In this open-level unarmed class, students will use consent-forward contact improv technique leading into prescribes moves and clear objectives to build messy, tactile fights. This class will explore pushes, drags, chokes, hair pulls, and choreographic elements that set clear lines for the actors to keep them safe and blur those very same lines for the audience.

Learn, refine, experiment, and explore skills for getting to, and up from, the ground.

Look; if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize the everything you wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip? A fight can start and end in the blink of an eye; it's the characters' expectation and response that share the story with the audience. Students in the class will explore establishing the pre-fight tension and executing fight-ending moves using foundational attacks and defenses, with an opportunity to explore contact and non-contact kills. No pre-requisite skills necessary.

Dual wielding - staging and fighting with a blade in each hand! - it sure seemed like a good idea at the time.  This class will examine the difficulties and possibilities of theatrical double fence, and how to contain the chaos.

This class will give foundational knowledge to begin voiceover work from a home studio or with a sound engineer and director. This class will cover things like demos, character, audiobook narration, as well as what you need to begin the journey to record!

What happens when a fight breaks out in a confined space with nowhere to run? This workshop explores knife combat techniques adapted for extreme close-quarters, focusing on body positioning and environmental awareness when movement is severely restricted.

Once you know the choreography, the real learning begins. Students will learn a variety of exercises to focus rehearsal efforts toward specific facets and scenarios of performance, from improving targeting and speed to supporting sloppy or musical fights.

Adapted fight phrases, including some dialogue, from the iconic fight scene in The Princess Bride, taught in the style of swashbuckling.

So you brought a knife to an axe fight, how will this go for you? Will your character make it out alive? What will they need to do with the weapon they have to survive the scene. Mixed matched weapons all around.

You know the fight. Now what? In this advanced-level rapier class, students will explore how the text and their character choices inform how they use choreography to tell the story and pursue their objectives. Using text from “Romeo and Juliet” (no memorization required), partners will take given choreography and make it their own based on the intentions they interpret from the text.

We all start at one end, as a student, and many of us eventually switch tracks to becoming a teacher. But how do we actually do that? What is the process? We'll identify some of the pitfalls to avoid, soft skills to develop, and considerations to.... uh... consider.... when building up your teaching skills as much as you've build up your performing skills.

Exploring both martial and flow perspectives to uncover foundational concepts of this ancient weapon from all over the world.

This workshop focuses on the performer’s body as a primary instrument, offering practical tools for conditioning, training, and long-term physical care. Designed for theatre artists working in physically demanding practicesThis session emphasizes sustainable training rather than burnout or overexertion.

Explore how stage combat can be used to tell the violence of the climate crisis. We will develop choreography using classical language, modern text, and news sources.

Discover the foundations of sword and shield work. How do we navigate these larger weapons and stay nimble?

Using principles from the Michael Chekhov technique, this class explores how committing to artistic frame can grow the moments between moves within choreography to make “messier” fights. Starting off with an exploration of Chekhov’s artistic frame, we will solidify where a character’s objective begins, expands, and ends. Then apply this exploration to simple sword work. Reframing artistic frame within stage combat from move, move, move to moment, moment, moment takes stage combatants from technical fighters back to movement actors. Weaving this principle into a choreographed sequence helps actors to achieve the dramatic effect of looking spontaneous, desperate, and messy.

This class will examine the primary function of this weapon in progressively challenging ways. This class will connect and compound pris de fer, angles of attack, and target acquisition and removal of threat. Challenges in this class will successively build to compound action and complex actions to attain an objective.

Hubud-Lubud, “Tie-Untie”, is a training method in Filipino martial arts of feeder-eater attack cycles that creates a dynamic listening platform to a partner’s energy, directionality, leverage, and tempo toward smart and fluid martial play. But we don’t have to use the same ones you see all the time; let’s create our own!

Ever had a movement callback that just went wrong? We will cover things they're looking for and how to give them what they want even if you didn't exactly ""nail"" the choreography. There will be a mock audition and talk back to this class.

Sliding broadsword techniques. Learn to sense your opponent’s intentions and leverage your blade for tactical advantage through choreography that emphasizes constant contact with the attacking blade.

A lecture and Q&A on contracts and negotiation, from the perspective of someone who has been on both sides of the Fight/Intimacy Director and Producer table.

Exploring the pain-to-pleasure spectrum, this class will take unarmed techniques and play with the differences between when the character doesn’t want an action to happen versus when they do want an action to happen. Taking the same choreography, what acting shifts need to happen to change the context of a fight from “to the death” to “to the bed”.

The specificity of mime physicality can truly enhance the stage fighters’ ability to sell a vicious fight. Explore the intricacies of pushing, pulling, and impact while fighting a host of invisible ninjas!

Explore how stage combat, stunt performance, competitive grappling, and brawling come together to create the art of Professional Wrestling! Students will learn fundamental pro wrestling ‘chain’ techniques and the psychology behind their use in physical storytelling.

People, when attacked, have the annoying tendency to defend themselves; let’s break that nasty habit for them. By utilizing Jeet Kune Do’s principle of “be like water” and working within the middle range of combat, we’ll Intercept, Arrest, and Control our opponent’s guards and blocks.

This class will explore the long weapon of staff from two different cultures *European (English) and Chinese, to find ergonomic but powerful ways in using the staff that is different than what you typically see in stage combat. This class will explore targeting, impact, and manipulation of the weapon for exploration and story.

So you know your cuts, thrusts, parries, footwork, and a few fancy moves. What next? How to layer your combat techniques to create more dynamic patterns, control the blades to create compound moves, and a close look into the unique opportunities that Rapier and Dagger provide to the actor/combatant.

Learn the basics of unarmed stage combat! Take a punch, throw a hit, make it look GOOD!

Teaching the basics of the attack, parry, riposte, and the doublé in 6 as an introduction to why it’s used and where one can go from it.

The Grand Guignol, the French Theatre of Horror, ran from 1897 to 1962 and during that time was the most popular theatre in Paris. Performances emphasized the spectacular and lurid, with a sophisticated set of blood effects and technical view of violence. This class will analyze the tricks of the Grand Guignol and provide a methodology for students to design their own blood effects. Discussion and demo – get ready to get icky.

The longsword should not use strength, it should use dexterity. This class proves it.

This class will cover having to fight the lead and what your job entails both on film, musicals, Opera, and stage for making them and you look good. You will learn a basic fight and have to deal with the fact that looking good in this fight is not for you to look good but for them to look good without anyone hurting themselves. We will discuss and practice new methods of dealing with this situation.

This workshop introduces theatre movement artists to the basics of personal branding. Whether that be a choreographer, fight director, movement director or performer. We will discuss how to clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and what kind of work you make and then turn that craft into an exciting outward facing marketable brand.

Explore a range of unarmed combat strikes performed with the illusion of real contact — safe, effective, and convincing for the audience. The magic is in the details: subtle nuances can make strikes look truly spectacular. Ideal for those new to stage combat, as well as experienced actor-combatants looking to refresh and refine their skills.

This choreography and composition lab focuses on building, shaping, and refining movement phrases using small sword technique as choreographic material rather than purely realistic combat. The session emphasizes how choreography is made: how to edit movement, add nuance and clarity, heighten stakes, and deepen storytelling through precision and design.

Close quarters gun fights are all the rage lately, and there are specific tricks and protocols to making those fights work, both on stage and on screen. From a simple “we both reached for the gun” moment to the most complex John Wick fight scenes, managing a firearm onstage and combined with unarmed choreography can be tricky, let make it safer.

This class explores concepts and actions inspired from shaolin kung fu. Participants will explore concepts and actions, then learn choreography with a partner. This class will allow for all partners to learn aspects of double swords (butterfly/ whin chun) swords and Spear weapon skills.

What if a single sword fight was foreplay? Think “Legend of Zorro” or “Mr and Mrs Smith.” We will learn a phrase or two of choreography and then shift the context. Play with choreography that is actively flirting and enticing your partner...consensually.

How do we as actors make strong choices even when we know our characters are about to die? This class will explore classic characters’ final moments on the stage (and in their life!) to work on playing the positive even in the face of impending doom! No memorization required.

How to work, practice, make yourself look badass, and rehearse a fight that is for a musical or Opera where the performer has a difficult song to sing after, during or before the violence. Also perform a fight to the syncopation of the music.

The staff has a prominent place in the stories of Musashi, the Monkey King, and that guy in Sherwood.  This class will study more advanced staff choreography and technique, with an emphasis on swift shifts from long and short form and a continuously flowing fight.  Students will benefit from having taken staff work before.

Sure, maybe you've done a mass battle before, but have you ever done a mass battle on a revolving stage? Come learn how to safely work on a spinning stage and then see what exciting opportunities it provides. You'll learn how to create interesting character choices that will enhance the overall story of the battle. We'll cover tips for creating patterns and working with music to help with timing. It's gonna be blast - hope to see you there!

Want to book more work and build a thriving career? Learn how to position yourself in the industry, attract the right opportunities, and make an impact! An alternative title for this class is “How to not be slimy when networking.” So if you hate networking or feel forced when you do it, come learn some tricks from an introverted, shy, recovering awkward human. If I can network, so can you.