fight director

Nearly every play features at least one moment of physical violence. It's important that these climactic story events are told with utmost clarity. I don't believe that safety and believability are mutually exclusive ideas. A good staged fight should be convincing and viscerally impactful while also being unequivocally safe for actors and identically repeatable for every performance. 

Experience

I've staged the violence for dozens of productions at companies including Grand Rapids Ballet, Rogue Machine Theatre, El Portal Theater, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, The Electric Lodge, Hollywood Fringe Festival, Boom Kat Dance Theatre, The Casitas Group, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, as well as over 20 shows at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Training

I've been studying the art of stage combat since I was a teenager and one of the youngest people to ever be certified by the Society of American Fight Directors. As an advanced actor combatant I've trained extensively in unarmed combat, rapier & dagger, quarterstaff, broadsword, smallsword,  and sword & shield. I'm comfortable staging any type of physical theatrical violence, be it large or small.

Critical Reviews

"The clash of steel, with dancers lunging and leaping about the stage with seeming abandon, was the most realistic swordplay I have seen in a ballet production."  - Dance International Magazine

"Exquisitely choreographed and cleanly executed sword fights... The fight scenes are exhilarating to watch."  - Revue


Romeo and Juliet
Grand Rapids Ballet. Photo by Rebecca Humes.
She Kills Monsters
Ashland High School. Photo by Bob Palermini.
Falling
Rogue Machine Theatre. Photo by John Perrin Flynn.
Using Format