We'll start with news items curated by Major WES VON PAPINEÄU. Wes was in town last week, I hope you had a chance to engage him in his always insightful conversation, and read his blog posts about swords and combat pulled from headlines around the world: https://www.academieduello.com//news-blog/author/wesvonpapineau/
Custom Swords for a Play
For authentic fight scenes, Folger turns to Maryland swordmakers (Jessica Goldstein, The Washington Post)
Kerry Stagmer was the only swordmaker Casey Kaleba called when Kaleba found out he'd be fight-directing Folger Theatre's "Romeo and Juliet."
Kaleba has done "Romeo and Juliet" more than 30 times. This isn't director Aaron Posner's first time at the Romeo rodeo, either, and Posner suspects he's been to 10 productions of the most tragic edition of "Family Feud" ever made.
Both Kaleba and Posner wanted to do something with the fight scenes that no one had seen before, and Posner had an additional request: "I knew I wanted it to feel dangerous. ... There's a reason that young people like carrying weapons, and it's image and energy and power."
…
Stagmer says that the weapons are safe only insofar as the blades are smooth, instead of sharp, to the touch. "They're made to be tough rather than made to be sharp," he says. "But essentially, they are the same thing" as a "real" sword, and Stagmer makes sharp weapons for clients who desire them (like re-enactors and professionals in full-contact tournaments).
In addition to needing to look the part, swords also have to sound the part. "It's very, very important that they not just sound right but that they sound like what the audience thinks they should sound like," said Stagmer. Audiences have been conditioned to hear a chiming sound, like a bell, because sword fights in movies are dubbed. "That's one of the things we've worked very hard (on), to create a process so all of our weapons ring like bells. It's important for theaters so that when the actors go out there and the swords hit each other, they don't go 'clack.'"
Kaleba promises that even though these fights look more dangerous, they aren't any less safe than typical stage combat. "It's a lot of trickery," he says. "It's sightlines, it's angles. ... You're making the audience think they saw something that never really happened. And a lot of it is the relationship between the swords, the actors and the choreography.
"When all those things come together right, you can get something that's dynamic, that's athletic, that's exciting, and it's going to make an audience go, 'Ooooh!' I'm always chasing that moment of an audience going, 'Ooooh !' The adrenaline of watching a piece of violence. Because I don't think an audience should ever be bored by violence. I think that's not why Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet.' I think he wants us to react to it.”
Read the full article for more details on Baltimore Knife & Sword and the insights of acclaimed Fight Director Casey Kaleba: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/fe21350330bf4e06839b914d95401e4a/DC--Theater-Swordmakers
Operatic Accident
And from Marl, Germany, an item about sword-on-stage incident during an Opera, “Il Trovatore”. Be careful of revolving stages…
Jonas Kaufmann: Bühnenpanne mit Theater-Schwert
http://www.dattelner-morgenpost.de/freizeit/buehne/Jonas-Kaufmann-Buehnenpanne-mit-Theater-Schwert;art274,1124860
Rehearsals Just as Dangerous
Boston teen stabbed with prop sword during play rehearsal
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/10/boston_teen_stabbed_with_prop_sword_during_play_rehearsal
Shakespearean Experience is not a Pass
Branagh sword fight scene goes wrong
An actor appearing alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh in a UK production of Macbeth was hospitalised on Wednesday night after a fight scene went wrong.
The unnamed man sustained an injury while acting out a sword fight reportedly involving Branagh during a stage production of the show at a deconsecrated Victorian church in Manchester, England.
The actor, who is said to have been struck with a metal sword, played through the pain to complete his turn on stage, but was taken to hospital after the curtain came down.
The production is part of the Manchester International Festival, and a spokesman for the event confirmed the injured actor was not seriously hurt, telling Daily Mail: "An actor was hurt during one of the fight scenes in a performance of Macbeth on Wednesday night.
"We have qualified medics on site during each performance and the actor was assessed and told he was fine to continue with the evening's performance."
Branagh previously said of the play's fight scenes: "There is enormous concentration (needed)... It is impossible to say that it is without danger. Metal clashes, sparks literally fly."
Actors are notoriously superstitious about appearing in Macbeth and many refuse to refer to the dark tragedy by name, calling it ‘The Scottish Play' amid fears of a jinx.
Combat Acting Workshops Announced
Fight Directors Canada Announces Nationals in Edmonton
2014 FDC Nationals are in Edmonton June 29-July13.
There is an early bird Christmas registration discount if you register before Jan 30. Tell a friend.
http://www.fdc.ca/training-events/nationals/
FDC Certification Here in Vancouver
Academie Duello has our own FDC course starting January 20. Unlike the intensive all-day nature of the Nationals, our course spreads the 60 hours of training over 7 weeks, which means you'll have a 3-hour class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to build your skills towards Basic Certification.
Read more about our Combat Acting Course: https://www.academieduello.com//school/programs/stage-and-screen/ongoing-theatrical-combat-classes/fight-directors-canada-certification/
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.