The Australian Stage Combat Association

Theatrical fight scenes, and staged violence in general, are an integral part of the entertainment industry. Many productions contain such moments and yet Stage Combat is unfortunately a hugely misunderstood art form.

 

ASCA’s mission is to continue to educate our industry, including producers, directors, stage management and performers about the correct protocols and procedures for performing theatrical violence on the stage or screen, and an individual's right to a safe working environment.

 

ASCA Certified Instructors and Fight Directors have undergone the most stringent training and examination processes and are constantly updated with the most current information regarding changes and developments in Stage Combat including:

• Historical information

• Theatrical processes

• Teaching methodologies

• The law and how it pertains to theatre and weaponry

• Business practices

This rigorous training aims to guarantee that whatever your professional theatrical needs ASCA can assist you in getting what you need, and therefore help you create the best production possible.

 

It is our goal to ensure that every actor, director and producer not only has access to trained professionals but that they understand the merits of using properly trained professionals, including Stage Combatants, Certified Instructors and Fight Directors. We believe in an industry where everyone understands the importance of protecting themselves and their employees by hiring the right people for the job, each and every time.

 

A large part of keeping your cast, and therefore your production, safe, is knowing exactly what should be classed as a ‘fight moment’ and when you need to engage the services of a highly trained professional.

 

Any moment considered to hold a higher level of risk than normal should be considered a ‘Stage Combat Moment’. This includes not only actual fight scenes, but also basic falls, certain lifts and carries, any and all rough housing. Basically any time that ‘two actors are hands on with each other in an emotionally heightened state’. This may sound excessive to people new to understanding exactly what Stage Combat encompasses, but the process of Stage Combat is such that it trains actors to be able to separate the emotions from their physicality as any moment of heightened emotions naturally raises your level of physical exertion. This is where the dangers lay within a theatrical moment with inexperienced performers.

 

ASCA staff have been trained to be prepared for just about every imaginable situation on a stage and also the multiple ways to eliminate the dangers. Their experience gives them a deeper understanding of what could, can and will go wrong, and how to prevent that before it does.