short-sword, staff, target, and poniard—are a good indication of what he
was taught at his “school of fence” (Martinez 1996). The rapier and dag-
ger, which are displayed in works such as Romeo and Julietand Hamlet,
were undoubtedly the most popular weapons of the time. Richard Burbage,
a member of Shakespeare’s company, was a highly skilled swordsman as
well as a renowned actor. In fact, some theater historians believe that the
role of Hamlet, whose fencing match brings the play to its tragic conclu-
sion, was written specifically with him in mind. Along with Richard Tar-
leton (another member of the company as well as a member of the London
Masters of Defence), Burbage was probably the creative force behind some
of Shakespeare’s greatest duels. Due to the fact that professional actors in
Elizabethan England were trained swordsmen, stage combat consisted of
the actors’ choreographing the fight out of their own knowledge and draw-
ing on the fashion of the time. If a certain style had recently come into fa-
vor, Shakespeare may have very likely written it into his play. For example
in Romeo and Juliet,Mercutio describes Tybalt’s fencing with the lines,
“The immortal passado, the punto reverso, the hay!” (2.4). All of these are
Italian and Spanish fencing terms, which describe moves that were likely to
have been in vogue at the time.
The fight director or fight choreographer arose out of the modern the-
ater’s need for someone who could create a safe and effective fight. This
represents a contrast to the Elizabethan period, when swordsmanship was
commonplace. In the modern world, it is necessary to have someone who
can build, for example, a bridge from the past of Shakespeare’s plays into
the present. J. D. Martinez defines the fight choreographer as “a highly spe-
cialized theater artist who assumes primary responsibility for the safety of
the performers entrusted to him. Beyond all creative consideration, the pro-
fessional stage fight choreographer places safety first” (1996, 3).
The job of the fight director is to make the fight accomplish its goals
within the confines of the play. To do this effectively, the fight choreogra-
pher needs to be well versed in a diverse range of elements of the theatrical
performance. Along with having extensive training in various forms of
armed and unarmed combat, the professional fight director should have
knowledge of acting techniques, lighting design, costumes, weapons main-
tenance, firearm safety, and, of course, first aid. The fight choreographer
not only creates the fight, but also makes sure it is safe for both the per-
formers and the audience, exciting to watch, and appropriate to the needs
of the play. Because the modern theater does not require actors to be
trained in professional swordplay, a fight director is just as likely to come
upon someone who has never picked up a sword as to find a consummate
swordsman. For this reason, fight directors have become an indispensable
part of the modern theatrical world.552 Stage Combat