Thursday, November 29, 2007
Stage fights should stop pulling their punches
Guardian Unlimited: "Midway through Kwame Kwei-Armah's Statement of Regret at the National Theatre, one character slaps another. It is a jarring moment for two reasons. Firstly because, up until that point, the play has been so overstuffed with words, with differing points of view masquerading as characters, that this sudden physical act comes as a shock. And, secondly, because it is so obviously a Stage Slap - as Susannah Clapp pointed out in her Observer review, 'someone strains their sinews, lands a dainty pat on a cheek'."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
You know who the theater should start looking to for stage fighting advice.....pro wrestling. I mean I can't stand watching it and while everyone and their kid sister knows its fake, they at least make know how to make it appear real to the audience. Just a thought...
#1 THIS IS NOT AN ARTICLE ON THE STRIKE! Hurray. #2 Stage fighting so often can get so wrapped up in the fight that it can really detract from the production. I know one of the worst things in high school was that the play would stop for this elaborate fight sequence and then come back and start again. It was painful and it seemes that more plays need to really question whether or not they really need the fight that they are putting in.
Most of the time when I am in the theatre, I am willing to accept the fact that the stage combat may not look real. Knowing what I know about pro wrestling, they take like 2 years of training just to learn how to throw decent punches and kicks that actually look here. Obviously, actors working on a show don't have the time like this just to practice their one combat scene. Therefore, if the fight doesn't look completely real, I tend to not have a problem with it.
My high school did Princess Bride and hired a fencing teacher come in and coach the leads. One night Inigo was slashed accidentally and actually bled during the show. This was of course the most impressive to the audience because it made it perfectly clear that we weren't using cardboard swords.
Stage fighting often looks so cheesy that the only thing it succeeds in doing is breaking the fourth wall.
Post a Comment