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The Essence of Drama is Conflict - Squire Stage Combat

For over six years Squire Stage Combat has been working within schools and theatres providing the very best training for actors of all ages. They provide taster workshops, masterclasses and fight direction services to a range of clients from schools and colleges to professional theatre and film productions. Their workshop is designed to give students an insight into stage combat both as a practical performance skill and also as a tool for academic drama study.

A fight is an integral part of the story telling process. So much so that the play it features in could not function in the same way without it. A fight moves the narrative along from one place to another and usually acts as a catalyst to future events. It can act as a climax, tying together the themes, events and characters in a dramatic conclusion. It may also provide a setting for major character development. A fight is a play in micro, and by understanding its construction, students can grasp an understanding of the play as a whole.

Students are taught a range of basic techniques and how to portray stage violence effectively with correct actions and reactions. They also gain an understanding of the basic principles of stage combat including angles, staging and misdirections. Using these skills students are then encouraged to stage their own fights around a selection of scenes looking at how, where and, most importantly, why a fight happens and what effects it has on the play as a whole? Workshops can be tailored around specific study texts with reasonable notice or taken simply as Drama and English enrichment.