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Stage Combat                                              (educational resume, etc. at bottom of page)

Safety, Story, Fun!

Paige is proud to be a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, who define stage combat as "acts of conflict, danger and/or violence performed for entertainment."  These must be safe and repeatable and tell the story in a convincing manner, even if "that's not how you'd do it in a real fight!" because the audience must understand the action, and because nobody wants the actors to wind up in the hospital or worse.  Anything from a push to a fall to a slap, to swordplay or a knife fight,  or aiming and reacting to firearms onstage -- these all qualify as stage combat, along with so much more.


Paige's interest in stage combat started when she was six or seven. She saw a "stage slap" that was a contact slap and heard the actor complain afterward about how it hurt. She thought there had to be a safer way. Later, she apprenticed with Offshoot Productions and was lucky enough to take many classes and workshops from professional instructors. As she grew older, some of her industry friends were actor combatants who showed her more tips and tricks and helped her hone her skills.  


After college, she attended workshops such as the A-Town Throw-Down to learn more and expand her network. When she was in a show where the director was choreographing fights himself, she displayed knowledge and skill to the point where he delegated the rest of the fight choreography (with rapiers) to her. Though she was reluctant at first, and she called for reinforcements (thank you, Jay Peterson!), that launched her into a sub-career as a fight choreographer. Now she loves it.

(Not that show)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Paige Steadman

Fight Choreography and Training                      SAFD Member

                                                                                                                                            Certification: Knife

'20  Coda                                      The Academy Theatre                                  falls

‘19   Picnic                                    Merely Players                                              unarmed

‘19   Fences                                   Merely Players                                              unarmed

‘18   The Rainmaker                     Lionheart Theatre                                       unarmed

‘18   Broom Closet                        The Academy Theatre                                 unarmed, knife, firearm (inert)

‘18   In Lieu of Flowers                 Onion Man Productions                             unarmed

‘17   Peter Pan                                Different Drum Productions                      unarmed, wooden swords, rapier and dagger, found weapons

‘17   Fallout                                    Onion Man Productions                             unarmed, knife

‘17   Stage Kiss                               Onion Man Productions                            unarmed

‘13   Beaux Stratagem                   New Dawn Theatre                                     rapiers

‘09   Who, What, Where                Offshoot Productions                                unarmed

‘08   Tales from Near and Far      Offshoot Productions                                unarmed


Education

2019 SAFD certified in Knife

2019 Knife class at Havoc Movement Company with Jake Guinn

2019National Stage Combat Workshop: 3 weeks of 6-day-a-week training in unarmed (Chuck Coyle), rapier-and-dagger (Bryan Boyles), and broadsword (Dale Girard), with one-week classes on knife (Don Preston) and quarterstaff (Amy Root) and nightly workshops and practice sessions

2019A-Town Throw-down (3-day stage combat workshop with instructors including Scot Mann, Kelly Mann, David Sterritt, and Jessica Bennett (for CPR); everything from musical swashbuckling to quarterstaves to rapier and dagger, German longsword, etc.

2018 A-Town Throw-Down (3-day stage combat workshop) with Scot Mann, Kelly Mann, Lito Tamez, Jake Guinn, A-Ray, Sam McDonald, and other instructors: Kali sticks, broadsword, rapier and dagger, unarmed in the round, firearm, quarterstaff, and more

2015 A-Town Throw-Down with Kelly Mann, Lito Tamez, Sam McDonald, and many more instructors: whip, small sword, single sword, Kali sticks, and more

2010-2011 Internship with The Academy Theatre

2004-2006 University of West GA (fight workshop w/Scott Mann)

2002-2003 Berry College

2001-2002 Gordon College

2001-2015-ish: random stage combat and self defense tutoring sessions from the estimable Jay Peterson (“Jay the Barbarian”)

2005 Self defense mixed martial arts training by Justin Sims

2000-2009 Continued work with Offshoot Productions (stage combat workshops with instructors such as Marcus Durham, Justin Sims, more)

1993-2000 Apprenticed with Offshoot Productions (stage combat classes, workshops: instructors including Ethan Williams, Leeanna Lambert, Charles Holmes)

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