Coordinators

  • Ian Claar is a fight choreographer, intimacy choreographer, lighting designer, and teaching artist based in Northern Virginia. He has been actively involved in the performing arts community for the past 17 years throughout Virginia’s educational, community, regional theatres. He has studied the art of stage combat since 2013, and continues to train, choreograph and educate. In addition to being part of the Noble Blades leadership, he has a degree in Design and Technical Theatre from Christopher Newport University, is an Advanced Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (and a 2024 Fight Director Workshop Candidate) and is a proud member of I.A.T.S.E., Local 22 and Associate Member of SDC.

  • Kaitlyn De Litta is excited to explore her passion for safety, stage combat, and stage weaponry with the Noble Blades, while bringing her experience as a props artisan and stage manager to the troupe. Raised as a Loudoun County local, Kaitlyn began her theatrical career with the theatre department at Woodgrove High School, but didn’t realize theatre was her passion until working on ‘The 39 Steps’ with Run Rabbit Run Theatre in 2013. It was then that she decided to pursue live entertainment as a career, and graduated in 2018 with a BFA in Theatre Design and Production with an emphasis in Stage Management from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va. After graduation, Kaitlyn began working as the over-hire Props Runner at Signature Theatre, and has since accepted the position full time. Between shows at Signature, Kaitlyn has been able to work at multiple venues in the DC area, and has various production credits from Studio Theatre, Synetic Theatre, DC Capital Fringe Festival, Georgetown Preparatory School, and Adventure Theatre. She is also proud to be a new member of IATSE Local 22. Her debut with Reston Community Players came when she served as the Weapons Master on ‘The Game’s Afoot’ in February 2020. Kaitlyn hopes that her position on the board of directors lends unique perspective and experience to a noble and exciting mission.

  • Robb Hunter is a fight master and theatrical firearms instructor for the Society of American Fight Directors, as well as a long-time member of AEA, SAG/AFTRA and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Robb is also honored to serve on the Governing Body as fight director representative. Professionally, he is an award-winning movement and fight director and has choreographed violence/movement for many D.C. theatres including The Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, Center Stage, Washington National Opera, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, The Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Rep Stage, and Washington Shakespeare Company, among others. Robb holds an MFA in theatre pedagogy from the Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently the combat instructor for the Shakespeare Theatre’s one-year intensive MFA program, the Academy for Classical Acting. He is also an artist in residence at American University where he choreographs, directs and has taught movement, mime, stage combat, acting and various sections of theatre history. In addition, he teaches stage combat for McDaniel College, the MFA program at Catholic University and he is a teaching artist for The Shakespeare Theatre and for the Acting Conservatory at The Studio Theatre. When he is not teaching or directing violence he is “enabling” it through his theatrical weapons rental company, Preferred Arms, Inc., which supplies swords, knives and assault rifles to theatres and universities nationwide (www.preferredarms.com). Before becoming a professional fight director, Robb was an actor in New York and was fortunate enough to have spent an amazing three years working with Michael J. Fox as his stand-in and stunt double and a season annoying Whoopi Goldberg with his horrible Persian accent.

  • Jenny Male (SAFD Certified Teacher & Fight Director) is a fight choreographer in the DC/Baltimore area. Credits include choreography for Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre, Rep Stage, Constellation Theatre Company, Factory 449, Washington Stage Guild, Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, Everyman Theatre, Maryland Opera Studio, Maryland Lyric Opera, Red Branch Theatre Company, Scioto Society (Tecumseh!), Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, and Ozark Actors Theatre. Jenny is a certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and serves as the Resident Intimacy Consultant for Studio Theatre's 2023-2024 season. Jenny is Associate Professor of Theatre at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD where she enjoys directing large ensemble plays, fight shows, and musicals.

  • Jonathan Ezra Rubin is a Certified Teacher with the SAFD and freelances as a Fight & Intimacy Director throughout the Washington, DC-Metro Area, currently hosting classes and choreographing under his company, Fire & Ice Movement Arts. He is also a licensed professional wrestler in the State of Maryland. Additionally, he is the SAFD’s current Treasurer and Development Department Co-Chair. A three-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Choreography (Flying V Fights: Heroes & Monsters, Flying V Fights: The Secret History of the Unknown World, Crystal Creek Motel), and WATCH Award Nominee for Fight Choreography (Appropriate), Jonathan has choreographed most of Flying V's shows, as well as fights and/or intimacy at The Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Mosaic Theater Company, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Adventure Theatre-MTC, 4615 Theatre Company, Silver Spring Stage, Lumina Studio Theatre, Georgetown University, Goucher College, and many more. He is a proud Associate Member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national professional theatrical union. In addition to studying stage combat with the SAFD and other instructors since 2011, he has been studying intimacy direction since 2015 under the tutelage of some of the industry's founders and most influential names, continuing that training and legacy of work to this day. Jonathan also has over a decade of executive-level nonprofit arts administration experience and works full-time as the Managing Director of the Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring. He also serves on the Advisory Board for Flying V, where he had previously been the Managing Director and then Associate Artistic Director, as well as had run and been the lead teacher for the Flying V Fights: Combat Gym from 2018-2020, a bi-weekly, drop-in stage combat class. Jonathan is also the Co-Coordinator of the Summer Sling's Fight Choreographer Track. Jonathan is the Head of Administration and an Accredited Intimacy Director with Intimacy Professionals Education Collective (IPEC).

  • Mallory Shear is a DC based Fight & Intimacy Choreographer, Performer and Teaching Artist. Select Fight and Intimacy Choreography credits at Arena Stage, Olney Theatre, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Keegan Theatre, We Happy Few, Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory, Iron Crow Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, and The Strand Theatre. With over two decades of teaching experience, they have taught and choreographed at learning institutions such as American University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, McDaniel College, The Madeira School, Holton Arms, The Landon School, and Howard Community College, among many others. They are a Resident Teaching Artist with Signature Theatre, and also teach with The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Adventure Theatre, and Imagination Stage. Select Performance Credits: Washington National Opera, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Adventure Theatre, Live Action Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, The Strand Theatre, Horwitz Performing Arts Center, Maryland Renaissance Festival, et al. They were the recipient of The Kennedy Center ACTF Certificate for Excellence in Fight Choreography in 2019. They are an Advanced Actor Combatant with the SAFD, an Intermediate Actor Combatant with FDC, and did their stunt training in the UK and Ireland. Mallory has had the immense honor of teaching at many regional stage combat workshops, serving as Head TA at The Summer Sling, and Assistant Coordinator/Head TA at the VA Beach Bash. Mallory is a proud associate member of SDC, a board member of The Noble Blades and Owner/Founder of ShearCombat, LLC.