short-sword, staff, target, and poniard—are a good indication of what he was taught at his “school of fence” (Martinez 1996). The rapier and dagger, which are displayed in works such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, were undoubtedly the most popular weapons of the time. Richard Burbage, a member of Shakespeare’s company, was a highly skilled swordsman as well as a renowned actor. In fact, some theater historians believe that the role of Hamlet, whose fencing match brings the play to its tragic conclusion, was written specifically with him in mind. Along with Richard Tar-leton (another member of the company as well as a member of the London Masters of Defence), Burbage was probably the creative force behind some of Shakespeare’s greatest duels. Due to the fact that professional actors in Elizabethan England were trained swordsmen, stage combat consisted of the actors’ choreographing the fight out of their own knowledge and drawing on the fashion of the time. If a certain style had recently come into favor, Shakespeare may have very likely written it into his play. For example in Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio describes Tybalt’s fencing with the lines, “The immortal passado, the punto reverso, the hay!” (2.4). All of these are Italian and Spanish fencing terms, which describe moves that were likely to have been in vogue at the time.
The fight director or fight choreographer arose out of the modern theater’s need for someone who could create a safe and effective fight. This represents a contrast to the Elizabethan period, when swordsmanship was commonplace. In the modern world, it is necessary to have someone who can build, for example, a bridge from the past of Shakespeare’s plays into the present. J. D. Martinez defines the fight choreographer as “a highly specialized theater artist who assumes primary responsibility for the safety of the performers entrusted to him. Beyond all creative consideration, the professional stage fight choreographer places safety first” (1996, 3).
The job of the fight director is to make the fight accomplish its goals within the confines of the play. To do this effectively, the fight choreographer needs to be well versed in a diverse range of elements of the theatrical performance. Along with having extensive training in various forms of armed and unarmed combat, the professional fight director should have knowledge of acting techniques, lighting design, costumes, weapons maintenance, firearm safety, and, of course, first aid. The fight choreographer not only creates the fight, but also makes sure it is safe for both the performers and the audience, exciting to watch, and appropriate to the needs of the play. Because the modern theater does not require actors to be trained in professional swordplay, a fight director is just as likely to come upon someone who has never picked up a sword as to find a consummate swordsman. For this reason, fight directors have become an indispensable part of the modern theatrical world.
English actor, producer, and director Laurence Olivier plays Hamlet in his 1948 film production of Shakespeare’s work. He is involved in the fatal duel with Laertes, played by Terence Morgan.
In planning a stage fight, the choreographer must consider the experience and physical stature of his performers, the needs and style of the characters, the concept of the play, rehearsal time, set and prop placement, characters’ costumes, lighting design, historical accuracy, and how the fight fits into the telling of the story. By doing research in these areas, the fight director comes to the rehearsal room with a solid base on which to build a staged fight. The fight choreographer may arrive with a completely choreographed action or with a generalized idea of what should happen, but an open mind and willingness to adjust these ideas to the abilities of the actors and to the wishes of the director must be maintained. Consideration must be given not only to what the fight will look like, but also what it will sound and feel like to the audience. By adding vocalizations, different tempos, and specific character traits, a fight director can transform an otherwise boring set of moves into an exciting segment of an evening of theater.
Patrick Crean, one of actor Errol Flynn’s fight choreographers and sword-fighting doubles, once said: “Thoughts fast, BLADES SLOW.” This statement is the essence of stage combat training: Take it slow! By beginning training in slow motion and gradually increasing the speed, the student learns the moves more accurately and has more control over them when the speed is increased. This teaching concept is similar to that employed in many Asian styles of martial combat.
Stage combat is a collaborative process; by working together students learn the fundamentals and help each other in understanding the material. With both partners taking care of each other and doing their best to make each other look good, a fight will be safe and effective. As in any physical activity, it is important to warm up before beginning exercises, and it is very important to breathe and stay relaxed while executing the techniques. Certain rules should be followed. In any fight there is a victim and an attacker. The victim is the person being attacked and the attacker is the person trying to injure the victim. To avoid actual injury, stage combat has devised a system whereby the attacker cues the victim before attacking. Dale Anthony Girard has distinguished two kinds of cues: “a) A placement of the arm and/or weapon that reads as a specific attack to a specific target. Leaving no question as to the direction of the attack from its point of origin to its intended target. b) A prearranged signal for someone to perform a specific action” (1997, 483). The victim then reacts in an appropriate way (e.g., if he is supposed to duck, he does), and only then does the attacker finish her move (e.g., trying to cut off the victim’s head). This process is called Action-Reaction-Action: the initial action of the attacker, the reaction of the victim, the remaining action of the attacker.
During any stage fight the victim is always in control. For example, if someone is being pulled across the floor by the hair, the victim is moving, and the partner performing the role of assailant is creating the illusion of doing the work. Turning again to Girard, “It is important to remember that the physical conflict on stage is an illusion; at all times each combatant should be fully in control of themselves and their weapons” (1997, 6). Since safety is the most important aspect of stage combat, students should always work at their own speed. Only when one is comfortable with the techniques and routine one has learned should the tempo be increased. A slow accurate fight is much more interesting and exciting to watch than a fast, sloppy, and essentially dangerous one. Nothing breaks an audience member’s suspension of disbelief quicker than the thought that one of the actors may actually get hurt. A good fight is a safe fight. As William Hobbs, fight director for The Three Musketeers (1973), The Princess Bride (1987), and many other films, once said, “One cannot make rules regarding creativity, but only regarding technique and safety” (1980, 65).
Stage combat at its worst is a set of moves performed by actors on a stage. At its best, it is a living confrontation between characters in a struggle for supremacy within the life of the play. To make a fight more than just moves, the actors and the choreographer must fill the fight with an outside life. To do this, the actors must decide on details about their characters. What physical attributes or limitations do the characters possess? Why are they in the confrontation? Do they want to be there? Are they scared, excited, showing off? Do they want to kill or simply humiliate their opponents? What is the playing field like? Is it evening, early morning, raining, foggy? How does this affect the way the characters fight? These are just a few of the many questions an actor must answer in order to give the fight an inner life. At the same time the actors are doing this, the choreographer must be thinking about how this fight fits into the overall concept of the play. Why did the playwright put the fight at this point? How will the fight add to the whole production? By researching the time period in which the play is set and studying the entire play to find out the fight’s purpose, the choreographer can give the actors a fully realized battlefield. At the same time, the actors can arrive as the complex characters they are portraying, giving the audience a glimpse into something real. The early fight scene in The Princess Bride, for example, perfectly represents a technically easy fight that appears to be something quite extraordinary, because of the performances of actors Mandy Patinkin and Carey Elwes.
Fight directors are often asked about the historical accuracy of their fights, and though historical accuracy is kept in mind, it is not the primary focus for most choreographers. This is a theatrical art; therefore, “selling” the fight to the audience is more important than creating a picture-perfect replica of the past. Many fight directors will consult old fencing manuals in order to construct a scene; Domenico Angelo’s School of Fencing, Gia-como di Grassi’s His True Arte of Defence, and George Silver’s Paradoxes of Defence are particular favorites. Even when they use these resources, however, modern production requirements inevitably outweigh historical accuracy. Therefore, fight choreographers must be aware of what moves may be unsafe on the modern stage (e.g., any move that drags a blade across the face would be considered unacceptable) and what moves will be most effective for the given performance.
Stage combat has become a significant feature of the entertainment world. Not only can it be seen on the stage of live theater and in commercial films, but it is also a major component of some of television’s most popular shows. Many of the series of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Xena: Warrior Princess—contain a strong element of stage combat. With the increase in popularity of stage combat, many schools have appeared that offer training in this theatrical art.
