There's been a lot of news in the world of Canadian Stage Combat in the past week, so here's what's worth noting. In proper news style, here's a rundown of the headlines:
- No 2013 Nationals
- Montreal Regionals
- Casey's Youth Class
- Rapier Wit Motion Capture
- Vancouver Certification Intensive
No 2013 Nationals
Nationals is cancelled. Paul Gelineau, the Director of the Academy of FDC, announced that he is pulling the plug on the Fight Directors Canada annual summer intensive that we call "the Nationals". He made this decision in association with President Daniel Levinson due to poor registration numbers.
Paul reports being "baffled" by the low numbers and suspects that it is the general state of the economy to blame.
Montreal Regionals
Montreal FDC Regional will remain from July 13 to 28. So what's the difference, since the Nationals was slated for the same city at the same time?
- It will not be at Concordia University (venue is yet to be announced)
- Student housing will not be part of the package (though they will try to help visitors find accommodations)
- Only one Fight Master will be there for testing
- Only Basic Actor-Combatant and Intermediate Actor-Combatant are offered
Contact Fight Master Jean-François Gagnon for more information or to register.
Casey's Youth Class
Temper is now offering youth classes in stage combat, though they will not qualify for FDC certification. Temper's School of Hard Knocks - Fight Workshop for Ages 13-17 July 1-5
In a similar vein, Academie Duello will be partnering with Arts Umbrella to offer stage combat to their youth theatre programs in much the same way starting in September. More news will follow, since the structure is still being arranged.
Rapier Wit Motion Capture
Also in Toronto, Daniel Levinson recently announced that Rapier Wit will be holding a three-weekend workshop in motion capture with Daniel Maendel, Simon Fon, and Daniel Levinson. June 15, 22, 29 yep all Saturdays from 10-5
The Mocapture suit that everyone gets to wear was used in the movies Paul and Ted!
And here's myself in a motion-capture suit when I worked under Carrie Thiel at Capilano University. They will likely be expanding their motion-capture offering next semester as well. It's exciting to get on-board this new era in performance.
Vancouver Certification Intensive
Professional actors need to get their FDC certification this year, and Academie Duello would like to offer an intensive for the West Coast as well.
A daytime intensive would have to wait until Knight Camp's summer session is finished, though.
That means that we'll be starting in September. If you just finished Actng School for theatre or film and loved your short introduction to stage combat, join us to become a fully qualified performance fighter. If you already have your Basic, we'll also be certifying at the Intermediate level if we have enough interest.
I'm planning on having class 5 days per week, preferably for 3 hours per day. That means you'll finish your 60 hours in 4 weeks. If we run Intermediate, then we can finish your 80 hours by adding one hour per day and end on the same date.
Feedback!
Please send me your ideas about the certification class! I need to know if you think you'd like to attend, if you'd like to finish more quickly by adding more hours per day, or any other suggestions regarding the format. David@academieduello.com
Reminders:
- Whether you're currently enrolled in stage combat or not, come by every Thursday for our drop-in. It's extra practice and question-and-answer period, not a formal class
- Daytime stage combat is on hiaitus, there are no morning classes 10-noon for now
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.