Quarterstaff
Truly the most versatile of weapons, and the one least seen on stage because there aren’t many shows that require them. But remember that quarterstaff techniques are directly applicable to halberd and other hafted weapon fighting, so apart from the obvious Robin Hood / Little John fight there are many other period and even modern setting plays that can use the same moves. For example, assuming you can find props sturdy enough, these moves are the same a soldier would use when fighting with a long musket or rifle with a fixed bayonet.
If you find yourself winging it here, putting together a fight without the benefit of expert help, keep the moves as simple as possible. Getting knocked with one of these things hurts a lot more than getting struck with a broadsword. [And of course, always disarm a weapon away from the camera or audience!]
Shortform/Longform
There are two ways of holding, and therefore using, the staff. In shortform, grab the staff so as to divide it into thirds. Push with the right hand and pull with the left, and there you have a right handed attack. Push with the left and pull with the right, and there’s a left handed attack. Compare this push and pull motion to the concept of chambering discussed in martial arts unarmed fighting.
Longform uses more distance, and you grab the staff in the center and then at the quarter [by the way, that’s not the origin of the name quarterstaff – see pg. 130]. Whereas in shortform the hands stay relatively static on their positions, in longform the hands are in constant movement. Shortform is simple and intuitive; longform requires a lot of training until it feels comfortable. Mixing the two styles within a fight provides for exciting changes in distance and rhythm.
It is normally taught that the right hand holds onto the staff with the palm up and the left hand is palm down, but obviously that’s just a starting point: make whatever changes you need to make when working out the fight. There is no right or wrong, just what works and feels secure and comfortable.
There is no consistent front and back to the staff, so whichever end is closest to the victim is called the fore end, and whichever is away is the butt end, and this of course will change with nearly every move. One thing that never changes is the distance you need around other actors. There is always a lot of weapon traveling around, above and behind you each time you make an attack.
Attack points
Just as with the sword, the staff can thrust or cut, although the cutting is really more bashing than slicing, but the idea is the same. The attack points are a bit different, and we have a lot more of them. The cuts are head, crotch, right and left flank, and all four diagonals. The intended target for all eight cuts is the exact center of the body, between the navel and the solar plexus. The job of the actor is to convince the audience that that is what he is intending to strike, although the energy is actually going safely outside the place of the defender’s body.
The body divided into sections cutting targets thrusting targets
The thrusts are expanded to both flanks, shoulders, and both thighs. Never to the head, never to the knee. As with the sword, the attacks are meant to match the un-exaggerated moves of the defense, meaning that they should land one inch away from the outside plane of the body.
Cutting Attacks in Shortform
These are nearly intuitive moves, but let’s go through them anyway. Holding the staff in front of you, parallel to the ground. Keep your hips and chest square to your partner. Push your right hand straight out and your left hand in, all the way to your ribs. That’s a right flank cut. [Just as with the swords I’m using right and left from the aggressor’s perspective.] And the beauty is that the fore end stops before it can actually hit your partner because the butt end is stopped by your own body. Isn’t that wonderful? The sweeping attacks can look very powerful when the slam to a halt by hitting your own body, and the audience thinks that it was stopped by a very powerful block!
Left flank cut? I’m sure you’re there already – keeping the staff parallel to the floor, left arm straight out, right hand goes back to your ribs.
Right high diagonal – Right hand pushes out to shoulder level, left hand pulls in to the left hip.
Left high diagonal – Left hand pushes out to shoulder level, right hand pulls in to the right hip.
Right low diagonal – Right hand pushes out to thigh level, left hand pulls in to left shoulder.
Left low diagonal – Left hand pushes out to thigh level, right hand pulls in to right shoulder.
Crotch – Either hand pushes straight out toward the crotch, scooping up, while the other hand brings the butt end right next to the same side ear. (You’d be amazed how many actors have to be specifically told to do this or they will hit themselves in the head.)
Vertical Head – This is a little different than the others, so pay attention. Either hand pushes out to a spot just above the forehead of your partner and the other hand pulls up tight into the armpit. You see, we need to get a strong look of a real attack on this one, or else it looks more like a punch to the face instead of a big dropping cut from above. So we lift up the back end a bit so that the front end comes in high. So how do we keep our partner safe? By keeping the lead (attacking) hand no lower than eye level and the draw hand no higher than armpit level. That way, it is impossible to strike your partner on the head.
Even the simplest of quarterstaff attacks carry a lot of momentum behind it, so it is important that at the moment of the strike the aggressor’s shoulders are square with those of the defender. Any additional turn of the torso into the attack brings the weapon into the plane of the defender’s body, increasing risk of injury. By keeping the shoulders square, all of the incoming energy is stopped before it enters into the defenders space.
Defenses
Since the attacks all are supposed to look as though they are trying to reach the center of the body, the blocks will start from the center and radiate out. The center of the staff, the part between the hands, will pick off the head, crotch, and flank attacks; The further ends will block the diagonal cuts. These are not hard and fast rules, just really good simple starting points. But no matter what, we always try to have the blocking staff make contact at ninety degrees to the attacking staff.
When using the center of the staff, both arms will extend in the direction of the attack. Now these attacks are coming in sideways, right? So that’s where you are going to push, not toward the attacker. Imagine your staff as being a great big sliding door, pointing straight up and moving side to side for the flank cuts, parallel to the floor and lifting or lowering for those head and crotch shots.
When using the ends, again mainly for the diagonal cuts, the hand on the side of where the attack is coming from will pull in close to the body while the far hand extends and crosses in front. This swings that end around easily to pick-off the attack. If the attack is coming in high, the near hand goes low and in – at hip level. If the attack comes in low, the nearest hand goes high and in – at shoulder level. The far hand is the one that crosses in front of the body and gently points to the incoming attack. Try these a few times and you’ll see that the mechanics of the diagonal defense are very similar to that of the diagonal attack. The only difference is that the leading hand, instead of straightening and pushing forward, bends at the elbow and the hand crosses in front of the body. This does two wonderful things. First it keeps the defense close to the defender, which increases the look of danger. Secondly, it maintains the important look of the defender trying to protect the center of his body and absorbing the energy of the incoming threat, adding to the believability of the attack.
Notation
The diagram that we used for sword fighting doesn’t work too well with the staff fight. Since there are more attack points, we need a slightly more involved diagram. So we can use the same tic-tac-toe drawing that we used earlier to divide the body into attack segments.
The center square is any shot directly to the body, and this should be rare or nonexistent. So instead, we use the center square to note any “pay-off” moves – trips, punches, kicks, what have you. Just like before, attacks are shown with a plus (+) and defenses with a minus (-), but now we have to also include the L and R designations for which ever hand performs the attack or block. The left and right open squares are for flank attacks, the high and low squares are head and crotch shots, and of course the corner squares are all of the diagonal attacks. Here is a very simple phrase, and I’m showing both partners’ movements. Try it out.
Side A Side B
As you can tell by trying it out, the first four moves of side A are very straight forward moves using alternating hands. For move 5 there is no indication of which hand to use, for since the staff is pointing straight up and down for defense against a flank attack, and I didn’t care which hand is high or low. Note how moving from 6 to 7, making both blocks in sequence with the right hand, it makes a natural circle. It’s always nice to smooth out such moves that naturally link together and perform them as one continuous motion.
Side B starts off with a defense against a flank attack, but here I specifically want the left hand high, so the notation has that reminder. Why so specific here? Well, it makes the swing up to the second move a little less jerky than if the right hand had started high on the first move. Moves 3 and 4 are natural enough, but for 5 the left hand is attacking. But when you do that move to the right with the left hand, you have to pull your right hand in to your left, leaving the arms crossed uncomfortably – and on purpose. The hands uncross for the defense on 6, and can lead in a nice big sweeping circle into move 7.
Adding Longform
Longform technique is all draw and slide. As you do the moves, just keep repeating, draw and slide, draw and slide.
Just to start, hold onto the staff with the right hand at the half way point, and the left hand at a quarter of the way down. For now simply hold the staff parallel to the ground. Pull the left hand in to your left hip and extend the right arm out, just as in short form, and you have executed an attack to the flank, right? And at quite a distance, since now you can strike a target about four feet away. But for the next attack you just can’t pull the right hand back and push with the left, because your left hand is holding on to the stubby end of the quarterstaff. So if you want to strike to the other flank, you’re going to have to … draw and slide.
Leave your right hand where it is, out in front of you, and loosen the grip. With your left hand draw the staff back until your right hand can grab the far quarter. Grasp tight with the right hand and pull it in to your right hip. At the same time, relax the left grip while you push your left hand forward, allowing it to slide down the staff until it reaches the center, and you’ve executed a left hand longform attack to the opposite flank! Now keep your left hand out there and try for another flank attack back to the first side. Right hand draws the staff back, left hand graps the far quarter, and then as it pulls in to the left hip, the right hand pushes forward as it slides to the center. Voila! a longform attack to the right. Practice several times, draw and slide, draw and slide, quarter and center, quarter and center.
Try going to the other targets. You’ll find that the attacks to the lower diagonals might bounce off the ground at first, and that the crotch shot is nearly impossible to perform in a direct line, but you get the idea here.
Starting with hands at the “thirds”… left hand slides forward…right slides to center …left pulls staff back…
left hand attacks, pushes forward …sliding to center …right hand pulls staff back, then attacks forward…sliding to center.
Defenses in Longform
Technically, you can use the longform attack techniques to perform long distance blocks. Just as in short form, the defense is merely the attack move but extended so that it crosses in front of the body, “protecting” the center and then making the block. I have seen many fights choreographed this way, with longform block defending against longform attacks, for this is the way that the Society of American Fight Directors teaches it … but why? I mean, think about it, who is the defender defending if the contact point of the staffs is four feet in front of him? If he is using a longform style block it means that he really had to reach forward with his weapon just to make contact with the attack, which makes no sense. Whether the block is made or not didn’t matter because the attack could never have reached the defender in the first place. If someone is that far out of distance when attacking, there is no threat, therefore no need to block. If the longform attack can actually reach the defender, the appropriate shortform defense is the one to use. You always want to keep the incoming attack as close to you as possible when using any weapon if you want the audience to believe in your fight.
Other Impact Weapons
Shields/Bucklers
The use of defensive shields in real sword fights usually turned into literally “trading blows”. First one person would strike, then the other, back and forth until someone would not block correctly. That missed block would translate into a pretty severe injury, and then quickly followed by the winner bashing the loser into submission or death. Men of taller stature and of greater arm strength won over shorter and slighter warriors. Always.
That kind of fighting is pretty boring for stage, so we allow for combination attacks which, although not historically based, are a lot more exciting. Linking together two or three attacks and blocking not only with the shield but also the sword can open up the look of the fight until it can approach the dynamics of the theatrical rapier fight. With that in mind, the fight can show all of the strategy and character development that we need for theatre.
The best way to learn how to use the shield is by first not using one. Think of blocking an incoming cut using only your forearm and you’ll quickly appreciate that the best way to do so is to meet the sword with the arm perpendicular to the sword’s approach. If the sword is being swung parallel to the floor, you naturally would point your hand either straight up or straight down. If a vertical head cut is coming down at you, then your arm will protect your head best by forming a barrier across where the sword would travel.
I realize this sounds ridiculously simple. After all, who would try to block a sword by lining up the arm parallel to it? The chances of lining the two up correctly is almost nil, and to block perpendicular to the sword makes perfect instinctual sense. The reason I mention the obvious here is that so many people forget all of this once the shield is strapped on.
Most shields have a strap that holds onto the forearm near the elbow and then a handle onto which the left hand can grasp. The shield looks so imposing that at first it seems that it doesn’t matter if the arm is up or down or sideways, but after being struck a few times one learns that it matters an awful lot. If the forearm is parallel to the incoming blade and that sword does not hit the very center of the shield, the sword will push on the shield, spinning it around your arm. At best, the shield will bounce into your leg or chest. At worst, the sword can skip off of the shield and slice into your face. Arm position matters.
The shield can also be used as a weapon, both with the flat and with the edge. But although the techniques are very simple to execute, it would be best if they are only taught under the direct supervision of a competent instructor. Unlike the sword, the shield is a close-in weapon and the force of the impact can knock someone out, break a limb, or shatter a rib. Actors are always in more danger the closer they are to each other.
Bucklers are different beasties all together. A buckler is a very small shield, usually only about one foot in diameter, held from its center by a small handle. It is not a passive defense weapon as is the common shield, but an aggressive weapon used to attack the opponent’s sword and thereby providing an opening for an attack with your own sword or dagger. One punches with the buckler instead of simply absorbing an attack. Indeed, with the buckler being so small, a traditional block would be pretty lucky and most times ineffective. In sword and buckler fights, the sword is often used in conjunction with the buckler to make the block, and then the buckler used to push down the opponent’s sword as you follow up with your own attack using the sword.
Found Objects
In so many shows, a prop on the set is picked up and used as an impromptu weapon. Usually these fights have very few moves; most commonly a single swinging motion that either connects, misses, or is blocked by the victim.
There are two important aspects to keep in mind. First, the aggressor must be in complete control of the prop and how it moves from beginning to end. Go back to the sword section to learn how to swing a prop safely, for the victim must be absolutely safe for every second of every action. If the swing is going to be blocked, the attacker needs to learn how to perform a sword “cut”. If the swing misses, then you are looking for the section of “slashes”. Secondly, the construction standards for that item must be much higher than they are for most props. A prop that can break is also one that can cut an actor.
The term “found objects” is a catch-all phrase which includes items that aren’t normally considered weapons, but that the character is compelled to use in the heat of action. Some of these were mentioned in the earlier section, so I’ll assume that the items you are dealing with have been specifically built for the fight or have been thoroughly checked out and made secure for the safety of the actors. If you have any doubts, don’t use the item.
When dealing with a found object in a fight, first spend some time getting to know the item. Find its strengths and weaknesses, find its center of gravity, learn how it can be safely grasped, how it can be thrust or swung. If it begins to slip from your hand, how is it going to turn or tumble? A stuffed doll seems harmless enough, but loose hair can act as a hundred little whips and could lash at someone’s eyes. A piece of wood or a bar of steel might be plenty strong for itself, but too strong for the weapons it is going against, so moves might have to be modified. Here are some props I’ve encountered. From one thing learn ten thousand.
• Fan – There are some very sturdy steel-ribbed folding fans that can be purchased through most martial arts supply houses, and your costumer might be able to re-cover one or even paint it so as to fit the design of the show. Used as a substitute for a dagger in a rapier fight, it adds great visual flair once you get used to snapping it open for key moments and twirling it as an attack or defense. Keep in mind that strong blocks against even a light fencing sword will need to be done with the fan closed.
• Bottle – It has become almost a cliché to have Barrymore use a Champagne bottle in I Hate Hamlet or Athos use a bottle of Bordeaux in The Three Musketeers as a secondary weapon during at least one of his rapier fights. I like using empty Champagne bottles rather than regular wine or even beer bottles, for the sparkling wine containers are thicker and designed to withstand the much greater pressure that the fizzy wines create.
A bottle works best when the opposing blade is the forgiving and flexible epee blade, and definitely when used primarily as a parrying tool to deflect thrusts, rather than to block cuts. Even if you can have the attacker reduce the power of the cut enough to keep from breaking the glass, your audience will never believe the action. And don’t hold the bottle as you would a serious weapon, but rather grab it by the neck as though you are going to pour yourself a glass. Let the base of the bottle simply hang down and swing your arm from side to side to make the parries. This also leaves your character in position to take a swig out of the bottle during the fight for a small comic bit.
If you are using the bottle as a club, read the section a little further below. If you are using a “broken bottle” prop, go back to the knife section. Same actions, different prop.
• Chair – Cane back chairs are the easiest to use due to the light weight and relatively sturdy construction, but be sure and check the item carefully every day to made sure that the wood isn’t developing stress fractures. You may also need to reinforce all of the joints as well as the seat.
These things have a strange center of gravity, so work out with the chair for several weeks before incorporating it into the choreography. Swing it, toss it, catch it, lift it, push it, pull it – fully explore how the chair moves through space when you hold onto each leg or by the back, with two hands and then with one.
• Hats – Nice comic bits flow naturally when someone’s hat is used in a rapier and dagger fight, but let the costumer and the make-up designer in on your ideas at the very first opportunity. Obviously the costumer is going to have to come up with some sturdy alternatives to what she may have had in mind (she’s just going to love you) but why the make-up designer? Hats sometimes need to be secured to hair or wigs for a good fit, and using it for a fight might affect the hair choices. Talk it out early so there are no tech week surprises.
• Trash can lid – I’ve used it for West Side Story and for modern versions of Shakespeare plays. I know it’s a bit obvious when the curtain rises and you see a trash can on the set that it’s going to find its way into the combat, but it’s just too useful in a fight to not include it. It can be used in two ways – grabbed by the edge or by the center handle. If you’ve been lucky enough to find a steel trash can (they’re becoming an endangered species) you’ll have to do something about the handle.
That handle on a steel lid is usually free floating or pivoting so it can lay down flat when not in use. So if the lid is to be grabbed from the center and used as a shield, you’ll need to replace the grip with a rigid handle, otherwise the shield will be uncontrollable. When you do so, be sure to give yourself a little extra clearance than a normal handle would have so that you don’t bruise your knuckles during the fight. Because of the light weight, the movement choices can be a combination of those for the buckler, the shield, and even the dagger by swinging the lid with the edge as the attacking point.
If you grab the lid by the edge, you are limited to swinging the thing either flat or edgewise, which in a real fight are probably the only instinctual moves. Someone will always want to hit someone on the back with the lid, and there is a safe way to do it, but first get rid of that central handle. If someone gets hit by it, it’s going to hurt mightily. The lid is slightly concave, which is good because it keeps that nasty edge away from the victim. Hold the lid close to your own body and push – not swing – it toward the upstage plane of your partner (assuming he is facing downstage). The lid will swing around of its own accord and make sufficient percussion contact with the victim’s back (or better yet, back and upper arm) to sell the illusion. The main point is not to swing your arms around baseball style; you don’t need to and that makes the move dangerous.
• Club – Here I’m including any non-articulated, blunt, relatively straight object which is usually at least three times as long as it is wide and can be grasped comfortably with one hand, even if used with two. So this would include clubs, flashlights, walking sticks, baseball bats, musical instruments … you get the idea. It also includes bottles grabbed in a much more threatening manner than described above in the bottle section. Read the section about using the broadsword and the entire unarmed section to get a thorough grounding on safe technique. Many of the techniques explained there are applicable to the club. To those we can add a few interesting variations, especially strikes to the head.
For my YouTube video on fighting with a cloak, click this link:
There are many ways of doing this, none of which sends any energy whatsoever towards the victim’s head at any time. The requirement is always that the movement of the club travel along a plane safely upstage or downstage of the victim.
The first is the parallel stance strike, which is very similar to the unarmed jab illusion. For the set-up, the actors are parallel to the proscenium with the aggressor facing the victim (the victim can face any direction). The picture is merely the aggressor raising the club to the height appropriate for the damage to be represented, but slightly upstage of the victim. The action is very light and quick, the club quickly lowered then raised to the original position, as quickly as striking a bell. If this illusion is to work, the club must disappear for only an instant behind the victim’s head and then must “bounce” back up into view. Don’t leave the club hanging behind the victim for even a nanosecond or the audience will be able to figure out how you did it. This is just like the jab and groin kick simulations in the unarmed section isn’t it? It works because the audience has no depth perception and cannot follow movement. Be sure to include the appropriate sound of the strike.
A lighter version of the same strike is what I call the “kabong”. The mechanics are the same, but pictures before and after have the weapon held lightly and pointing straight up. This simulation has more of a comedic look, something like a dope-slap, where the intent of the aggressor is not to cause damage.
And then of course there is always the “self-kabong”. Here the tables are turned, after the weapon is raised the victim places his hand on the hand of the aggressor. The aggressor then reverses the direction of the strike, simulating a strike to his own head. Cheap laughs are just as good as intellectual laughs.
A second strike is the fan swing, with the aggressor fully upstage or downstage of the victim. For this bit, the club travels in a sweeping arc along a plane between the two combatants. The club is not swung in any way toward the victim (that’s right, just like the fan kick or the looping face punch simulations). If the club were not in hand, the move would look more as though the aggressor had merely waved to the victim, not swung at him.
One move that we don’t see with other weapons but that we can add here is a block to the fan swing. This would be used if both fighters are armed with some sort of club. As the aggressor brings his fan swing up to vertical, but not yet in front of his own body, the victim jabs his own club between the aggressor and his club. The look and feeling of the move is that of poking a stick into a propellor or spinning bicycle tire, bringing a sudden stop to the movement of the fan swing. From there, many moves are possible, the most common being some sort of bind or press of the aggressors weapon setting up a strike from the victim.
A far more aggressive strike is a variation of the pile driver. In this case the club is raised as high as possible but angled so that it is parallel to the ground. The weapon is brought straight down between the participants, and the swing goes almost all the way down to ground. If you want to add a little more realism to the simulation, let the trajectory of the swing slightly deflect into a different direction (preferably toward the aggressor) after the supposed contact (as though it bounced off the head, right?). Either way, a strike like this would be a fight-ender.
No matter what the strike, we can put the finishing touch by including a contact sound, but this should be done by an off-stage assistant with a couple of blocks of wood. The bit works so well in fact that for one production of Taming of the Shrew we had the musician/sound effects guy completely visible to the house, obviously striking his wood block. Yet they still winced and cried out in commiseration with what they thought they saw. Sound always makes it real.
• Side-Handle Baton – Modern police are well trained in the use of this successor to the old billy club. The addition of the side bar not only adds the possibility of a number of take down and restraining holds, but also converts it from a simple club to a powerful impact weapon.
The side bar baton can either be held by the standard grip and used as a traditional club, or held by the side bar, with the club coming out of the bottom of the fist. In this case the grip is slightly relaxed, allowing the weapon to freely spin in the hand. When the arm is swung side to side, the club swings around at twice that speed, and can easily break someone’s ribs or arms. Actors should never use the club this way unless they are safely out of distance. But they can take advantage of this grip by pressing the baton up against the forearm and using it as a very effective blocking tool. From that same position, it can also be used as a punching and elbow striking tool.
• Cloak, Net – The fisherman’s net was sometimes used in Roman gladiatorial games as a secondary weapon held in the left hand with a trident held in the right. The intent would have been to snag the opponent’s weapon or helmet and then run him through with the trident. For stage, most of the moves are going to be big sweeps that are evaded by the victim and smaller circular sweeps used as defense against thrusts. Keep the moves simple and few, for the actor always runs the risk of tangling himself with his own net.
Cloaks were sometimes used as defensive tools in rapier fights, and are good replacements for using the dagger in a staged rapier and dagger fight. Usually, the bottom of the clock will need to be slightly weighted so that the fabric doesn’t float too long between moves. Just as with hats, talk to the costumer before including this in a fight.
To use a cloak, grab it by the collar and give it an inside flip (coming up towards your face) and let it wrap around your wrist once. You want the fabric to fall away outside of your arm rather than inside so as to reduce snagging the incoming attacks. The cloak can then move back and forth in front of the body, hiding the rapier or dagger from your opponent’s view until you are ready to strike. The cloak can also be used to make a distracting attack, to bat a sword out of the way, or to parry incoming thrusts. It strains credibility to use it as a block for an aggressive cut, unless the cloak moves with the cut as the body evades the danger.
• Chains, Flails, Flail-Maces – all are dangerous, and have a nasty habit of reaching around blocks and lashing at defenders’ faces, or bouncing back from blocks and striking the attacker. Leave this to the professionals.
• Food – Only three concerns to worry about – cost, slipping, and cleanup. Cover those issues and bringing in food to a comedic fight can be delightful. For safety, the actors will have to have strict protocols in place so that they can move the fight to a new location on the set if something slippery hits the floor in the middle of the fight.
Rubber knives, floppy knives, rubber clubs, foam props.
The impulse to use rubber props as a safety measure is very tempting, but ultimately self-defeating. For if the rubber is flexible enough to bend should it strike someone, it will wobble as it’s being handled and looks phony. If the rubber is made stiff enough to approach realism, then you have something that’s going to hurt just as much as a wooden or steel prop. And actors don’t take the prop seriously enough if they think that it is “safe”. One should never expect any prop make up for imperfect training.
Styrofoam dressed to look like wood also hurts and can actually cause considerable damage, so under no circumstance should anyone’s head be struck with any “soft prop”. Minor cerebral contusions can occur from seemingly insignificant hits, and even slight bleeding in the brain can cause long-term brain damage.
Breakaway glass and other breakaway objects
Breakaway bottles, glasses and windowpanes are very well made these days and when used carefully are relatively safe for actors to use. Just keep a few things in mind. First, they are fragile, and you can expect to lose a few simply from shipping and general handling backstage. So you’d better budget and order twice whatever you had planned. Second, the bottoms of the bottles and glasses are thicker than the sides, so care must be taken not to strike someone with that firmer edge. Those bottoms will also often survive the first impact and even the second of hitting the floor, so can easily bounce away in a big chunk after the strike. Third, the pieces of broken “glass” can be quite sharp, so falling on the shards or grabbing them by hand could cut the skin. And most importantly, never swing the bottle towards someone’s face. If you absolutely must break a bottle over someone’s head, have the victim face turned away from the bottle.
The same considerations must be made for other breakaways, but at least actors don’t automatically believe that they are safe, so they treat them with more respect. Break away table and chairs can be rigged by most competant properties designers, so the most important warning is for the director. Always make sure that you have the swing going either down to the ground from overhead or swinging from down to upstage. The last thing you need is to have a broken chair leg flying out into the audience.
Knife throwing
Believe it or not, this is one of the easiest bits to perform. It is featured in the new version of Annie Get Your Gun, becomes a dramatic high point in Tom Sawyer, and I’ve had Kate do it in Taming of the Shrew, and Aramis take out a guard this way in The Three Musketeers.
The illusion itself is older than vaudeville. The knife is prominently held by the blade using the downstage arm. Go ahead and make a big deal about drawing the arm back and above the head. The throw should be done with great brio, the arm swinging all the way down and around to the upstage side of the body, with the eyes focusing fiercely on the intended target. The knife is quickly and invisibly passed to the upstage hand, which then drops it into a pocket when convenient. In one continuous motion the throwing hand comes back around to downstage so the audience can believe that the blade has been thrown. The second half of the bit requires a dummy knife already imbedded in a book or other prop or actor, hidden from view until the moment of the throw. As the actor lifts the embedded knife prop, he can also thump it with his finger, making the little contact sound that completes the illusion.
In multiple knife throwing, such as in Annie Get Your Gun, the real knife is not transferred to the upstage hand. Instead, that hand is already holding a half dozen or more knives (by the handles, not the blades) as a distraction. The thrower takes one knife, pretends to throw but this time allows the knife to pivot until the handle is resting against the forearm, hidden from audience view. He immediately pretends to pull out another knife from his collection, but it is of course the same knife that he swings back around, ready to “throw” again. The other side of this bit is an elaborately decorated target, made even more effective by having someone stand in the center of it. The face of the target is fabric, and the back of it has all of the dummy knives mounted on simple wood slats, and those slats fitted onto a small railing. An unseen assistant simply pushes the knives through the pre-cut fabric on the verbal cue [a grunt works fine] at each “throw. That’s why the face of the target has to be highly decorated – to disguise the slits in the fabric.
An elaboration of the same is to have balloons mounted as targets on the target wall. In this illusion, the dummy knife handles will have very sharp pins affixed to the ends. As the dummy knives are pushed out they pop the balloons. So simple, so convincing.