Integrating Actor Training into Movement Design: An Analysis of the Fight Direction in Tamburlaine and Edward II

The following thesis draws from a recent production assignment at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., in which I acted as Associate Fight Director under Broadway Fight Director Rick Sordelet. We worked on three shows in all: William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and Christopher Marlowe's first play, Tamburlaine, and his last, Edward II. By analyzing and assessing the working methods utilized during this production process, I hope to elucidate the most effective elements, and finally synthesize the tenets of my own working method. Structurally, I will recount the experience chronologically, from preproduction to performance, treating the pros and cons in each section of production. As a movement designer, I am interested in choreographic methods that both draw organically from actor's impulses, and integrate acting choices immediately. Too often the acting work is left off until the end; the actors are expected to layer their choices onto a fight that was not choreographed with those choices in mind. Instead, I seek to articulate a working method that allows and guides actors towards physical engagement with specific objectives, and that enables actors to make active choices from the very beginning.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Vidal, Christopher Drew

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Leong

• physical truth
• structured improvisation
• stage combat
• Arts and Humanities
• Theatre and Performance Studies

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/770

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1769