Our Approach to stage combat

At Firebrand Combat we firmly believe that the best way to achieve a great fight is to ensure every actor feels comfortable, confident, and intentional. Second only to safety is the need to express a story through our staged violence. By building choreography around the director's and actor's needs we ensure that everyone is confident in why their characters make the choices in violence that they do. This helps choreography to be more memorable, communicative, and engaging; not only for the audience but for the cast as well! The final tenet is style, which dictates the way in which characters fight and informs choreography decisions. For instance the style and intentions, and thus choreography, of a drama will differ greatly from a musical or a pantomime. Style also covers the martial systems used by the characters; whether they are untrained, a skilled boxer, a French aristocrat, or any other type of fighter. By encouraging a safe and process oriented space we help our actor-combatants to fully understand not just the techniques which will look good and keep them safe on stage, but also the needs of their world and character.