Arts and Humanities Commons^™

When The Smoke From The Battle Has Cleared, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

I can recall the time that followed my first national workshop. All of the excitement of new friends and new skills still went through me like a child on Christmas morning considering all of the possibilities of fun with my new toys. I thoroughly enjoyed having my college friends ask me to show them what I had learned. Eventually I was approached by a former professor to choreograph the fights for a production of Hamlet at my undergraduate program. With excitement and great pride I happily accepted.

What A World – What A World: Scene/Script Analysis For Fight Plays, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

“While perfection is a wonderful goal, there comes a point where you have to let your creation out into the world or it isn’t worth a tinkerer’s damn.” This is a fantastic quote by Twyla Tharp from her book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life: A Practical Guide. So what does this have to do with you, the stage combatant? Well you are working hard but you are being told not to strive for perfection because perfection can never truly be achieved in the arts, so naturally itwarrants the question “then for what exactly do you …

Throwing Down The Gauntlet: Finding The Best Partnership For Fight Scene Work, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

Over the past few years I have written my perspective on the Skills Proficiency Test process. Earlier this year I thought that my process was complete but then an issue continued to creep up in my mind over and over again. It was that I had not addressed how best to find a partner for one's scene work. The reason for finding a good partner relates to my first workshop in stage combat. Discovering with whom to partner and with whom not to partner for scene work was the most valuable lesson I learned. Rather than focusing upon the ones …

The Games People Play: Rehearsal Games & Approaches For Fight Scenes, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

There are as many approaches to the rehearsal period as there are directors, actors and acting texts combined. Rehearsals are the time that we all look forward to because we truly get to do what we do best in theatre, which is “play.” The games and approaches in this article are intended to spice up the life of your stage combat scene and enhance the time spent in rehearsal; following the initial time period of learning choreography and discovering initial acting choices. Many people see the rehearsal process as the time to work. I couldn’t agree more but, as stated …

Review Of Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction, And: Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

Simon Murray (Director of Theatre at Dartington College of Arts) and John Keefe (Senior lecturer at the London Metropolitan University Undergraduate Centre) offer the theatre world two movement analysis texts. These well written books, which focus on techniques from the Western world of physical theatre, would serve graduate level or highly focused classes in movement pedagogy or practice. With their identical six-chapter breakdowns (“Genesis, Contexts, Namings”; “Roots: Routes”; “Contemporary Practices”; “Preparation and Training”; “Physicality and the Word”; “Bodies and Cultures”), the books may be used in relation to one another or stand alone as individual texts.

Just Before Dawn: Pre-Test Rituals And Preparation For Test Day, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

In Asian martial arts films there are usually beautiful moments that reveal the fighters in deep meditation before they are to meet on the field of battle. The process appears to center and calm the individual while preparing them for the final moments of their lives. The day of a skills proficiency test (SPT) can feel the same way. The day of the test can be frustrating for the testers as well as those around them. Nerves can run high during this stressful time. I can still recall the excitement and nerves of my first test day at the 2000 …

Random Acts Of Violence: Bringing John Cage’S Chance Techniques To Fight Choreography And Stage Combatant Acting, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

The concept of chance utilized by John Cage is a frightening, exciting, and liberating process for any artist. It was so effective that other musical artists such as Morton Feldman, Earle Brown and Christian Wolff used it. In the world of theatre these concepts are constantly used today by the Neo-Futurists in Chicago and New York in their production of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind and by Improv Troupes throughout the country.

Dueling With Spt Questions: Members Of The College Of Fight Masters Share Their Ideas For Skills Proficiency Tests, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

As the rehearsal process grows closer and closer to the Skills Proficiency Test (SPT) common questions arise regarding what is needed in order to pass. Many of these questions involve the same basic idea – “What are the Fight Masters looking for so that I can pass the test?”, but the most important question that is asked is – “Do you think I will pass?”

...And Scene: A Guide To Locating Fight Scenes, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

It is one of the most daunting tasks: trying to find a strong fight scene for a Skills Proficiency Test or even a class project. The truth of the matter is that your main focus is to pass your skills test while hopefully leaving an impression on your peers(especially the adjudicator!). Passing, and hopefully receiving an Examiner’s Award for Excellence, is the best result; or if you are at a National Stage Combat Workshop, you could possibly receive a Certificate for Best Actress or Actor. At the very heart of the issue, you need a scene that will work for …

Beating The Punches: Scene And Fight Break Down Techniques, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

As a fight choreographer it is my responsibility to sit down with the director and discover her/his vision for the production. Similarly, actors need to serve the script and work with the choreographer in connecting the action to the playwright’s words. Each preceding article, relating to the exploration of the skills proficiency tests (SPTs), has offered tools for connecting the scripts, stories, and characters with the language of the choreography. We are now ready to move deeper into directly linking fight choreography with the script and vice versa.

Some actors see pre-planning objectives for a scene and rehearsal as an …

Fighting The Elements: Determining The Best Scenes For Skills Proficiency Tests, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

In the last edition of The Cutting Edge I provided tips for locating fight-specific scenes. Now let’s narrow our search from the vast quantity of scenes to a playing field of only the best quality. For a Skills Proficiency Test (SPT), choreography comes first to ensure that the proper techniques are included within the fight. Following these lessons in technique and choreography, the scene selection process begins. In a traditional acting class, the scene selection occurs first and is followed by the explored action. So even though the cart may be before the horse, as it were, with an SPT, …

I Can’T – I Have Rehearsal: Rehearsal Guidelines And Techniques With Fight Scene Work, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

The rehearsal process often contains excitement, uncertainty, and, at times, stress for all involved. It is at this stage of the process where the culmination of skills acquired (research, character study, and embodying choreography) all come together. The following guidelines and techniques are aimed toward helping the actor address and conquer both acting and fight needs during the rehearsal process

A Violent Character: Stage Combat Character Analysis, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

It is so deceptively easy stating who your character is but it is over looked more often than you may think. A good character analysis is important in the actor/character relationship and here we will look at the key elements of character research and their specific relationships to the stage combatant.

Suit My Heart: Staging Foster Youth Narratives That Hit Home, Michelle Hayford

Michelle Hayford

While devising Suit My Heart, I relied upon my training in the ‘three A’s’ of performance studies conceived by my late mentor Dwight Conquergood as “artistry, analysis and activism” (2002: 152). With these ‘three A’s’ in mind, I set out to facilitate a devising process and create an artistic product that would positively serve all communities involved. The quality of the project would be determined not only by the efficacy of the play that we produced in the end, but by the personal growth of my students and the empowerment of our community partners throughout the process. Discovering the reach …

Mapping Reality: An Introduction To Theatre, Charlie Mitchell, Michelle Hayford

Michelle Hayford

This book seeks to give insight into the people and processes that create theatre. Like any other world—be it horse racing, fashion, or politics—understanding its complexities helps you appreciate it on a deeper plane. The intent of this book is not to strip away the feeling of magic that can happen in the presence of theatre but to add an element of wonder for the artistry that makes it work. At the same time, you can better understand how theatre seeks to reveal truths about the human condition; explores issues of ethics, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and spirituality; and exists …

The Word's The Thing Massart's 3rd Annual Festival Of New Plays, Rebecca Saunders

Rebecca Saunders

Sponsored by the MassArt Liberal Arts Department, the Festival will present five plays developed by the MassArt Playwriting Workshop and two student plays chosen by Workshop judges. The plays range in length from five minutes to twenty-five minutes and include comedy, tragedy, psychodrama, performance pieces, and more.

The Word's The Thing Massart's 3rd Annual Festival Of New Plays, Rebecca Saunders

Rebecca Saunders

Sponsored by the MassArt Liberal Arts Department, the Festival will present five plays developed by the MassArt Playwriting Workshop and two student plays chosen by Workshop judges. The plays range in length from five minutes to twenty-five minutes and include comedy, tragedy, psychodrama, performance pieces, and more.

I'M Not Finished/Done, Dimitri A Cacouris

Dimitri A Cacouris

No abstract provided.

Old Hoss, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

The Affray: Lincoln's Last Murder Trial, Jared Brown, Robert Bray

Jared Brown

Daffodil, Rebecca Saunders

Rebecca Saunders

Clio and Nadia have a fantastic trip through time and space because they picked up a daffodil from the mud and dirt in the middle of a sidewalk.

George And Irene, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Menage Á Trois, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Rage, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Gym Rat, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Ward No. 6, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

I, Alpheus Pike: A Civil War Memoir, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Kathy On The Spot, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Simon Malone And Alpheus Pike, Jared Brown

Jared Brown

Ritualizing In The Nō Performance: A Six Centuries-Old New Theory About Ritual, George T. Sipos

George T. Sipos

No abstract provided.