May 18
The Theatre on King is happy to have Kenn Gibb back teaching the second installment of the Without A Scratch stage combat series: An Introduction into Pratfalls and Breakfalling. This workshop will look at falling down for all skill levels – from complete beginner to fully advanced. You never can tell when auditioning if a role will call for a roll of its own. Having a solid understanding of pratfall principals can make or break your chances of landing a part. Slipping on a banana peel or falling backwards off a chair night after night can be pretty taxing. Be sure to be fully prepared for your run.
By studying our movements, body mechanics, weight distribution, and balance, we will explore ways of introducing ourselves to the ground. We will be using mats for the majority of the workshop, and then putting our skills to the test by staging some falls while the mats are up.
We will be touching on:
• The face-plant
• Shoulder rolls in various directions
• Falling off furniture
• The importance of breathing
• Momentum and lack-there-of
Comfortable clothing and footwear, as well as drinking water, are encouraged.
In the coming months the Without A Scratch series will consist of specialized workshops designed to broaden your knowledge and familiarity of fundamental skills to further your stage combat career.
Future workshop topics to look forward to will include: theatrical throws and take-downs, stylized joint locks, further pratfalls and acrobatics, various weapon styles (including European long/short sword, fencing, katana, bo staff, knife, police baton, and firearms), “Emotion Through Violence,” and introduction to Fight Direction.
