1st Edition
The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen An Actor’s and Director’s Guide to Staged Violence
The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen provides historical and contemporary techniques and styles for the safe training and use of the European broadsword in a theatrical setting.
This book starts with a brief breakdown of the history of broadswords, the time periods associated with their use, and the influences of historical masters and their manuscripts. After the brief history section, this book presents the basic techniques of broadsword fighting, starting with grip and body postures. Readers will then move fluidly into the basic actions of cuts, parries, blocks, and disarms. During this process, actors explore the connection between body and weapon and start learning the elements of storytelling through choreography. Special attention is given throughout the text on techniques which need to be approached in a physically and/or mentally safe way by directors, choreographers, performers, teachers, and students. The final chapter focuses on choreographing a fight and utilizing all the material previously covered in this book, with special notes for actors, directors, and teachers about what makes a good fight, how to keep it safe, and how to create the "wow factor" in choreography.
The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen is intended for directors, choreographers, actors, students of acting, martial artists, and enthusiasts of stage combat and historical martial arts.
1. Introduction 2. Taking History to the Stage and Screen 3.Types of Swords 4. The Elements of Theatrical Violence 5. Wards and Guard Positions 6. Footwork and Body Dynamics 7. The Basic Cuts 8. Blocks and Parries 9. Active Blocks and Attacks on the Blade 10. Advanced Cuts and Actions 11. Killing Actions and Adding Flair 12. Final Thoughts for Actors and Directors
Biography
Erick Vaughn Wolfe is an international fight director with over 25 years’ experience in film, TV, Theatre, Musical Theatre, Opera, and Ballet, working in stunts, fight choreography, intimacy, directing, and movement. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and is a certified teacher with both the British Academy of Dramatic Combat (BADC) and the Academy of Performance Combat (APC). He earned his BFA in Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma and his MFA in Film and Theatre Directing from the University of New Orleans. After running his own stage combat training school for 10 years, Erick traveled around teaching combat and movement across the United States and the United Kingdom, before entering into teaching at the university level, where his focus is on leadership for the Arts in academia, theatre, and film studies.
