Things you'll never hear a Fight
Director say...
Yeah - it's fine that you can't get the real weapons
til the final dress rehearsal...no worries.
As you've not got a budget for fights for your period
production of Romeo and Juliet, of course I'll direct them for free...
no worries.
It's fine that you don't have time to do any fight rehearsals
til after the technical runs… no worries
You want me to provide weapons for free? Sure!
Things you shouldn't ask a Fight
Director:
"Can you get the actors to do it as good as you do it?"
"Can we do that large broad sword fight in bare feet?"
"Is two free tickets to a Saturday matinee enough payment
for the 70 hours you have put in?"
"Can we get you to come in on the last preview and look
at what we have put together?"
Things the Fight Director shouldn't
have to say
Oh you don't need a fight director because you know what
you are doing?
Oh you don't need a fight director to work out that broad
sword fight as you have got a fencer in the show?
You want the disarm of that sword to fly through the
air towards the star cloth?
You want the disarm of that sword to fly through the
air towards the audience?
So let me get this right; you want a full blown battle
with 16 actors and you have given me 2 hours...and sorry what was that?...
no one has done any stage combat before?
You dont need any advice on the contact slap you are
doing?
Thanks to Scott Witt for permission to reproduce the article above. Scott's homepage address is http://www.combatcircus.com/ - he is the president of the Society of Australian Fight Directors.