2026 Melee Staff
Administrative Assistant
Anne Rematt
Anne Rematt (she/they) is a performer based in Pittsburgh, PA with a growing focus in Stage Combat and Intimacy Direction. As a Fight Director, she has worked with Washington & Jefferson College, Brawling Bard Theater, & among others. Anne has also had the opportunity be the Assistant Fight Director as well as Fight Swing for the Pittsburgh Opera. As a performer, they find themselves with a focus in Shakespeare and Interactive/Immersive theater. Some favorite roles include Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet (Pittsburgh Classic Players), Milady in The Three Musketeers (The Jester’s Guild), and The Sword Master in Quest (Big Storm Production Company). When not swinging weapons, Anne can be found indulging a love of reading, watching obscure documentaries, and meeting dogs.
Armorer
Katie Warner
Katie Warner is a performer, teaching artist, and fight and intimacy director dedicated to crafting safe moments of physical storytelling. Through her studies at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Sarah Lawrence College, and the British American Drama Academy, she has experience in numerous acting techniques, writing for performance, sound design, choreography, and stage combat. During her final year at SLC, she studied at the Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy, where she took courses in Theater History, Cinema History, Linguistics, and Translation. Today, she is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Senior Company Member with The Noble Blades. In addition to her theatrical work, Katie is also a circus professional, fiber artist, and musician.
Production Assistants
Kai Andrews
Kai has taken combat classes for the past three years in New York, and has since branched out to fight in North Carolina, Los Angeles, Louisiana, and Florida for regional workshops and university classes. He continues training in New York with Neutral Chaos and Arte Violenta, as well as universities around the city.
Lucy Redmon Connell
Lucy Redmon Connell (she/they) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist, committed to creating kind and accessible spaces in the arts. They are an advanced actor combatant, having rediscovered the joys of movement through stage combat. Lucy is based in NYC, with her cats Popcorn and Pringles. She makes a mean cup of coffee.
Mel Gabel
Mel Gabel is excited to be a part of Mid Atlantic Melee for the first year as a staff member. She is a Baltimore based fight choreographer with the goal of becoming a certified SAFD teacher. Some of her credits include, “West Side Story”, “She Kills Monsters”, “Holes”, “City of Angels”, and more. Thanks to Mid Atlantic Melee for this amazing opportunity.
Jules Knight
Jules Knight is an Advanced Actor/Combatant based in the St. Louis area. They hold a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Vocal Emphasis) from Murray State University. Jules began training with the Society of American Fight Directors in 2016. Recent performance and stage combat credits in Franklin County, Missouri include She Kills Monsters, Night of the Living Dead Live!, The Lightning Thief, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.
Paul Pesnell
Paul is a stage combatant, actor, singer, and fight director based out of the DC Metro Area. He was most recently seen onstage with the Maryland Renaissance Festival as a member of the dance company and militia and in their production of Macbeth. He will be returning to the Festival in 2026, dancing and swinging swords. As a choreographer, Paul most recently worked on She Kills Monsters (Reston Players), and Macbeth (Broad Run High). Paul is a company member with The Noble Blades stage combat troupe based out of Northern Virginia.
Alyssa Petrone
Alyssa Petrone is a North Carolina based multi-hyphenate artist. She has been working with NC Collaborative Combat Movement Arts for over a decade to continue to learn and grow her combat skills. In addition, she is a fixture in the Triangle theatre scene, with over 150 credits to her name for just about everything, from fight choreography, stage management, lighting & prop designs, to acting.
Azad Taylor
Azad is an intermediate actor combatant from Columbia Maryland, certified in 7 weapons through the SAFD. He is eager to continue on his journey of getting all of his weapon certifications, but his favorite weapon is the quarterstaff. Recently, Azad has choreographed fights for three different shows at HCC and is eager to work on more projects in the future!