Rehearse a Stage Fight

Video Transcript

When you're rehearsing a fight, it's really important that once you've decided what your choreography is, you rehearse correctly. So you rehearse first slowly, but you also want to have a certain amount of fluidity in your work, so that you're not moving from one move to the next trying to remember what comes next. In one fight a parry would move really naturally into an attack--in a real fight. And it works that way in stage combat too. It sells better, and it helps develop your muscle memory so that you remember the fight as you work it up to speed, and then it's safer, it's more convincing, you look better. So, let's go through that slowly but fluidly, and see how that looks. So we've already memorized our choreography. And we're taking it deliberately more slowly than we have to just to make sure that you're getting your fight into your muscle memory, so that it moves just as fluidly when you build it up to speed. So, once you've rehearsed like that many, many times, you can start to get faster. Remember when you're adding speed not to add force. It's easy when you start getting a fight faster and faster to want to hit harder, to want to parry more ferociously, but that's going to slow you down ultimately, and also make your work less safe. It also might make your opponent a little bit mad at you. So, keep the force light as you build speed, and the very last thing you add is the acting, is those reactions that really sell your move, so that at the end you have a really satisfying fight that looks good, that's safe, and that was a lot of fun to put together. So, I hope that you have enough tools to choreograph your own fights should they be for a play, for film, or just for a good workout. I like to get together with friends now and then and put together a fight, work it up to speed, and it sure beats an aerobics glass at the gym. Thanks a lot, thanks Ken. Oh, you're welcome. My name's Amy Boyle. I'm an actor in LA. This is Ken Peterson. Actor in LA as well. So, hopefully you have the tools you need to get started or maybe we've just piqued your interest. I would recommend if you want to get started to look in your community for a fencing center, a local fencing group. A lot of fencing groups also have a stage combat component. Or look for stage or film combat classes there. I'd start checking online, get started. It could be a lot of fun. Thanks a lot. Have a good time.

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