Please find a way to schedule plenty of time for supervised fight rehearsals, preferably with the fight choreographer present, but if that isn’t possible then with the fight captain. If even that isn’t possible, at the very least the rehearsals should be watched by someone respected enough to control the pace of the rehearsal, keep any bystanders out of harm’s way, and act as the surrogate audience to make sure that the positioning of the actors is set for maximum believability.
I know that time is always at a premium, but see how much can be set aside for the actors to rehearse the fights without feeling rushed or having been squeezed into the general schedule as an afterthought.
Dressing for the fight rehearsal is a progressive affair. Certainly during the initial blocking rehearsals the combatants should wear soft soled shoes and comfortable workout clothes. The clothing should not hide the contour of the body, as the choreographer will need to see and correct body alignment and limb position. Many joint injuries can be prevented at this early stage. No dangling jewelry of course, and pocketed objects which might hurt if landed on must be removed as well.
As soon as the fighters have the choreography reasonably well-memorized, the substitution of the work-out clothes can begin. Rehearsal clothing at this stage is necessary for the actors so they can learn to deal with capes, jackets, hats, gloves of course, but most especially shoes. Costumers are sometimes loathe to provide the actual costumes to the actors before the first dress rehearsal [indeed the costumes usually aren’t even built yet], but an exception must be made for footwear. The safety factor is too important to allow any delay in getting the final shoe choice to the actors.
Layers of rehearsal focus
Just as one doesn’t simply memorize lines and blocking and assume that one can act, the fight rehearsal is more than just repeating a bunch of set moves. Character development, pace, build, highlight of intention and reactions are all explored during rehearsal. Having said that, none of that work means anything if the lines aren’t memorized, and the same thing applies to the stage fight. So let’s get that out of the way first.
Write It Down! The fight choreographer should hand out a sheet with the fight written out, but if not, the actors as well as the assistant director should be writing down every move of the fight at each rehearsal. The actors should make sure to add any modifications to the fight immediately, for what you think will be remembered will be gone from memory at the next rehearsal. Don’t count on one written version of the fight; disagreements will come up as to interpretation. Three versions are better than one, and two versions are almost useless.
Our natural instinct is to memorize the progression of moves in chronological order [1st move; 1st and 2nd moves; 1st 2nd and 3rd moves, etc.], but this has often led to the actors knowing the beginning of the fight cold, but as the fight progresses they feel less and less sure of it. I like to work with reverse progression when giving out the fight. I give them the last phrase, then the last two phrases, then the last three phrases, etc. By the time the blocking period is over they have the final phrases of the fight down pat, and any memorization glitches are going to occur at the start of the fight rather than at the exciting and stressful finish. Here are some other things to try during the fight rehearsals:
Footwork. The actors walk through the fight with the hands clasped behind the back. Offense and defense are shown through the eyes and with the shoulders. It really helps the actors work on the part of the fight which is usually the least convincing – intention and reaction.
Distance fighting. Have the actors stand three or four feet away from each other or more, completely outside of contact range, and go through the fight. A great way to make sure that they are working on the partnered pantomime aspects.
Getting into weapons fights, we do the above and add a few other exercises:
No weapons. No kidding, the best way to perfect a sword fight is to leave the swords in the props cabinet several times. Have the actors stand much closer than normal and go through the entire fight using just the hands. The fingers should actually reach out and try to touch the intended target [hip, shoulder, head] and the defensive hand merely deflects the attack only one inch away from reaching the target. Really try to touch the partner’s body. Since the focus is on the fingertips, the intention of attack and defense becomes much clearer and the techniques improve dramatically. Really focus on the exact square inch that the fingers must strike. This is the best single way to take someone from novice to looking like an expert.
Speed Sit down. The opposite of Footwork. The actors sit facing each other and only work thru the hand movements of the fight, but just as in the above exercise holding no weapons. Keep working until the movements become fluid, fast, and second nature. Actors can rehearse this way anywhere and at anytime. Just like line speed-thrus, a great way to keep the fight crisp.
Dropped parries. This is scary but an excellent way to improve control. Go through the fight as normal, but one actor [without warning and in no discernible pattern] simply does not make the appropriate defensive move. If the attacker doesn’t have excellent control, the partner gets hit.
How fast should the fight be?
The old answer is always the best. A fight can only go as fast as the audience can follow the story. All of the story. If the actors are moving too quickly, the audience can only see a blur of movement, but nothing that progresses the story. The story of the fight is told through precision, which is why the initial fight rehearsals must be conducted in painfully slow motion. Every movement during the critical initial sessions must be performed at an agonizingly slow pace so that all of the little mistakes can be corrected before they become part of muscle memory.
With each rehearsal, the pace can be allowed to increase slightly, but only as fast as the actors can demonstrate specificity of intent along with correct technique. By the time the show is ready to open, the fight should be ready to run at a little faster than full speed. And then the actors have to be convinced to actually perform it at only 80% of full speed. It’s great to have an exciting fight, but the actors still have to have a little reserve left in order to act the fight, as well as be able to handle any unforeseen contingencies.
Who is in charge?
This can get a little complicated. The director always gets the final word on what stays in the fight, but the choreography itself is the intellectual property of the choreographer. No change to the fight must be allowed to occur unless authorized by the choreographer. A fight captain or assistant may provide correction, but the moves themselves are sacrosanct. This should be the prima facie rule, and anything beyond that is to be worked out between the director and choreographer. For example, if I have to be gone for the majority of rehearsals, I let the director know that if a bit isn’t working and makes the show drag, it may be cut so long as I get a phone call the next day. Same thing goes if there are certain moves that cause anxiety to the actor. Sometimes I’ll also explain which fight phrases cannot be modified in any way and which phrases may be cut completely if time or ability to memorize is a problem. But that’s just me. Others may not be as comfortable with giving that much control to the director and others will give far more leeway. The main thing is to keep the choreographer in the loop when changes appear necessary. A change may have a hidden danger which the fight director may be able to spot, even through a phone call.
During performance, the stage manager takes over. It is her call as to whether or not a fight must be cancelled due to any safety concerns, including inclement weather. In addition, both she and the fighters themselves have the right and obligation to cancel the fight even in the midst of performing it should it appear that there is any condition which might cause an injury to either the actors or audience. As I’ve said before, there is no show that is worth an injury.