Art of Unarmed Stage Combat

Robert Najarian is an actor, instructor, and fight director hailing from the East Coast. He has taught at movement and stage combat workshops, such as the National Stage Combat Workshop at North Carolina School of the Arts, The Winter Wonderland Workshop in Chicago, IL, The Paddy Crean Workshop at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada, and as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Michigan. As a fight director, Najarian has staged the violence for more than 100 productions for stage and film. Fight direction credits include Carmen and Macbeth with Boston Lyric Opera, As You Like It with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Don Quixote with Boston Ballet, Johnny Baseball with American Repertory Theatre, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Kite Runner with New Repertory Theatre, and She Kills Monsters with Company One. Najarian is Fight Director and Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. .

• ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction Part I – A Brief History of Violence in Performance 1. Overview of Stage Combat History2. Overview of HoplologyPart II - Physical Training 3. The Warm-Up4. Partnered Conditioning5. Combat GamesPart III - Cornerstone Concepts6. Seeking Safety7. Good Partnering8. Audience Relationship (The Third Partner)9. Characters in ConflictPart IV – Process and Performance 10. The Violent Soundscape11. The Illusion of Violence12. Non-Contact Violence13. Contact Violence14. Taken For Granted15. Final ThoughtsIndex