Jake teaching the campers the choreography for a stage fight!
Today’s date: 13th July, 2025
Show title: Henry VI, Part 3
Director: Mili Koncelik
Staff Crew: Production Interns Analise Toone (Stage Manager) and Madeleine Cook (Dramaturg); RDAs Sarah Clayton and Topher Zane (Asst. Directors); RDA Team Captain Jake Raiter (Fight Captain)
What we did
After warming up, we began our first round of fight choreography! RDA Jake came in today and we spent the majority of rehearsal adding the stage into what we’ve covered thus far – specifically, the Rutland v. Clifford fight, the Duke of York v. Lancastrians fight, and beginning the Richard v. Clifford fight. Those who weren’t engaging in the stage combat today had the opportunity to run lines and do some additional character and text work with the RDAs before the first off-book deadline on Tuesday. Additionally, we picked up where we left off staging-wise and are well-prepared for our first round of staging work in the Blackfriars tomorrow and Tuesday!
Quick and Quotable
- From the play
- “Bootless is flight: they follow us with wings” – Edward, 2.3.458
- From the cast
- *a bunch of inquiries as to where John Talbot is* – various campers
- “Do we come in barking?” – Van
- From the production team
- “Cringe is the bridge between you and the goals you want. Being cool will not get you there. Be cringe!” – Jake
- “A very ‘Conan-the-Barbarian-I’m-about-to-cleave-you-in-half’ sort of strike” – also Jake
Production Insights
There’s a lot that goes into staging combat; it’s not simply a matter of “fake-punch this person” or “here’s a blunted sword, now fight each other”! It relies on plenty of safety checks, which is what many of the campers learned about today – making sure the distance between person and weapon is safe, making sure someone lands in the safest possible manner, constantly checking in to make sure things feel okay, etc. Stage combat also relies on reaction, knaps (what one does to mimic the sound of a slap, punch, hard landing, etc.) and vocalization to sell the realism. It’s a big responsibility to both teach it and partake in it! I don’t have much of a background in combat, so it’s always been fascinating to watch the process go from “peanut-butter pace” (as in, move at the speed you would if you were stuck in peanut butter) to a stage fight at show speed. And I have a deep respect for those who teach it!
Madeleine Cook
Madeleine is a Production Intern for ASCTC 2025, serving as Dramaturg for 3 Henry VI for Session 2. She is an actor, historian, and early modern theatre scholar originally from southeastern Michigan and now based in Staunton. She is also an incoming 2nd-year MLitt student at Mary Baldwin University's Shakespeare and Performance graduate program, and holds a B.A. in History and Theatre from Siena Heights University. And, she's very happy to be here!