Stage Combat

The visual of blood onstage creates an immediate visceral reaction for audience members — it evokes feelings of fear, pain, injury, life and death. But using fake blood onstage can be challenging, and this is coming from a fight director who works with fake blood often. Even the highest-quality fake blood is messy, sticky, and gets everywhere, no matter how carefully you use it. It can be expensive (depending on how much you need), time-consuming in terms of laundry, and carries safety risks, such as slipping onstage and potential allergic reactions. However, there are many great alternatives for staging scenes that call for blood. Let’s take a look at some of them: 1. Lighting and projections can be very effective for creating the image of blood onstage. Use a focused spotlight with a red gel to make a small pool of blood appear in a specific area onstage; or have an actor stand, sit, or lie in the red spotlight for a dramatic visual. A red wash across the entire stage is great for war, battle, massacre, or major death scenes. Using blackouts or strobe lighting effects can increase the feeling of tension in an already frightening atmosphere. A video projection of blood dripping, pouring, splashing, or spattering (combined with some startling sound effects or spooky music) is a great way to create a terrifying or dramatic effect onstage. 2. You can create wounds of all types — cuts, gunshots, blisters, scars — with makeup. There are many techniques and appliances you can use that don’t require students to go onstage with wet fake blood on them. The Drama Teacher Academy has many lessons about makeup application, including a full unit on blood, blisters, and bruises. Before working with makeup, be sure to have students do a patch test to check whether their skin will react to any products. 3. Costuming is a great way to create a blood effect onstage with less mess. Use fabric paint to create wounds, cuts, slashes, or spatters on costumes. Allow lots of time for the costumes to dry before putting them on the actors. Be sure to do a test swatch on a similar type of fabric to check for colourfastness (especially if you’re working with particularly sweaty students) and to ensure the blood effect looks realistic. If you’re picky, oxygenated (arterial) blood is bright red, while deoxygenated (venous) blood is dark reddish-purple. One way to use costuming for blood effects is to layer your costume items, as in, have a pre-made bloody undergarment like a t-shirt or muscle shirt under a jacket or hoodie, and open the outer garment to reveal the blood. Or, you can have two identical costumes: one clean and pristine for before any violence happens, and one for after the violent moment that the actor will change into. Alternatively, you can have the actor using a bloody costume hold their hands over the wound, and slowly lower their hands to reveal the bloody patch. When I directed a production of Carrie: The Musical with high school students, for the famous blood-drop effect, our costume team made a special double-layered prom dress for the actress playing Carrie. The bottom layer was pre-bloodied using fabric paint, and an identical clean dress was opened down the side seam, layered on top of the pre-bloodied dress, and attached with magnets. When the moment occurred, the lights flashed and then blacked out, and the actress quickly whipped off the top dress layer (assisted by the actor playing Tommy Ross) and handed it to an ensemble cast member, who whisked it offstage to an ASM. When the lights came back up, Carrie appeared suitably bloodied up. It was an awesome moment, and we rehearsed it a lot to make it as seamless as possible. For a more stylized production, an actor could add a red accessory to their costume, such as a sash, cape, or jacket, or change a different coloured accessory they’re currently wearing to an identical red accessory, to indicate that they have been wounded or killed. 4. You can also create great bloody imagery using props. Weapons can be painted with red spots and spatters to create a frightening effect. A handkerchief painted with red fabric paint can be tucked into a pocket, whipped out, and held against an actor’s body to make it seem like they’re stanching or cleaning a bloody wound. If you have students who are great dancers, they could use large pieces of red fabric or red gymnastics ribbons to choreograph a “dance of violence” or “dance of death.” If you want a dramatic or stylized representation of blood, you could use long red ribbons or streamers, red silk handkerchiefs or red play silks, large red mylar or foil confetti, or even rose petals (silk or real). If you’re dropping the items from a height, do tests with the materials to see how the items fall (or float) and how much of each item you’ll need for the run of the show. It may take a combination of materials to make the blood drop work at the speed you want it to appear. If none of these suggestions appeal to you and you still want to use actual fake blood for your upcoming production, I strongly suggest you contact a qualified fight director to assist with acquiring a good-quality fake blood product, teaching students how to safely use it, and choreographing the blood moments so they are safe, repeatable, and look great.

When you’re producing a show that has stage combat in it — whether it’s a show with multiple fights, skirmishes, and battles or a show with a single punch — it is imperative to run a fight call prior to every performance. Students must never perform any sort of stage combat for the first time that day onstage during a performance — it’s simply not safe. This is a hard and fast rule no matter if you’re a student performer or a professional performer. A fight call is where all the students involved in any sort of staged violence assemble prior to showtime and rehearse all the fights in the show twice — once at half speed and once at performance speed. This is so students can re-activate their muscle memory and get themselves into show mode before the curtain rises. Below are some tips for running an efficient and safe fight call. Pre-Showtime TasksExplain to the cast what a fight call is. Remember, fight call is when all fights in the show are rehearsed twice — once at half speed and once at performance speed. (In stage combat, performance speed is no faster than 75% of a “real” fight.) Attendance at fight call by all students doing stage combat is mandatory! Plan out the order of fights for fight call in advance. It doesn't have to be in chronological order. Put the fights with the most students first, and then dismiss students as needed, working down to smaller fights (such as two-handers). Of course there will be exceptions to this rule, such as running fights with the same furniture in place back to back, but you will figure out what works best for your show. You may find during fight call that it makes more sense to rehearse the fights in a different order. That’s fine — make the change that makes fight call run most efficiently. Fighters do not leave the stage until the fight captain officially dismisses them. If there are many small fights with only a few people, it may be possible to run two fights at the same time on different parts of the stage. This can save some time, but it will depend on where the fights are located on the stage and if they require access to the same furniture/props. If you do decide to rehearse two fights simultaneously, you will need a second fight captain or an assistant stage manager to assist with observing the fights. Having a second fight captain or ASM is also necessary if the fight captain is IN the fights and cannot observe them. Type up the fight call list and post it backstage (and in the dressing rooms if you want to be super efficient), and ensure the fight captain(s) and stage management team members have a copy. You may wish to keep a list of weapons with the fight call list as well. See below for some sample fight call lists. Practice the fight call in rehearsal prior to showtime. Be sure to time it with a stopwatch so you have a baseline of how long it will take. Know that the first fight call will likely be a mess, but subsequent fight calls will run more smoothly. Showtime TasksThe fight captain will ensure that the stage is swept/mopped/free of debris. They don’t have to do it themselves, but they need to ensure it’s done prior to fight call. When the fight captain is running the fight call, it is helpful to include “onstage” and “on deck” commands. “Onstage” means the fight that is currently rehearsing, and “on deck” refers to the fight that's coming up next in the fight call order. The fighters who are “on deck” should be ready nearby with their weapons in hand to jump onstage when their fight is called to rehearse. This way less time is wasted. Students must rehearse with all necessary equipment during fight call. All weapons and any necessary special effects, costumes, props, furniture and/or set pieces must be in place. Have students get everything ready prior to or during “on deck” commands. As well, additional crew members might need to be present for fight call. For my production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, one of the fights was timed to music, so we needed to have our musical director present for fight call to play the accompaniment. Another fight in that show required an ASM offstage to operate a special effect, so they were also needed during fight call. The fight captain needs to make sure that all the weapons are in good working order, and be informed if any problems arise that could affect the stage combat. If any problems arise during fight call that cannot be solved by the fight captain, stage management, or the director, the fight director needs to be contacted right away. Fight calls must be run efficiently. Do not rush it but also don't dilly-dally. Remember that students will need time for ALL their pre-show tasks (costumes, makeup/hair, vocal and physical warm-ups, checking props, microphone sound checks, etc.) and you don't want call time to be ridiculously early, especially during double show days. And be aware: fight calls occur before every performance, even on double show days. When fight call is complete, the fight captain will make an announcement, so whatever tasks need to be completed next (sound checks, warm-ups, etc.) can be started efficiently. Communication is key! Kerry Hishon is a director, actor, writer and stage combatant from London, Ontario, Canada. She blogs at www.kerryhishon.com.

Stage combat is more than simply memorizing choreography and learning proper technique. Yes, those are extremely important for ensuring that the stage combat is safely and properly executed. But remember, stage combat is a form of storytelling. The fights need to continue the story that the actors are telling through their lines and scene work. And what makes a fight look even better is the performers’ actions and reactions to the fight. If a character resorts to violence, they’re obviously feeling strong emotions. Students need to know exactly how the fight affects their character physically and mentally, how the fight tells the story, and how they will portray these feelings. Physical actions and reactions include:• Sounds and vocalizations (exclamations of pain, aggression, or fear, grunts, moans, groans, screams) • Body language (fists clenched, beckoning someone to “bring it,” hands held out) • Posture (standing tall, cowering, bent over in pain, martial arts poses) • Facial expressions (avoid hiding your face — students often want to hide or cover their faces when they’re trying to portray fear or sadness) • Movements prior to the fight and after the fight • Breathing (out of breath, barely exerting themselves) • Changes throughout the fight (showing pain after giving/receiving a blow, being wounded) Mental actions and reactions include:• Why is your character fighting? • How skilled or unskilled is your character at fighting? • Does your character want to fight or not want to fight? • What was your character doing just prior to the fight? • What will your character be doing after the fight? • How does the fight affect your character mentally? (Are they fired up, avenged, frightened, traumatized, unconscious?) • How does the fight affect the action of the show as a whole? That’s a lot to think about, isn’t it? Students are likely familiar with creating a character profile when they’re getting to know their role. It’s useful for students to complete a fight analysis (you’ll find a free worksheet below) when participating in stage combat. This will give students a deeper understanding of the fight itself, their character’s role within the fight, and the purpose of the fight within the greater context of the show. When performing, once students have learned their choreography and can present it correctly, they can add on all these additional layers. Don’t forget to portray the pain in their exit and their next scenes as well. (A pet peeve of mine is when actors perform an incredible fight with tons of hits and wounds… and then walk away like they’re perfectly fine afterwards — not even out of breath!) You can use the fight analysis worksheet in class if you’re studying a show with fights in it, such as Romeo & Juliet or Hamlet. Students can compare and contrast how they think different characters would act and react in fights. It’s also interesting to consider how different students might imagine the same character reacting in a fight. One student might envision Tybalt yelling and screaming while leaping and brandishing his sword with flourishes, while another student might envision Tybalt whispering his lines and attacking silently, like a snake. You can also use the worksheet to practice analysing famous film fights, such as Inigo Montoya versus the Man in Black in The Princess Bride or Captain Jack Sparrow versus Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Have half the class observe one character and half the class observe the other, and create a fight analysis based on what they see. For an added challenge, ask your students what would change if they tried to do those fights live on stage instead of on film.

A fight captain is a vital part of the artistic team. They are a member of the cast who assists the fight director and helps to maintain the stage combat choreography during the run of the show. They are responsible for conducting fight calls (more on that below) and maintaining safety throughout the process. Normally a fight director selects a fight captain, but as your students’ teacher, you know your students best and are the best resource for identifying an appropriate student for this role and communicating this information to the fight director. The role of fight captain is best suited to a senior or more experienced drama student who is trustworthy, mature, looking for a challenge, and interested in movement and choreography. They need to have a smaller feature or ensemble role in the show — it is too much additional responsibility for a leading actor. The fight captain could also be a member of the stage management team. The fight captain’s responsibilities include: 1. Attending every rehearsal where fights are taught and rehearsed. They must be familiar with all the stage combat choreography in the show. This includes filming and writing down all the choreography so they have an accurate record of the work. They may not alter or teach choreography, but they can and should review the moves under supervision. 2. Running a fight call before every performance. A fight call is a mini rehearsal where each fight in the show is rehearsed twice prior to showtime — once at half speed and once at performance speed, with all necessary costumes, lighting effects, and weaponry. With stage management and the director, the fight captain will need to ensure that there is enough time prior to each performance for a fight call, warm-ups, getting into costume, and any other tasks that need to occur before curtain. 3. Ensuring any stage combat weapons are maintained, clean, and ready to use prior to each performance. After each performance, the fight captain checks that each weapon is returned, free of damage, and put away properly. All stage combat equipment should be kept locked up when not being used in performance. 4. Ensuring that the stage is cleared of debris and swept/mopped as required. A member of the stage management team often completes this task, but it is up to the fight captain to ensure that it is completed. 5. Acting as a liaison if there are any issues that need to be addressed, such as a weapons malfunction or an injury that requires a choreography adjustment. If there is an issue that the fight captain or director can’t resolve, the fight director needs to be contacted. The fight captain may have additional duties as assigned, such as leading physical warm-ups, performing third-person knaps and other fight effects, and completing safety checks (such as ensuring safety mats and other equipment are in place). If you have a student who is particularly enthusiastic about stage combat, taking on the important role of fight captain would be a great opportunity for them. They will get to learn a lot, gain an additional credit for their resume, and grow their leadership skills while having a lot of fun.

So, you’ve decided to produce a show at your school that requires some stage combat. Awesome! Now, it’s time to reach out to a qualified and experienced fight director (FD) to choreograph the fights so your students feel safe and confident performing them. Once you’ve secured a fight director, you’ll need to meet with them (or at the least get an email thread going) to discuss your vision for the show and the stage combat. There are many details that your FD will need to know, so if you have this information prepared in advance, they will thank you. 1. Show Information• What is the show? Be sure to send the FD a script (or at the very least, the scenes with combat) so they can prepare in advance. • How many fights are in the show? • What is the setting of the show? For example, are you doing Romeo & Juliet traditionally with rapiers, or set in the Wild West with whips and pistols? • Do you have a photo of the set or a set design rendering? This way the FD can plan around any potential hazards. • Are there any special effects, lighting effects, or sound/music that will affect the choreography? 2. Casting Information• What are the ages of the performers who will be participating in the stage combat? This includes understudies! • Do the students have any experience with stage combat? They don’t need to, but it’s good to know. If you’re aware of any movement training that students have, such as dance, martial arts, or sports, this can be useful to know as well. • Are there any potential concerns about the students that the FD should know about? This might include student availability (don’t schedule a fight rehearsal for a date when one of your fighters will be absent!), behaviour or grade concerns, or accessibility needs. 3. Time Information• What’s the rehearsal and performance schedule? • How much rehearsal time do you think your students need… • …and how much time will the FD actually get to teach and rehearse the choreography? 4. Budget, Supplies, and Logistics Information• Do you have the budget to pay the FD’s rates? • Does the FD need to supply a background check or any credentials to your administration before coming to rehearsal? • Provide the address and directions to your school and/or rehearsal site so your FD knows where to go. • Do you have the stage weapons already, or will you need to rent/acquire weapons? Will you do that, or will you need the FD to source the weapons? • What is your budget for renting and/or buying stage weapons? • Are you using fake blood? If so, what kind? Do you have backup costumes available in case items get stained? • Are there any other details your FD needs to know? If you don’t know the answers to all of these questions right now, don’t despair! For example, you might not be sure how much time to allot to fight choreography rehearsals or where to source specific stage weapons. Your FD can help you figure these things out, but having as many details planned out in advance as you can will save you and your FD time and stress.

This month, we are diving into the world of stage combat. If you dream of directing an action-packed show like The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, or Treasure Island, then you’ll have to deal with stage combat with your students. But stage combat is more than just swordfights and gunslinging. There are tons of plays and musicals that include many different types of stage combat: punches, slaps, hair pulls, slow-motion fights, knife fights, found weapon fights, trips, slips, falls, lifts, and more. Wait — falls and lifts count as stage combat too? Definitely! The mere mention of stage combat can evoke many feelings in student performers: excitement, nervousness, silliness, or even fear. If you plan on running a stage combat workshop with your students, or if you’re doing shows with even the briefest moments of stage combat, you need to ensure that your student performers are feeling confident as well as physically and mentally safe at all times. Here are some things that your students need to know before starting stage combat work: 1. Students need to know the responsibilities that go with doing stage combat.We go into this in detail in our article Stage Combat 101: Before You Even Begin. Be sure to check out the giveaway, which has a great printable tip sheet for students. The highlights include: • The first rule of stage combat is safety first, safety last, and safety always. • Stage combat must always be performed exactly as it is choreographed every time. Never improvise stage combat. • Stage weapons can be broken or damaged or cause bodily injury with improper handling. Always treat stage weapons with care and respect. • If a student is caught goofing around during stage combat instructions or with a stage weapon, they will face consequences (such as being removed from the fight entirely). In short, students must display respect, care, maturity, and trustworthiness in order to be permitted to participate in stage combat. If a teacher, director, or fight director does not feel that a student has displayed the traits necessary to do stage combat, the student will not be cast in a role that involves stage combat or allowed to participate in stage combat workshops. 2. Students need to be informed.In your audition notices, be sure to include if a role involves stage combat, and what kind of combat (unarmed, knife, sword, etc.) will be performed. Have copies of the script available ahead of time so students can read through it and see exactly what the role entails, such as whether the character is the aggressor or the victim, and how many fights are involved. This way students can make informed choices about whether they feel physically capable and mentally comfortable auditioning for a role that requires stage combat. Note: This is also a useful technique for any roles that involve romance or sensitive subject matter such as death. It’s also a good idea to give students advance notice if you are planning on doing a stage combat workshop or unit in class. Not only will they be able to prepare in advance so they are dressed properly (sneakers, workout clothes, long hair tied back, etc.), they can make an informed decision on whether they feel comfortable participating. 3. Students need to know they can advocate for themselves.If a director or fight director asks a student to do something that the student knows they cannot physically do or that feels unsafe, the student is allowed to speak up and let the director/fight director know (either publicly or privately, depending on the student’s choice). Let’s say your director wants a student to fall to their knees on the stage, and the student has a prior knee injury. The student can certainly ask to not do the move, or to do an alternate move, or request to wear a pair of knee pads. In short, if something feels unsafe, don’t do it! Students do not need to explain the reason or disclose past history or trauma when requesting to not do a move that they feel is unsafe. A good fight director will find a substitute move or workaround. Be aware that a student may feel comfortable while auditioning or during the early rehearsal process, and then discover in the moment that a particular move or sequence is uncomfortable for them. We encourage teachers and fight directors to be flexible and understanding if these situations arise.

Stage combat is always one of the most eagerly anticipated lessons in drama class. Stage combat is fun to do and it’s a great workout. And when it’s done well it looks spectacular onstage. It can create incredibly visceral reactions from audience members, and really helps performers to bond because they must trust each other completely. Fights can be dramatic, funny, vicious, and ridiculous. Like songs in a musical, stage combat tells the story when words are not enough. The flip side, though, is when stage combat goes bad – rather than staying involved and engaged in the story being told, audience members are more worried about the safety of the students onstage. Stage combat must be taught and performed in such a way that keeps students safe. There is always risk involved – not just to the students actually engaged in stage combat, but to the students around them as well. However, by taking the proper precautions and being smart, teachers can minimize the possibility of students hurting themselves or their fellow students while doing stage combat. Before you even THINK about having your students throw a punch or pick up a sword, please take the following notes to heart. Students should ONLY learn stage combat from a qualified and experienced fight director (FD) or fight choreographer. Let me say that again: Students should ONLY learn stage combat from a qualified and experienced fight director or fight choreographer. Maybe you’ve taken a workshop, class, or professional development course on stage combat, or you’ve done stage combat in a show yourself. That’s awesome – but it doesn’t qualify you to teach students stage combat. Having taken karate or fencing doesn’t qualify you either – if anything, it’s actually worse because in sport fencing or martial arts, the goal is to actually hit your opponent, while the opposite is true in stage combat. Find someone who is qualified and experienced in teaching stage combat to come in and instruct your students. Art of Combat ** ** and ** ** Fight Directors Canada are two great places to start. There is also the Society of American Fight Directors. Fight directors are great for teaching classes on stage combat and for staging violence for shows, and can also often advise about weapons (which ones are era-appropriate, how to acquire/rent them, and how to safely handle and care for weapons), historical accuracy, falls, lifts, and more. They’re also able to point out other parts of your show where combat or violence might occur that you may not have thought about! Safety first, safety last, and safety always.Stage combat is meant to look real – but it is still possible to get hurt. Accidents can happen, so teachers must take measures to ensure the safety of their students. Students should never be asked to do something that makes them feel unsafe. Empower your students to speak up if they feel unsure or unsafe about a move or direction – even if it’s their director, scene partner, or the FD asking them to do the move. Students need to be aware of their physical and emotional limits, and feel comfortable speaking up. If students are ever feeling unsure or unsafe during stage combat, they must stop what they are doing immediately. Even if they are in the middle of a show! It is better to stop, regroup, and start again than to chance someone getting injured. A good FD will teach students methods of disengaging from the fight and how to get back on track. Students must also understand the risks and responsibilities of being an actor-combatant. Stage combat requires a huge amount of trust between the scene partners. They have to take care of each other and know their choreography perfectly. Stage combat is not the time to improvise. Students must also display maturity when learning stage combat. There is always the urge to goof around and play-fight, or mess around with prop weapons (because they’re usually super-cool!). In stage combat though, there is no room for messing around, because that’s how people get hurt and props get damaged. Be clear with your students that there are consequences for messing around during stage combat (namely, being removed from the fight), and carefully consider the maturity level of your students when casting them into roles that may involve combat. Also, students must never do stage combat outside of the classroom – practicing fake punches on their siblings or demonstrating their choreography outside of the school can lead to injuries or even get them in trouble, particularly if another teacher, the principal, or a parent is around and doesn’t know that the students’ stage combat moves are for their class! This is not meant to scare your students! Rather, it is an opportunity for them to step up and prove themselves mature and trustworthy, and learn an awesome new skill. With respect for themselves and their fellow classmates, students can (and will!) have an absolute blast learning stage combat.