Stage Combat for Year 9

Year 9 pupils took part in a half-day Stage Combat workshop on Thursday 26 January that allowed them to learn the basic skills of stage fighting.

The two simultaneous workshops were run by expert Fight Directors who have worked extensively in theatre, film and television by researching and choreographing fight sequences - from bar room brawls to Viking raids. The first part of the workshop focused on unarmed combat and the second half looked at the first few sword moves needed to create dramatically effective swordplay.

By the end of the three hours some of the pupils were already proficient enough to cause quite a spectacle for innocent observers who happened to pass by the workshop and saw Year 9 looking like they were trying to injure one another. In reality nothing could have been further from the truth as safety was the catch word of the day and it was made very clear that the entire focus of Stage Combat is to create the illusion of danger, whilst keeping the performers safe.

Pupils had an excellent and unique experience and were equipped with choreography skills that will be very useful to them in their performance work.Mrs Asbury