#19 Incorporating Story into Choreography

The topic for episode #19 of the Violence Design Lab podcast comes to us from a listener in the U.K. who wanted to know my approach to incorporating the story elements of a script into the fight choreography that I eventually give to the actors. It's a great question, and it's nice to focus in on a smaller scale after a few large-concept episodes like my series on melees. If you choreograph fights for a class or an exhibition or for fun but without a pre-written script, your options—your artistic canvas, if you will—are wide open. You can create anything you like, limited only by your available weapons and your athletic skill. The world is your oyster. Violence in a play script or screenplay, however, does NOT happen in a vacuum. It's not a blank canvas. There is highly specific work it must do in the script, and certain elements that must be included. This is the place to start planning your choreography—with what I call the Essential Elements....