Stage Combat: "A Little Bit Of Storytelling And Then Safety"

Combat scenes have a long tradition in theater and movies. From fight scenes in Shakespeare's plays, to slapstick comedies and swashbucklers, to martial arts movies and crime dramas-audiences can't seem to get enough of theatrical violence. At Indiana University theater department, where students are taught how to act, sing, and dance, they also learn how to fight on stage and in front of a camera. This skill could come in handy in future roles, especially if there is no qualified fight chorographer on hand to direct them. WFIU's Adam Schwartz visited a stage combat class to learn the secrets of making fake violence look and sound real.