Film, TV and Theatre Have One Thing in Common: Fights
Love and war, the two things all stories have and the two things censors care about. As an actor, we always want to show up prepared. There are a million different fighting systems, throughout the ages, so let's get clear on the kind YOU should prepare for as a performer.
Unarmed: Hand to Hand Combat
Instructors Neil Adams and Julia Dyan demonstrate Unarmed Choreography
Unarmed is exactly as it sounds. Something any DnD player know well. Two performers staging a fight without the use of weapons or props. Unarmed comes into play in almost every other fight system. Get in a “deadlock” with your swords? Punch your opponent to break away.
One of my favourite parts of unarmed is the closeness and team work. Working on unarmed fights requires true partnership. You often need to post your weight onto each other, and communicate each move with a glance. Unarmed has a feeling of intimacy about it, and always remind me of that one line in the tv show Firefly, about not truly knowing someone until you cause their death.
Some incredible Unarmed Fighting can be seen on Marvel’s Punisher by Netflix. The intensity and character shown in each fight move show what unarmed can really be.
Found Weapon: Pick it Up and Use It
Acted Aggression by Dr. Kara Wooten
Found Weapon, or Improvised Weapon is used almost as much as Unarmed, and is often “found” in unarmed fights. Found Weapon is when a character looks around their environment, picks something up and uses it in a fight. Fighting with props.
Actors and directors often forget, these props MUST be safetied before they are used in the fight. You need to know this item won’t break, and doesn’t have any charge edges. Have a fight director/stunt coordinator and props work together on this.
One of my favourite Found Weapon fights in cinema is in Chronicles of Riddick when Vin Diesel ends a fight before it starts by using his teacup.
Rapier: Shakespeare’s Favourite
Students Percy Harris and Lucas Fox rehearsing choreography
Rapier, or Single Sword, is the most common weapon you’ll find in theatre. There are several reasons for this. One of the biggest: Money. Rapiers, (or the stage combat version with an epee blade with a sabre, cup (bell) or swept hilt) are some of the least expensive, and best looking weapons a theatre company can get.
There are many shows that are written for these weapons. Most Shakespearian plays were written expecting rapiers to be used, the Three Musketeers is meant to have a whole show about this one. There are also shows that traditionally wouldn’t have had these weapons, but people use them anyway because of pop culture. Most productions of Robin Hood will use rapiers, even though they were invented much, much later. However, Errol Flynn was a fantastic fencer and used a rapier in his hit movie Adventures of Robin Hood— so now almost every production of Robin Hood will do the same.
Of all the sword systems, I recommend taking single sword, or rapier classes. The North American and European stage combat sword systems are all based on western rapier fencing. So if you’re picking up a dulled blade in a North American or European production— it will have the same fundamentals you learn from Rapier.
To see some incredible theatre rapier fights, check out the Stratford Festival’s On Demand productions.
Instructors Brianna Love and Jamie Treschak demonstrate Quarter Staff Choreography
Weapons, So Many Weapons
Honestly, there are so many weapon systems. I haven’t even touched on handguns! We humans have been guaranteed to do two things on this planet— love and violence. So there are a lot of ways we’ve found to hurt each other. Do you have a favourite weapon system? Let us know in the comments below!
