CHRIS CARDONI STAGE COMBAT
There's no moment in any play, comedic or dramatic, that's worth an actor getting hurt.
I’m not a martial artist. I’m not a stunt man. I’m not an expert fencer or boxer, or a crack shot. Except for a smattering here and there, I have little experience with real fighting. I’m a theatre guy, an actor and director (and occasionally other things), sometimes for money but mostly for love. I stumbled on stage combat by accident, and I’ve trained in, practiced, taught, written, and talked about it for nearly 25 years. I do individual and group classes and workshops, fight choreography for theatre (and a little film and video), and occasional consulting and problem-solving. I collect and sometimes rent (mostly loan) stage weapons and accoutrements. I subscribe to the SAFD view that safety is the most important element of stage combat – hence my personal motto above. More stuff:
Member of the Society of American Fight Directors since 1999
Studied at Bay State Fencers Stage Combat Studio with Stacy Eddy, Robert Walsh, Adam Mclean,
Rob Najarian, and Ted Hewlett
Took master classes with Tony Wolf (The Lord of the Rings) and Anthony DeLongis (Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jet Li’s Fearless)
Attended intensive SAFD workshops in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia
Trained in unarmed, quarterstaff, smallsword, broadsword, knife, rapier, saber, rapier & dagger, boxing,
singlestick, katana, firearms (MA LTC), krav maga, and others
Teach intensive workshops for groups throughout New England, including the New England Theatre
Conference Annual Convention
Visiting Lecturer in stage combat at Curry College, Milton, MA
2011 EMACT DASH Consultants’ Choice Award for Excellence in Fight Choreography
Places I’ve worked: Mugford Street Players, Sudbury Savoyards, Theatre@First, Winnmere Family Theatre, Concord Players, The Rivers School, Salem High School, Umbrella Community Arts Center, Bedford High School, Kingswood Regional High School, Pawtucket Community Players, Shrewsbury High School, Vokes Players, Hovey Players, Walpole Footlighters, Quannapowitt Players, Curry College, Norwood High School, Salem Theatre Company, Wellesley Players, Atlantis Playmakers, Bay Colony Productions, Walpole Children’s Theatre, Scituate Summer Theatre, Acme Theater, Arlington Friends of the Drama, and others
Shows I’ve worked on: Henry V, A View From the Bridge, The 39 Steps, You Can't Take It With You, She Kills Monsters, Looking For Normal, Disgraced, Cyrano de Bergerac, Mauritius, Of Mice and Men, Henry IV, Angels in America, Criminal Hearts, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, American Buffalo, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Bus Stop, Hamlet, True West, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All My Sons, The Pirates of Penzance, Macbeth (twice), Romeo and Juliet (three times), Fool For Love, Born Yesterday, Closer, Sweeney Todd, I Hate Hamlet (three times), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, To Kill A Mockingbird, Dracula, The Odyssey, Les Miserables, and many others (see complete list on the Resume page)