Why Are Swordfights Such a Favorite Onstage?

 

Are you creating fights onstage or onscreen? Acting out these fights (or even thinking aboug it)? My own preferences shy away from guns or fists — but I am a huge fan of fencing.

There is something about using swords and broadswords that I find absolutely thrilling — and somehow, that seem less violent than other sorts of fighting — even when I know that isn’t true. When I was just out of college, I studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Fencing was part of the program, and the day we had that class was one of my favorite days.

I loved sparring with broadswords, especially, but also enjoyed the lighter touch of fencing. I had only the one beginner’s class, and though I’ve thought about taking more classes quite a bit, I never did get around to it.

At the end of the summer, there was a stage fight performance by our class, with students paired off in partners who performed fight scenes from selected plays. For some reason that I cannot even remember, I did not participate in this session. I can’t imagine I wouldn’t have wanted to, but can only say there was something that kept me from it.

The event happened on a bright, warm day in San Francisco as the sun lit up the room. Students and faculty gathered on one side of the gym as my classmates performed. While most involved fencing, there were also great examples of hand-to-hand combat and broadswords. And while it’s a cliché to say my heart “leapt” while watching them, I couldn’t help but wish I’d participated, thinking, “You really could — if you only would.”

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Photo by Baran Lotfollahi on Unsplash