Stage Combat Advanced Course

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: 5th October to 7th December 2023

A comprehensive 10-week course to advance your skills in stage and screen combat at a professional level. Taught by one of Australia’s most respected Fight Directors, Lyndall Grant with Josh Bell.

WHAT IS IT?

A course specifically created for performers who have had a significant level of prior stage and screen combat training. This is time and space to extend your skills, widen your weapon range, and generate a deeper understanding of the craft of dramatic combat for stage, screen and motion capture.

Fight and action scenes in stage and screen demand a high level of physical skill, awareness, craft and performance prowess. However achieving this a constant balancing act between technique and expression. As beginners we tend to lose one for the sake of the other. The only way to narrow the gap between these two elements is practice… the performance options available to you are either limited by, or elevated by your rigour in training.

This course is designed for those performers who have had prior training in stage combat, would like to advanced their skills for the freedom to perform fight scenes safely, effectively, stress-free, and with (let’s be honest) great choreography. It expands into a range of weapon systems and genres, focuses in on the detail and subtleties of stage combat technique, and provides a platform to explore textured and truthful dramatic performance.

Each course will focus on two or three separate weapon systems or styles, to give you the chance to explore each one thoroughly. Each term the weapon system will rotate, so students can continue to train and advance their skills throughout the year.

This Advanced Course is suitable for those students who have completed a minimum of around 60 hours of stage combat training: such as through a combination of the Captivate Stage Combat Foundations Course, the SAFDi Fundamentals and Specialisation courses, and the Fight the Good Fight Intensive; or through other international equivalent courses such as the BADC Foundation, APC Basic, BASSC Actor-Combatant, FDC Basic, NSFS Block 1 or SAFD Introduction to Stage Combat. If you are not sure whether this course would be suitable for you, please get in touch with our director, Lyndall.

Successfully completing the course will enhance your physical dexterity and awareness, improve your fitness and physical range, deepen your performance technique and knowledge of weapon history and handling. And, well yes of course, you’ll be doing this while having a large amount of fun, with a room full of enthusiastic and open-minded industry folk.

WHEN IS IT?

Thursday evenings, from 5th October to 7th December 2023

6:00pm to 9:00pm on 5th and 12th October.

6:30pm to 9:30pm for all remaining classes.

WHERE IS IT?

Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance: *5th and 12th October*. Level 1, 64-90 Sutton Street North Melbourne Vic 3051

Dancehouse Carlton: *19th October to 30th November*. 150 Princes St, North Carlton, 3054

Temperance Hall: *7th December*. 199 Napier Street, South Melbourne, 3205

WHO IS IT FOR?

This workshop is created for advanced actor combatants.

Captivate actively supports diverse and equitable work- and learning-spaces. We also fiercely protect safe work- and learning-spaces for all of our participants. If you have any concerns or questions please get in touch with us.

Amy Bolger-Floyd and Alice Cavanagh

HOW MUCH IS IT?

COURSE FEES:

Early Bird: $595 (register and finalise payment by 1st September 2023)
Concession: $615
Standard: $655

A deposit of at least 50% of your course fee is required on registration. Places are confirmed only on completion of full payment, which we asked to be finalised by 21st September 2023.

We accept online bank transfer, Square Online payments (2.2% admin fee) or PayPal (3% admin fee), so let us know what is the easiest method of payment for you.

Amy Bolger Floyd and Cheryl Ho

HOW DO I JOIN IN?

Bookings are now open! Spots are very competitive as we have strict capacity limits and this course sells out quickly, so register early to save your spot (and to get the Early Bird price). Just fill out the online registration form, and we will reply with your registration confirmation and payment information.

SIGN ME UP

Make sure you get a text box confirmation that your registration form has gone through as soon as you SUBMIT. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, check your junk mail, and then send us an email.

COVID-Safe Learning

The health and safety of our students, tutors, venue staff, all of our family and friends, and the wider community is absolutely vital. Captivate is dedicated to running this course strictly within the most up-to-date Government-advised COVIDSafe guidelines. All participants in the course must show proof of full and up-to-date vaccination against COVID-19, or of an eligible medical exemption.

About your tutor:

Lyndall Grant

Lyndall is a Fight Director, Movement Director, actor and Motion Capture Specialist who works in Australia and Internationally for stage and screen.  She is a senior teacher and Management Committee member for the Society of Australian Fight Directors, and certified Dramatic Combat teacher with the British Academy of Dramatic Combat.  Until recently Lyndall was the Tutor in Theatre (Stage Combat) at the Victorian College of the Arts.  Lyndall trained as an actor as London’s ArtsEd School of Acting, before specialising in fight performance and physical performance.  She began working as a fight director in London in 2010. In 2013 Lyndall established Captivate Action Ltd. in the U.K., as the first company to specialise in training and performance in action and Motion Capture, and brought this company home to Australia in 2015.  Lyndall was a Performer and Movement Captain in Melbourne’s production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child from its opening in 2019 until 2022. 

Recent fight/movement directing credits include:  Beauty and the Beast (Disney Australia); 2:22 A Ghost Story (GWB); Cruel Intentions the Musical (DVE); Is God Is, Sunday As You Like It, Berlin, The Lifespan of a Fact, Torch the Place, The Architect, Cosi, The Lady in the Van, Hungry Ghosts, Vivid White, Macbeth, Minnie and Liraz, Melbourne Talam, Lillith the Jungle Girl, Straight White Men (Melbourne Theatre Company); Looking for Alibrandi, The Return, Because the Night, Atlantis, Cloudstreet, Blackie Blackie Brown (Malthouse Theatre),  Anthem (Roslyn Packer Theatre), Cosi (Sydney Theatre Company);  Punk Rock (45 Downstairs); Il Viaggio a Reims (Opera Australia);  Alice in Winterland’ (Rose Theatre Kingston, U.K.); Lohengrin (Melbourne Opera); The Wind in the Willows (Rose Theatre Kingston).

We look forward to seeing you there!

All photos taken pre-pandemic.

Got questions? Get in touch