| *surfaces* |
[Nov. 5th, 2010|12:08 pm] |
Huh?
What? Are you all still here?
Get off my lawn!
Damn kids... |
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| 2010 Midwinter Stage Combat Seminars -- UPDATE! |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|01:26 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  fighty! | ] |
Happy New Year, everyone!
Cliff & I are happy to report that slots are filling up fast for the 2010 Midwinter Stage Combat Seminars. Fast enough, in fact, that the first weekend (Jan 23 & 24) is now officially CLOSED to new applications.... we're full!
Never fear, however: there's still space available for the second and third weekends. So if you've been meaning to sign up, or know someone who has, now is the time. Once the remaining slots are spoken for, that's it! Here's a quick rundown of what's still open:
1/30
10:00 – 1:00 Aggressive Sword & Shield
2:00 – 5:00 Intensive Rapier & Dagger
1/31
10:00 – 1:00 Medieval Heavy Metal
2:00 – 5:00 Adaptive Unarmed
2/6
10:00 – 1:00 Flashing Steel
2:00 – 5:00 “Rob & Cliff’s Dirty Tricks”
2/7
10:00 – 1:00 Rapier on the Spanish Circle
2:00 – 5:00 “Rob & Cliff’s Dirty Tricks”
REMEMBER: to sign up, you need to e-mail Cliff at coscaram@yahoo.com and state which sessions you're interested in attending (you cannot sign up by posting here). Acceptance to the morning Master Classes on Feb 6 & 7 is dependent on previous experience. For class descriptions, see the event page on Facebook, or follow this link: http://fightguy.livejournal.com/120689.html
As always, feel free to contact myself or Cliff with any questions. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Yours,
Rob
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| OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The 2010 Midwinter Stage Combat Seminars! |
[Dec. 9th, 2009|07:51 am] |
UPDATED: Some sessions full! Dates still available are listed below
At this most festive time of the year, what could be more joyful than a little friendly mayhem? Yes:
The 2010 Midwinter Stage Combat Seminars are officially on! Once again, the fight directors of Pastimes Productions, Clifford Allen and Robert Isaacson, will be teaching a series of stage combat classes, covering performance, technique, and some of the most popular weapons forms. Get yourself out of the winter doldrums, sharpen up your skills, and pick up some new tricks!
Our 7th annual Open Sessions will feature our signature integrated approach to the craft, encompassing performance aspects as well as weapons technique. We’re also once again offering our popular Master Classes: advanced and demanding sessions designed for the experienced performer.
Open Sessions
The following seminars are open to all participants: Adaptive Unarmed – This year we’re putting a twist on our classic unarmed curriculum. After a grounding in the basic principles of non-contact, shared, and contact moves, students and instructors will work together to develop effective techniques based in the students’ natural physicality. Emphasis will be placed on grounding, energy, and the flow of one move into another. The session will culminate in an intensive exploration of percussive and grappling techniques. Aggressive Sword & Shield – Taking our popular “Broadsword Boot Camp” to the next level, this highly physical session will begin by reinforcing the fundamentals of fighting with the broadsword and the shield. Beginning with instruction in primary footwork, parries and attacks, the session will press on to more intensive modes of attack and defense. Particular emphasis will be placed on continuous blade motion and the offensive use of the shield. Intensive Rapier & Dagger – A fast-paced course in the movement patterns and bladework of the Renaissance’s signature weapons. Session will include footwork, binds and deceptions, and the offensive and defensive interplay of the two weapons. Heavy emphasis will be placed on energy, form and accuracy of execution. Medieval Heavy Metal – Back by popular demand! The sword is only the beginning in this whirlwind tour of the knightly arts. Students will be exposed to the offensive and defensive capabilities of a variety of weapons, including axe, shield, spear, hammer, halberd, and flail, and will have the opportunity to wield them in a variety of combinations. Controlled exploration of each weapon will be encouraged. “Rob & Cliff’s Dirty Tricks” – Our famous grab-bag session is once again open to your suggestions! Students signing up for this course are encouraged to include their own stage combat ideas and requests as part of their application. We’ll review them in the weeks prior to the class, and some of them just may be chosen as part of the curriculum. Past sessions have included introductory stunt-acro, martial arts for the stage, improvised weaponry, and the infamous “Magic Marker Circle of Death”… the next great idea could be yours!
Master Classes
The following seminars are open to experienced students only, as determined by the instructors: Flashing Steel – Just how fast is fast enough for the camera? In this intense training session, students will work on bringing fights up to film-level speed and energy, while maintaining safe technique and scrupulous accuracy. The session will begin with the broadsword and - time permitting - move to the rapier, with corresponding increases in the speed threshold. Thorough familiarity with all major attacks and parries in both weapon forms is absolutely required. Rapier on the Spanish Circle – Explore the mysteries of the Destreza! After an introduction to the unique properties of the Spanish school, students will be guided in the principles and practice of this fast-paced circular style. Ultimately, each student will be called upon to execute an extended choreographed cut-and-thrust duel upon the Circle itself…
The Place: The VDA studio in Somerville, MA. Directions are available from the VDA website: simply go to http://www.vdaproductions.com/contact-off.html and click on “Get Directions”. The Dates: Sessions will run during the last two weekends of January and the first weekend of February, i.e. the 23rd, 24th, 30th, 31st, 6th and 7th. The Schedule: We’re rotating the Open Courses, to allow maximum flexibility for our participants. Each session is three hours long: early sessions run 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, afternoon sessions run 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. As always, you can attend as few or as many sessions as you like! 1/23 10:00 – 1:00 Adaptive Unarmed -- CLASS FULL!
2:00 – 5:00 Aggressive Sword & Shield -- CLASS FULL! 1/24 10:00 – 1:00 Medieval Heavy Metal -- CLASS FULL!
2:00 – 5:00 Intensive Rapier & Dagger -- CLASS FULL! 1/30 10:00 – 1:00 Aggressive Sword & Shield
2:00 – 5:00 Intensive Rapier & Dagger 1/31 10:00 – 1:00 Medieval Heavy Metal
2:00 – 5:00 Adaptive Unarmed 2/6 10:00 – 1:00 Flashing Steel
2:00 – 5:00 “Rob & Cliff’s Dirty Tricks” 2/7 10:00 – 1:00 Rapier on the Spanish Circle
2:00 – 5:00 “Rob & Cliff’s Dirty Tricks” The Cost: For third year in a row, we have frozen our rates! The cost per session is $35; doing both sessions on a given day nets you a $10 discount ($60 for the day). We can take cash or checks, and payment is on the day, at the start of class. Signing Up: E-mail Cliff at coscaram@yahoo.com and list what sessions you want to attend (you cannot sign up by posting here!). If you’re signing up for one or both Master Classes, be sure to detail your previous experience. Advance payment is not necessary. Our class sizes have to be limited due to space restrictions, so first come, first served. By the same token, if you sign up, show up (if you must cancel, let us know in advance so we can give your spot to someone else)!
Gloves are strongly recommended for all classes. Wear comfortable clothing that allows free movement, and that you don’t mind sweating in. Students who have their own stage-combat equipment are encouraged to bring it; if you will be doing so, please tell us in your sign-up letter. Equipment will be provided for students who don't have their own.
Feel free to contact either Cliff or Robert with questions. Hope to see you there! |
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| Auditions for piratey goodness |
[Mar. 22nd, 2009|09:17 pm] |
The official word will go out in the next 24 hours, but here it is, "semi-officially", 'cos y'all are my peeps:
The Pastimes auditions for 2009, including the New England Pirate Faire, will take place on Sunday April 5, 10 AM to 5 PM, at The Gloucester House, 63 Rogers Street, Gloucester MA.
There may be a second date scheduled for later in April, but this is what's officially scheduled thus far. It thankfully doesn't conflict with CTRF's auditions. It does conflict with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) mjolnir_babe's housewares sale, but I expect that with a little bit of planning, anyone who wants to hit both will be able to. |
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| Tuesday, and ache-free! |
[Feb. 10th, 2009|07:46 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
So, the first weekend of the Seminars went very, very well, and so far I've only received a few formal charges of torture. *G* Yeah, I'll admit that yesterday I had the odd spot of stiffness and/or achiness. I put that down to being old and out-of-shape, rather than the amount of work I did; that certainly paled in comparison to the effort the students put in!
Saturday: We had a slightly smaller group than we'd anticipated, as a variety of individual circumstances forced a handful of people to either reschedule or cancel. Ah, c'est la vie. The group which was present was the kind of group I like to have: a variety of experience levels, and every one of them game to try everything. The first part of the Barehand class went at a swift pace, getting the experienced students warmed up and bringing the new folks up to speed, and the mass brawl finale was a lot of fun... I'm thinking of making that an occasional rehearsal exercise in future shows that require a lot of mass combat. :^)
The afternoon Broadsword class also pushed forward even more rapidly than we'd hoped; the inexperienced folks hung in there despite the physical and mental strain, and the veterans kept their form and execution clean... which kept encouraging us to push further. Next year I'm going to prep an extra two hours' worth of material, just in case!
After class, a handful of us repaired to sairisse and bosfan24's place for an evening of beer, homemade chili (mmmm, spicy!) & cornbread, and kung fu movies. It was then that the lot of us, all unwitting, were exposed to Shaolin Drunkard... a film so brutally bizarre that none of us may ever sleep quite so soundly ever again. Imagine Lidsville, as directed by David Lynch, filtered through a vat of absinthe, and you'll kinda begin to get the idea...
Sunday: The medieval mixed-weapons session went fantastically well! Cliff & I had expected that we'd be spending most of our time running from one station to the next, dealing with techincal issues. Quite the opposite: other than clarifying a few weapon-traffic questions here and there, we got to let the students get inside the weapons with minimal stop & start, and to concentrate on finer points of technique. Things went well enough, in fact, that we were able to open up the end of the session to a variant on free-play, which we hadn't thought we'd get to do; I think we'll be using this format regularly in the future.
Intensive rapier was just that, and impressively everyone hung with it right from the beginning. We'd been prepared to split the class to accomodate varying skill levels, but that thankfully turned out to be unnecessary; "thankfully" because it meant that we got to push forward at a faster clip and get into the more advanced stuff. Tiring as I know the class was for the students, I wished we could have gone on for another couple of hours, and starting working two-blade fighting into the mix! I was, however, reminded yet again that when "leading by example" in such matters as holding stance for extended periods, I ought to warm up better... :^p
Already looking forward to next weekend, when we'll do it all again with a new group of people! Well, almost all of it... I'm not sitting down to "Shaolin Drunkard" again voluntarily for a very long time... |
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piratical!