Actors on Guard: A Practical Guide for the Use of the Rapier and Dagger for Stage and Screen

Rating:
Summary: A SOLID GUIDE TO THE PERFORMANCE OF ELIZABETHAN SWORDPLAY
Review: "Actors On Guard" represents many years of personal research and professional experience by one of the true scholars of the art of Stage Combat, SAFD Fight Master Dale Anthony Girard. In his prologue, Mr. Girard describes stage combat as a "living, maturing art". [p.xvi] Girard's work represents another leap forward in the maturing process. The 467 pages of text that follow include a thorough handling of the safety, training, acting, and performance of the single rapier, and rapier and dagger fights for the stage and screen. These are followed by equally valuable appendices providing detailed listings of the various fight Societies, Swordcutlers and Suppliers, information on weapons maintenance and an exhaustive glossary of common swordplay terms. In limiting itself to the concerns of just these weapons, rapier and dagger, Girard has, happily, accomplished a work far too detailed to be completely illuminated in such a short format. Mr. Girard's text begins in chapter one with the maxim that unites all Fight Directors and Actor Combatants of quality . . . "Safety First!", and this theme is echoed on every page thereafter. New students of the craft often find the task of teaching their bodies the mechanics of the art an exercise in frustration when what they really want to do is fight NOW. Girard recognizes this tendency and offers a detailed argument of just why the learning of these techniques cannot be rushed. "By rushing the learning process, you miss the inherent safety of the technique through an incomplete understanding of the process". [p.5] Girard explains that the basic principles of kinesthetic learning, total body-mind learning, provide the foundation this learning process. Mr. Girard is an outstanding scholar of the sword in history and offers a concise and useful history of the rapier before detailing the anatomy of the weapon itself. These explanations are accompanied with fine illustrations of various fencing and historical weapons, a valuable reference. The information is summed up with a thorough checklist to assist the reader in selecting a safe stage weapon. The meat of Girard's text, chapters 3 through 18, is concerned with the actual learning and performing of safe stage techniques for the rapier and dagger. While there have been many texts written concerning the general techniques of safe stage combat, I know of none that concern themselves with such excellent detail of practical technique and their historical background. Beginning with an explanation of just what is "proper alignment" and how to achieve it, Girard utilizes precise descriptions assisted by appropriate illustrations (excellently drawn by Zina Lee) to explain the basics of stance and footwork. I especially like the explanations of stationary offensive and defensive positions [chapter 3], an afterthought in much of the training I've received to this point, before moving on to actual footwork. Girard moves on to the basics of advances and retreats (broken down into 5 stages and accompanied with illustrations), passes, lunges, "circle steps", and each is presented in an easily understood format. Perhaps most valuable are Girard's drills and exercise detailed at the end of the chapter which are intended to develop individual consistency of stance and movement, and the maintenance of consistent measure between partners. These exercises, notated in easily understood terms, will undoubtedly aid in ending a new combatants footwork mistakes BEFORE they become ingrained as personal habits. The individual blade-work drills Girard offers should be a daily routine for any aspiring combatant. These drills do not require a partner and make for fun reading when you put a sword in your other hand. More importantly, these exercises develop precision and blade awareness and the ". . . strength, agility, and dexterity of the hand and wrist. . . "[p.73]. These individual footwork and blade-work exercises are a gold mine for those who wonder how they can train without a partner. The chapters concerning blade-work cover an amazing breadth of basic techniques. From a detailed description and application of Guards, to the complexities of kills and attacks on the blade Mr. Girard has managed to detail their execution and practice with clarity and precision. Chapter 6 is worth the price of admission for anyone teaching or studying the parries for its clear explanations and thorough illustrations. Every chapter concerning technique is accompanied by drills to develop the technique in practice and a review of their basic principles and safety measures. It is perhaps a testament to the thoroughness of Mr. Girard's text that partners do not cross swords until Chapter 8, where detailed discussions of measure, timing, "Action-Reaction, Action", eye contact, and safety are accompanied by four fine partnering exercises. Aside from the invaluable and painstakingly researched techniques described in this text, I must state that the chapter 20, "Acting the Fight", is the most essential text on the subject of stage combat acting I have come across. Girard explains this necessity of this subject by stating that "The artist needs to develop an acting process for combat that, after the physical skills have waxed, still provides a system of dissecting a physical encounter and making it and integral part of the acting process, the characters and the production."[p.433] Specific techniques for developing character choices within the action of physical conflict are presented to the reader in the format of the "Five Ws (who, what, when, where, why) and the objective choices the actor must make in regard to the text, but often fail to do so when it comes to a choreographed fight sequence. The section titled "The Sounds of Violence" is certain to become required reading in all my future classes no matter what weapon is being taught. Girard advocates the "Vocal Orchestration" of a staged conflict in order to "reinforce the movement of a fight"[p.446] and breaks this process down into an easily understood format. Vocal heath, a discussion of "voluntary sounds" and "involuntary sounds" (such as reactions to injury), round out a section that is certain to become a much referred to text. Dale Girard's text, "Actors On Guard" is a culmination of many years of study, exhaustive historical research (evidences throughout the text by informative explanations of techniques and accompanying plates), and practical experience gained by years of teaching and performing stage combat as a professional. What the reader gains by obtaining and using this text is a great wealth of information and proven training techniques offered by a master instructor. I recommend this book highly, and am personally a better teacher and performer for having read it.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Excellent!
Review: There is little I can add to the very thorough Atlanta review which follows this posting, except to say the following: the performing community has needed a book like this for a long time, and Dale Girard delivers in spades. Having had the privilege of working with Mr. Girard numerous times over the years, I can attest both to the depth of his scholarship on the subject of the sword, and to his being one of the finest teachers of staged combat extant. Combining years of the author's experience on stage, on film, and in the classroom, "Actors On Guard" is a marvelous guide to beginning rapier-play. With detailed text and copious illustrations, the book pulls off the marvelous trick of being simultaneously easily accessible and deeply comprehensive, making it an invaluable work for performers who have never touched a sword before as well as those with years of training under their belts. While no written work can ever substitute for instruction from a qualified teacher, "Actors On Guard" comes pretty darned close!

Rating:
Summary: Truly Excellent!
Review: There is little I can add to the very thorough Atlanta review which follows this posting, except to say the following: the performing community has needed a book like this for a long time, and Dale Girard delivers in spades. Having had the privilege of working with Mr. Girard numerous times over the years, I can attest both to the depth of his scholarship on the subject of the sword, and to his being one of the finest teachers of staged combat extant. Combining years of the author's experience on stage, on film, and in the classroom, "Actors On Guard" is a marvelous guide to beginning rapier-play. With detailed text and copious illustrations, the book pulls off the marvelous trick of being simultaneously easily accessible and deeply comprehensive, making it an invaluable work for performers who have never touched a sword before as well as those with years of training under their belts. While no written work can ever substitute for instruction from a qualified teacher, "Actors On Guard" comes pretty darned close!