FIghts
This is one of the most fight-heavy shows LLCC Theatre has created, with the most people per fight than even the two previous Swash Is Unbuckled shows. The most important thing for actor-combatants and fight directors to deal with is safety. Each actor-combatant must be safe and completely unharmed, each audience member must be well out of the way and anyone else on the stage not involved in the fight must be kept clear as well. Each fight becomes similar to a mathematical equation where the solution, x, is known but the rest of the equation is unknown. Sometimes there are clues, where part of the equation is already there. Other times there is nothing to go on but the solution. Factors that make these equations more complicated are the kind of weapons used, such as cutlasses, sabers or firearms, and who is doing the fighting. Paying close attention to sightlines, contact strikes and distance, the fight directors and fight captains must work to keep the flow and tempo of the fights consistent while maintaining realistic damages.
Working with children is a delight not all theatre are able to have. In Treasure Island, however, LLCC Theatre and TIP are lucky enough to have three younger actors in the cast, as the Young Jims. Choreographing stage combat with young actors is intensely important, for both the director and for the aspiring actor. Just like in dance, music, languages, or any other martial art learning a skill while the brain is still in it’s crucial developmental stages can prove more productive. Stage combat is an integral part of classic and modern plays. Hardiman includes a special choreography section in his Stage Combat Courses at LLCC to help students deal hands-on with safety. Teaching students and young actors about looking for safety issues sooner rather than later means they will be ready to look for safety issues when they encounter it later in their careers.
Storytelling in combat is the second most important part of choreographing a fight. Going back to the math metaphor, does the equation match the outcome? Does the solution for x line up? Is each attack and defense properly motivated? Do they flow smoothly, moving from one parry into another strike? Does the motivation work with the characters action range and cultural history?
A very important aspect of rehearsal and pre-show prep is fight call. This is where the actor-combatants come together and run through their fights before a performance or rehearsal. Doing a fight call serves a number of purposes:
1. The actor-combatants are reminded of the fight, any tricky bits that they may have trouble with, and any safety concerns can be addressed.
2. There can be adjustments made for anything different- perhaps the costume has been altered, maybe the stage is a bit damp, perhaps the actors are on an entirely different stage if we have to move the performance inside due to rain.
3. The fight call serves as a vitally important re-connection and grounding experience between the actors to rebuild any character or actor bonds between when they last did the fight and the fight call.
Included in this post is a video of our Girl Jim Understudy (Anna) working with Arrow (MacKenzie) and (Kennideigh) on their fight during fight call. This is a clip of the first time Anna has done the fight on the outside stage. Weapons used in this fight are shovel, knife and cutlass.
They are moving much slower than fight speed, which is sometimes done in a fight call. The first thing our actor-combatants do is make eye contact with each other, so they know that everyone is ready to go. Next, Anna cues the first head cut by holding out the knife at the angle and height she will be cutting, so the others know how low to duck. Next she uses the Magical Floating Head Technique: she sets her eyes where her opponents heads used to be. This way, when they duck, she doesn't track them with her eyes because the weapon will certainly follow her gaze and really get them in the head. We can't have that! She repeats the same process with the second cut. Her opponents do a lovely job of keeping eyes on her and her knife, to know when it is safe to stop ducking.
You may also notice that Kennideigh takes the shovel and "punches" it into her own stomach, rather than letting Anna really hit her with it in the gut. This is a precaution we take in stage combat with almost all contact strikes with a weapon. Using this technique, Kennideigh remains in control of the weapon, where and how hard it strikes. Anna simply offers the handle to Kennideigh and she grasps it with her hand, guiding it to the right place. Using physical weight shifts and this other magical thing called Acting, Anna and Kennideigh can make it look like Anna is the mightiest of young girls and his giving this pirate a punch for her money.
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