The Art of Unarmed Stage Combat

Chapter 9Combat Games

Games seem to be everywhere nowadays. They aren't just for playing on the field or to be watched on the television. Games are in our homes, on our computers, and on our phones. They are with us everywhere. Why the fascination? Why play games? The first and I hope most obvious answer is that games are fun. Or at least they should be fun. But why talk about games in the context of violence for stage and film? Is not everything pre-planned and choreographed much like the lines that the performers say? In this way fight choreography is not dissimilar to learning the lines of the script. The performer knows what words to say and what movements to do weeks before a performance. Hopefully he or she has practiced and rehearsed these ...