Theatrical Violence Design

Richard Gilbert is a violence designer who has been working in the theater for over 30 years and on over 300 shows. He is also an academic with a PhD in English from Loyola University Chicago, where he teaches dramatic literature and stage combat.David Bareford has designed the violence for more than 250 productions and has been teaching stage combat since 1992. He is also a published playwright and director and holds a theater degree from Northwestern College of Iowa.

• AcknowledgementsAbout the AuthorsChapter 1: An Introduction to Violence Design Chapter 2: Dramaturgy of ViolenceChapter 3: How Stage Combat WorksChapter 4: Before the DesignChapter 5: Designing ChoreographyChapter 6: Specialized DesignsChapter 7: The Rehearsal ProcessAppendicesIndex

“David and Richard have put together one of the most useful and clear guides to the craft of choreographing and designing violence for the theatre. They lay out a clear strategy for building and diagnosing any stage combat technique, and for crafting violent stories for a live audience. This book is as useful to beginning artists as it is to seasoned choreographers, challenging engrained patterns, and raising the bar for the stories of violence we put on sage.”Zev Steinrock, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, USA“Theatrical Violence Design’s overall value lies in the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, with the authors employing their own unique, lengthy histories as violence designers in the Chicago area. Eminently readable, sensible, and comprehensive in its approach, this book will be valued by actors, beginning choreographers, and experienced violence designers.”K. J. Wetmore Jr., Loyola Marymount University, USA