Movement and Song

These guys have had enough crazy YouTube exposure they really don't need me. However, I am always ready to celebrate the extraordinary as far as movement, and these guys actually sing really well! Look up "a capella" anything and you'd be amazed how much mediocrity you'll find. And highschool choirs, bless their developing hearts.

What I like about this group is the combination of an excellent (and hilarious!) musical arrangement along with a well-performed physical interpretation. Good work, Choir Redefined!
~Jenn

Almost Halloween!

Today was the MSCD Stage Combat Class' Sword Fight Performance, their last technique test before they begin the long process of scene-integration with three weapons for their final. Overall, they had some great costumes, some very sticky fake blood and a few groups stood out with well-created, well-put-together choreography. Erin Ramsey was a guest viewer for today--she's a MSCD student and a longtime student of Geoffe Kent, the SAFD guy in our neck of the woods. I was musing about how old my RenFaire outfit actually is. It's ten years old. Yes. ten. Hear that, Mom? (she made it)

Pictured are some of the highlights of today: the Rock Star vs. the Sith; Drama vs. Comedy (comedy is dead--get it?) and Jordan's so great costume. Another fight that was a standout was Nate and Mandy's Mexican Wrestler vs. Spanish Lady fight. There was a lovely head slam and the way the fake blood squirted down the wall...priceless.

Good job, everyone! ~Jenn

VoWoD

VoWoD -
Vocal Warmup of the Day


Today:

"That guy's eyes looked like two peach pies drying in the sky."

~Jason

Special thanks to TERI! Teri is a regular blog reader here and practitioner of the VoWoD. She is a lovely lady and quite keen in the kitchen. Colorado has definitely improved since she and her esteemed mate, TROY, recently slid into town. Welcome, and best wishes in your recent endeavors! We support you. ~J

Week 5

Hey everybody, it's Week 5 again at the Boulder Quest Center. Though I won't be there the rest of the week (Jas' b-day) it's still a great week to go and play those free class cards I passed out (if you didn't get one, get one from me whenever you like). Week 5 means that not only is it non-gi-week, but it's open-forum training (training by request) and bring-a-friend week for students.

My Stage Combat students get extra credit for going there, and have till the last day of class to use their cards, but again it's a good week to go play.

Also, this Friday is Halloween. It's also testing day at the BQC. It'll certainly be the place to be this Friday night, as there will be decorations, a sweet To Shin Do test to watch, and a potluck and party afterwards. If you want to go, let me know via email by Thursday class or evening, so I make sure and make it there. It should be a pretty fun display and excuse to dress up in costume (besides the MSCD class performance).

Speaking of that, the MSCD students will have a Halloween performance on Oct. 30th. They will be ready to show off their swordfighting skills in costume, and will be using their first fake blood packs. This should be a lot of fun as well.

So hey, come check out the MSCD sword class on Thursday and the BQC test on Friday for some costumed combative fun!

INFO:
MSCD stage combat class: 10am-11:15am, Auraria campus, King Center 140. Map here.

BQC October belt test and Halloween party: at the BQC. Youth/Adult test 6pm, party after. Map here.

Images: Jenn and Hannah at the MSCD Halloween performance, 2007; Jenn and Thomas on Halloween at the BQC, 2007.

MSCD stage combat 2008

Halloween is around the corner, and with it the third skills test in the MSCD Stage Combat class. In this class, we learn the basics of three weapons: unarmed, quarterstaff, and single sword (rapier). They have already performed skills tests (very well, I might add) in unarmed and staff. On October 30th, they'll combine their Halloween costumes, fake blood packs, and rapier skills test for a no-doubt colorful exhibition. It's a tradition begun in 2006--there's usually a day during the week that either is or is very close to the 31st, and I figured what better day to learn how to make blood packs?

Posted here (with permission of the models within--thanks fellas!) are two pictures from previous skills tests in class: Andreas and Noah's unarmed highlight and Brady and Jordan's staff fight highlight. You can see here the excellent isolation and acting (Brady and Jordan's very funny janitor fight scene), and one way you can combine freerunning and stage combat to good effect (Noah rarely has his feet on the ground).

Enjoy these pics, and I hope to post some Halloween fight selections next week. ~Jenn

More about Falling

It seems like we talk a lot about falling on this blog; but now that I've seen a short news bit on Noises Off at the DCPA, and am also typing on a big wrist bruise, I realize that what Jas always said in martial arts and stage combat classes is true--learning to fall and/or roll properly is the most important aspect of the movement arts you can learn. I believe Tanemura sensei (of the Genbukan) said something similar--I'll research the actual quote and get back to you.

Noises Off has many many pratfalls, and those of you who've had me for class will know and love these well. But one of the pivotal falls in the play is a fall down a flight of stairs. Now this is getting into the fence between stunt and stage combat, in that there's really no way you can do this without getting hurt a little. I was discussing this with the MSCD Club yesterday: the difference between stage combat and a stunt is: usually in stage combat you can do techniques and be relatively safe; at least, you can do things and not get hurt. When doing a stunt, you will get hurt. If you do it well, you won't be crippled or dead afterwards. Falling down a flight of stairs is just going to hurt you, no way around it. Actually, Jas and I were discussing how one could do a fall down the stairs every night for a long theatrical run, and we had some ways to make it safe-er, but not completely safe.

Very recently before this conversation, I actually fell down the Bonzuko home stairs. Yes, the club members did ask me how a ninja could possibly fall down the stairs by accident, ha ha thank you very much. The point is, I fell down a flight of stairs, actually very well--I'm a good faller and roller, so I didn't break or even bash any bones (remember I always say "put your meat down, not your bones" when falling). However, I have a big scrape and bruise on my forearm and a bruised behind. This is from doing it well. How would I do it on wooden stage stairs (mine are carpeted) more than once, say, once every night but Mondays for a couple months? Well...I'd have a lot of bruises, no matter how well I'd do it.

Another post about falling--learn how to do it, learn how to do it well. It's everywhere in theatre, martial arts practice, even in life.

~Jenn

Picture is of Kim practicing a throw, and me falling blurrily. BQC 2008.

Movie Review

I thought, since we're always looking for good films, especially films with good fight scenes, I'd begin a movie review thing here, just mentioning movies we've seen recently, etc. especially if they have many stunts involved. I'll also most likely include select TV shows.

Today's film: 18 Fingers of Death. The premise here is actually hilarious--written and directed by a martial arts actor, it's a mockumentary about a martial arts/action star that makes his next movie with the help of a sassy African-American highschool kid. Several cameos in here, from Lorenzo Lamas to Pat Morita. The reason we even put this one on our Netflix is: the many parodies--this film pays mocking homage to any martial arts actor/action star you can think of, and has really solid martial art-y fight choreography. However,

...the bad acting and awful script just doesn't hold it together as I'd hoped. There's too much badly-written story, stereotype jokes that jump back and forth between racism and just eye-rolling lameness, and there's not enough of the parody stuff that makes it interesting to begin with.

Highlights: Lorenzo Lamas as an Antonio Banderas spoof; filming a martial arts scene in a park, with obviously homemade costumes; the "martial arts acting" class where students learn to move their lips off from their speech; the ditzy female lead obviously is a stuntwoman or at least trained; and finally, the stuntpeople's rehearsal, wherein they learn how to circle the hero and snake their heads at him.

Bottom Line: ** out of *****. Image from myspace-893.vo.llnwd.net/.../87/627967893_l.jpg