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We All Fall Down... Safely

1/31/2012

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Picture
A few weeks ago I wrote at some length about the general utility of studying stage combat.  I touched on the subject of falls at the time, but I'd like to go into it in a little more depth here.  As I've said before, falls are a surprisingly high risk activity on stage, in part because in many circumstance performers do not even realize that they are at risk.  Many are surprised to learn that they constitute an important part of stage combat training.  It doesn't take a whole lot of thought to realize why falls are both so important (because you can hurt yourself on the way down to the ground in myriad ways) and so often overlooked (because they are so obvious). 

Before going much further I need to acknowledge that there are written sources on falls from fight directors far more advanced than myself.  By way of example, an excellent technical manual is Combat Mime: A Non-Violent Approach to Stage Violence by J.D. Martinez, is one of the standard texts on unarmed combat and a book I strongly recommend for anyone pursuing any long-term study of physical performance.

Anyway, let's talk a bit about falling on stage or screen.  (Like some of my other posts, this is probably an early draft of something that I'll expand into a more in-depth article or paper later on.)



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On the Doctrine of Love Or Money

1/25/2012

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A close friend who does a lot of work with students and recent college grads recently asked me to articulate my "Love or Money Policy."

It goes like this...


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Some Thoughts on Theatre, Business, and the Internet

1/15/2012

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I've been thinking a lot lately about the relationships between social media, online marketing, and live performance.  I use the plural because the internet is now a broad enough topic that the relationship between say, twitter and audience development is very different than the phenomenon of critics with blogs, which again is very different from online ticket sales, which is again not in the same universe as online script sales and licensing.  On top of this, we now have the phenomenon of active audience participation through smartphones in some performances, as well as some theatres now having a "twitter section" where audiences are welcome to use smartphones to tweet their experiences as they're happening.  (There has recently been a whole lot of discussion on this phenomenon, my feelings on it are mixed and I am waiting to see what comes of putting this policy into effect.)

Now, some of you who know me as a scholar know that one of my major research interests is the entrepreneurial imperative of the American artist, or, in more plain English: the business of being an artist.  A great deal of the business end of things is now happening online.

What follows are some (very) loosely organized thoughts on the relationships between the theatre community and the internet.  (I may expand on specific segments of this post at a later date.)

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    Taking Note & Taking Notes

    Meron Langsner, PhD

    Playwright, Theatre & Performance Scholar, Fight Director/Movement Specialist, Director, Educator

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