...a reputable dealer in nonfiring replicas that isn't charging an arm and a leg for good quality "Law Enforcement blue" pistol replicas. Obviously, bright blue plastic pistols aren't suitable for stage performance (unless you're playing "Mercenary Smurf" in Smurf The Musical - which I pray never happens).
However, rather than a skittish performer having to handle a blank firing piece for the first time on stage, or in rehearsals, the actor can get used to handling and hefting a weapon with a steel interior coated in detail molded plastic. The worst they could do is drop it on their toe.
Being bright blue, they're hard to miss, so as a fight choreographer and/or props coordinator it also helps to be able to track the "weapon" with one eye while still being able to take in the action of the sequence. I can take corrective notes about how the pistol is being drawn, held or aimed much easier without having to focus solely on it during a moment.
In additon using the trainer in the rehearsal period spares the "good" blank firing pieces from being damaged by a novice user who drops them, throws them, or does generally foolish things like actually pistol-whipping someone.
So, we're continually building our arsenal of training and stage safe knives as well as guns! Hooray!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
It's like magic. No really, it could be.
I’ve written earlier about illusion and misdirection on stage. After all, what is stage combat based in, if not illusion and misdirection. Hell, all theater is illusion, and the willing suspension of disbelief. But – there is something inherently different about watching a magician or illusionist perform as opposed to watching a play. This got me thinking about stage and street magic in general, and wondering why with all the incredible illusions available to the general buying public (don’t believe me?) more integration between traditional magic and traditional theater hasn’t taken place?
Performing a magic act is, to my understanding, an act based initially on spectacle. The performer is asking the audience to view an event and be astonished, perhaps disturbed, or in the case of that Criss Angel guy, Mindfreaked! Whatever the hell that means. I’ve never been mindfreaked without generous application of whiskey, and golly, do I know how to make that disappear. Magic!
Anyway, magic performance is inherently based in spectacle, but the best performers seem to downplay the suspension of disbelief. In fact, a good magician seems to say, “I defy you NOT to believe what you’ve seen.” Theater – that is, good theater, attempts the same thing. An audience views an event on stage, and is moved to a different emotional state. They laugh, they cry, or if you’re watching a Tim Errickson show, sometimes both, at the same time, with a little drooling. And all while becoming a better person, because Tim can do that. Hi, Tim. Tim, for the not Tim person reading this, is a director here in NYC.
I digress – where magic tries to stomp the willing suspension of disbelief flat, we are, as performers, complacent with asking our theater audiences to suspend their disbelief more and more. Yet despite the similar motives and hoped for results of both general types of performance, there seems to be a strange division between magic and theater. Stage and street magic employ very sophisticated skills and technology in a seamless manner (in different ways) to defy apparent reality right in front of an audience. I think the aim of the best magicians is not to terrify their audiences, but rather challenge them to question their perceptions and what they know and accept as truth. I would argue that good theater does the same. So, a live theatrical production that also employs some killer “magic” might be quite an amazing thing to experience.
I’m probably not thinking anything that hasn’t been explored before, but I feel like this may be a way for me to advance the nature of fight choreography. Amping up the visuals and emotional content of what audiences experience by adding a deeper level of illusion. Paradoxically that deeper illusion may illuminate deeper truths.
That’s mostly mouse farts however (and believe me - mouse farts is nothing) if I don’t suggest and employ something more vibrant. For that, I’m looking at a specific piece of magic… an illusion by mastermind Sean Fields called “Sick.” In short, I believe it offers the potential for realistic knife wounds in real time, and the attendant blood and gore might just change people’s perception of what a stabbing or slashing is like. It’s not clean. It’s not neat. It’s awful, horrific, gut wrenching to see and profoundly gross. Some of those links are pretty disturbing folks. Sorry.
If a work of theater dares to present an act of violence, we should endeavor to bring as much truth to that moment as possible, and there are some magicians out there who have already done all the work for us. Maybe it’s time to start bridging the gap a little.
Performing a magic act is, to my understanding, an act based initially on spectacle. The performer is asking the audience to view an event and be astonished, perhaps disturbed, or in the case of that Criss Angel guy, Mindfreaked! Whatever the hell that means. I’ve never been mindfreaked without generous application of whiskey, and golly, do I know how to make that disappear. Magic!
Anyway, magic performance is inherently based in spectacle, but the best performers seem to downplay the suspension of disbelief. In fact, a good magician seems to say, “I defy you NOT to believe what you’ve seen.” Theater – that is, good theater, attempts the same thing. An audience views an event on stage, and is moved to a different emotional state. They laugh, they cry, or if you’re watching a Tim Errickson show, sometimes both, at the same time, with a little drooling. And all while becoming a better person, because Tim can do that. Hi, Tim. Tim, for the not Tim person reading this, is a director here in NYC.
I digress – where magic tries to stomp the willing suspension of disbelief flat, we are, as performers, complacent with asking our theater audiences to suspend their disbelief more and more. Yet despite the similar motives and hoped for results of both general types of performance, there seems to be a strange division between magic and theater. Stage and street magic employ very sophisticated skills and technology in a seamless manner (in different ways) to defy apparent reality right in front of an audience. I think the aim of the best magicians is not to terrify their audiences, but rather challenge them to question their perceptions and what they know and accept as truth. I would argue that good theater does the same. So, a live theatrical production that also employs some killer “magic” might be quite an amazing thing to experience.
I’m probably not thinking anything that hasn’t been explored before, but I feel like this may be a way for me to advance the nature of fight choreography. Amping up the visuals and emotional content of what audiences experience by adding a deeper level of illusion. Paradoxically that deeper illusion may illuminate deeper truths.
That’s mostly mouse farts however (and believe me - mouse farts is nothing) if I don’t suggest and employ something more vibrant. For that, I’m looking at a specific piece of magic… an illusion by mastermind Sean Fields called “Sick.” In short, I believe it offers the potential for realistic knife wounds in real time, and the attendant blood and gore might just change people’s perception of what a stabbing or slashing is like. It’s not clean. It’s not neat. It’s awful, horrific, gut wrenching to see and profoundly gross. Some of those links are pretty disturbing folks. Sorry.
If a work of theater dares to present an act of violence, we should endeavor to bring as much truth to that moment as possible, and there are some magicians out there who have already done all the work for us. Maybe it’s time to start bridging the gap a little.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Desangut... no.
I've just heard the official word from Cherusker Messer GmbH. It is a sad collection of words:
The Desangut will not be produced. No new knife. Poop.
On the other hand, they are going to send me 4 other existing models for the price of the two knives I preordered. So, it's still kind of a win.
I guess.
Poop.
The Desangut will not be produced. No new knife. Poop.
On the other hand, they are going to send me 4 other existing models for the price of the two knives I preordered. So, it's still kind of a win.
I guess.
Poop.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Hack in action...
It's 2010. Where's my jetback, biznotches?
OK - aggression dealt with.
For early 2010, I've got this final episode of Hack on tap, going up on Saturday January 9th. It will entail a 4x faster version of the fight we did in the last episode (which should be interesting, and probably a lot sloppy to say the least) and on top of that, we'll have another quick round of combat with a different character. When speaking with John Dirty Hurley at the last rehearsal, he noted he wanted it nasty. We can always make it funny later.
So... nasty to me means less combat and more selling a beat-down. Nothing distresses an audience more that a one sided fight with some brutal use of props. I'm excited.
In other news, the NJFA has moved locations meaning it may be a good deal easier to reach from NYC, which in turn means far more range time for me. CSSD SC classes should be resuming soon as well. With any luck, I'll get my new Desangut set soon too!
We are all systems go for a new addition to my already fun collection of body art. When it's all done, I'll be posting pics. Since I'm going half sleeve with color, it'll be a long process, but I'm looking forward to it.
And finally a resolution: choreograph at least 6 good fights this year for shows I'm not necessarily appearing in.
Here's to 2010. Which by the way I'm pronouncing twenty-hundred and ten. Just to be different.
OK - aggression dealt with.
For early 2010, I've got this final episode of Hack on tap, going up on Saturday January 9th. It will entail a 4x faster version of the fight we did in the last episode (which should be interesting, and probably a lot sloppy to say the least) and on top of that, we'll have another quick round of combat with a different character. When speaking with John Dirty Hurley at the last rehearsal, he noted he wanted it nasty. We can always make it funny later.
So... nasty to me means less combat and more selling a beat-down. Nothing distresses an audience more that a one sided fight with some brutal use of props. I'm excited.
In other news, the NJFA has moved locations meaning it may be a good deal easier to reach from NYC, which in turn means far more range time for me. CSSD SC classes should be resuming soon as well. With any luck, I'll get my new Desangut set soon too!
We are all systems go for a new addition to my already fun collection of body art. When it's all done, I'll be posting pics. Since I'm going half sleeve with color, it'll be a long process, but I'm looking forward to it.
And finally a resolution: choreograph at least 6 good fights this year for shows I'm not necessarily appearing in.
Here's to 2010. Which by the way I'm pronouncing twenty-hundred and ten. Just to be different.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Happy (punch!) Holidays! (smack!)
Because it's time to hit the holidays, and I may not have a chance to post again anytime soon as I take a needed break, I wanted to wish the one or two people who occasionally tune into my disjointed ramblings a happy holiday season.
The final episode of Hack is coming in January, and so far I've kept my schedule clear of anything too crazy after that. We'll be resuming blade training in January (post a comment and let me know if you want into a class) and I'll be trying to hit the new location of the NJFA for more pistol work.
So, enjoy a bright season of holiday merriment and remember - anything that could be re-gifted could also make an excellent melee weapon prop. Just don't actually hit anyone with it. It's all about pretend violence, because the more we fake it, the less we need to actually do it.
The final episode of Hack is coming in January, and so far I've kept my schedule clear of anything too crazy after that. We'll be resuming blade training in January (post a comment and let me know if you want into a class) and I'll be trying to hit the new location of the NJFA for more pistol work.
So, enjoy a bright season of holiday merriment and remember - anything that could be re-gifted could also make an excellent melee weapon prop. Just don't actually hit anyone with it. It's all about pretend violence, because the more we fake it, the less we need to actually do it.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hacked Up
After spending a week in Las Vegas for day job business (and before anyone asks, I avoided the tables for the most part, and also avoided anything involving “laps”) it was back into the swing of things for the latest episode of Crystal Skillman’s “Hack.”
I may be biased since I’m in it, but I have to say I really feel like we’ve hit a good stride with the purely ridiculous. If you saw it, you know that things became even more silly than usual, what with the musical underscoring many of the moments – and CL Weatherstone’s further descent into villainous mania. Of course, that is assuming he is in fact the villain, and the eponymous hacker of “Hack.” Which to be honest, can’t be assumed since I still don’t even know if my character is the “hacker” or Neimah’s character. Oh hell, it could still be anyone. I’m just looking forward to finding out how this all wraps up, since next month (January) is the final installment.
The in-the-dark fight sequence did go fairly well, actually, despite rather limited rehearsal time to devote to the combat. Placing it in the dark was a good way to keep it from looking too sloppy. Credit is due to Dirty Hurley, though as it turns out, Hack was not the only piece to have a “lights out” section. If I’m not mistaken “Lady Cryptozoologist” also took place almost entirely in the dark.
While I know that all good things must come to an end, I still have high hopes that I’ll get to square off against one of my favorite actors, Nick Monroy. We ended this episode with him strangling me, so there’s a chance I’ll get to do a little something cool before the big showdown. If you’re a director, and you haven’t cast Nick Monroy, you’re just plain missing out. By god, the man is funny. Dry, witty and funny.
I was hoping for some more shooting updates, and scans of my targets from the plethora of gun options offered in Las Vegas… but thanks to the weather being the way it was last week, an 8 hour travel plan became a 15 hour travel reality killing all of my free time. So, no assault rifles for Joe.
However, I did plot out a couple of test fights for the sake of killing time on the planes. If someone ever wants a fight that takes place at a big travel conference, or two old people at bank of slot machines or some good old swanky nightclub mayhem… oh man… I was so inspired. Perhaps even a little bored at times since I was taking notes on how a fight would look in these environments as opposed to paying strict attention to the presentations.
I may be biased since I’m in it, but I have to say I really feel like we’ve hit a good stride with the purely ridiculous. If you saw it, you know that things became even more silly than usual, what with the musical underscoring many of the moments – and CL Weatherstone’s further descent into villainous mania. Of course, that is assuming he is in fact the villain, and the eponymous hacker of “Hack.” Which to be honest, can’t be assumed since I still don’t even know if my character is the “hacker” or Neimah’s character. Oh hell, it could still be anyone. I’m just looking forward to finding out how this all wraps up, since next month (January) is the final installment.
The in-the-dark fight sequence did go fairly well, actually, despite rather limited rehearsal time to devote to the combat. Placing it in the dark was a good way to keep it from looking too sloppy. Credit is due to Dirty Hurley, though as it turns out, Hack was not the only piece to have a “lights out” section. If I’m not mistaken “Lady Cryptozoologist” also took place almost entirely in the dark.
While I know that all good things must come to an end, I still have high hopes that I’ll get to square off against one of my favorite actors, Nick Monroy. We ended this episode with him strangling me, so there’s a chance I’ll get to do a little something cool before the big showdown. If you’re a director, and you haven’t cast Nick Monroy, you’re just plain missing out. By god, the man is funny. Dry, witty and funny.
I was hoping for some more shooting updates, and scans of my targets from the plethora of gun options offered in Las Vegas… but thanks to the weather being the way it was last week, an 8 hour travel plan became a 15 hour travel reality killing all of my free time. So, no assault rifles for Joe.
However, I did plot out a couple of test fights for the sake of killing time on the planes. If someone ever wants a fight that takes place at a big travel conference, or two old people at bank of slot machines or some good old swanky nightclub mayhem… oh man… I was so inspired. Perhaps even a little bored at times since I was taking notes on how a fight would look in these environments as opposed to paying strict attention to the presentations.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Hack!
Fun times ahead for the next installment of Crystal Skillman's Hack at the Vampire Cowboys monthly saloon. Our lady wordsmith has written a five person fight scene, which is to take place in a sewer tunnel. Since director John Hurley likes to keep things interesting and fast moving, he's determined the best way to transform the stage area of the Battle Ranch into a sewer tunnel is to turn off all the lights.
Further complicating matters is the fact that what can be seen by the audience past the second row is roughly mid torso and up, so very few low strikes or kicks because they just won't be seen by the majority of the audience.
The five combatants (including me) will be navigating their way through the tunnel with flashlights. That means every person has a melee weapon, and it also means this fight will be just the kind of combat I like: fast, dirty, and confusing.
Sooo... I've mapped out a nice 20-30 second match up, with plenty of modular, a dash of gunting and a pinch of sinwali thrown in for comedy's sake.
With flashlights.
In the dark.
Nice.
Further complicating matters is the fact that what can be seen by the audience past the second row is roughly mid torso and up, so very few low strikes or kicks because they just won't be seen by the majority of the audience.
The five combatants (including me) will be navigating their way through the tunnel with flashlights. That means every person has a melee weapon, and it also means this fight will be just the kind of combat I like: fast, dirty, and confusing.
Sooo... I've mapped out a nice 20-30 second match up, with plenty of modular, a dash of gunting and a pinch of sinwali thrown in for comedy's sake.
With flashlights.
In the dark.
Nice.
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