Stage combat class teaches fake fighting
Neil BlakeMost people never engage in an emotionally charged one-on-one flurry of fists, blunt weapons and swords.
The students in TAI 378: Stage Combat do so every Tuesday and Thursday and their class grade depends on it.
"We teach them the basics of safe stage combat, but it's also acting," said Communications and Dramatic Arts faculty Keeley Stanley-Bohn, the course's instructor.
"Safety is first," she said. "But it's also acting and believability."
The class teaches the basics of hand-to-hand and quarterstaff combat, and also combat using both a rapier and a dagger. The goal of the class is to perform choreographed fight sequences safely and convincingly.
"We usually start out slow, then up the speed as we get comfortable," said Bay City senior Mark Jacobs. "First we start with basic moves, then we move onto choreography. Then we add in acting and all that."
Ypsilanti junior A.J. Patton said that the moves themselves are not hard, but performing them safely is.
"The difficulty is in the intricacies. Anyone can swing a stick, but the trick is making it safe," said Patton, a music theater major.
The class is always popular, both for theater students and as an elective.
"I'm a theater minor and I wanted to get as much out of it as possible, and they only offer (this class) every so often," said Livonia senior Steve Wagner.
The class is only offered every other spring semester, which always guarantees high demand.
"We have a limited amount of weapons, so I can't bump everyone in," Stanley-Bohn said.
The current class finished the hand-to-hand section before the break and began working with quarterstaffs, or wooden sticks approximately four feet long, on Tuesday.
The last section of the class will focus on working with a long sword in one hand and a knife in the other.
"I'm really looking forward to learning rapier and dagger," said Patton, adding that he's excited mainly because of the coolness-factor of fighting with swords.
Although the class is largely populated by theater majors and minors, it is also available as an elective.
"I like theater as a hobby," Jacobs said. "(Stage combat) is just something fun. It's great as a stress reliever and it's great for teamwork."
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