PlayFighting is not play-fighting.
Yes, we play fighting: pretend combat. But play fighting is not play-fighting: combat amusement.
Well, it is for entertainment, but not for the performers; for the audience.
Although staging combat is fun... stage combat is an essential skill for any actor, stage or screen.
Because every play is fighting. Drama is conflict. Acting is physically pretending to be in conflict, so it is important when that conflict becomes physical.
You know that stage combat is not play-fighting because play-fighting stops with the following words: "Oops. I'm sorry. It doesn't look broken. Don't tell Mom." Stage combat ends with the words: "Behold the usurper's cursed head!"
The Illusion of Violence is magic. Sawing your assistant in half? It's a lot more interesting when you have to try 50 times while she fights back. But in the end, both magic shows work because the partners work together to create an effect for the audience.
A simulacrum of violence with acted aggression, blunted weapons and sometimes a trap door.
Stage magic without smiles, at high speed.
Let's ignore for a moment the constant staging of Shakespeare, and how much fun it would be to be cast in a role with sword fights. Let's also pretend that the magic of causing the audience to cry or gasp isn't the highest praise an actor can get.
Let's just make sure you don't get hurt on this amazing set. Can you fall? In those shoes? How do you shove a coworker without sending them off-screen or cause an accident?
Sure it's just play fighting. But it's not play-fighting. The technique is an asynchronous dance with fast-moving steel. You must have a high opinion of yourself (and your choreographer) to think you can lay down a sword fight in a day. Especially when you've never picked up a sword in your life.
Do you need to know a falchion from a flambert? Nope. Stage combat is not about trivia. There's a way the fighter moves that brings you to class. There's a way the hero thinks that brings you to class. There's an industry starved of skilled performers that brings you to class.
I'm PlayFigthing. Let's make you an action-hero.
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.