Getting to the point
By Burl Burlingame
of swordplay
Star-BulletinActing is wearing someone else's skin. You assume their motivations, their desires, their destinies. But what if part of the package includes slinging a sword? You could put an eye out with that thing!
Gregory Hoffman not only gets the point, he makes sure others get the point as well. While most drama schools have vocal and acting coaches, virtually none are able to teach what happens when things get physical. So Hoffman, like a ronin, wanders the country teaching the basics.
His class "Acting the Fight: Stage Combat and the Art of Swordplay" is part of the University of Hawaii's Outreach College program of free public lectures, this one taking place 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Kennedy Lab Theatre.
The business of swordplay is so good Hoffman only gets a couple of days off a month. It started, as these things do, by accident.
"I was interested in acting, and went to England to study," said Hoffman, by cell phone, somewhere in California. "I became interested in the art of theatrical swordfighting, and apprenticed with Michael Loades."
Is Loades a Jedi master of the sword?
"Aw, that's a little intimidating, isn't it?" said Hoffman. "It's better to think of it as part of the art of drama, the illusion of physical conflict. You must make people believe you're trying to hurt somebody. In many ways, it's like dance, a study of movement, a choreography."
Swordfighting should also be appropriate to the drama's time and place. "A rapier was most often used in the period between Renaissance and Restoration; it's long and thin, and you use the point. It thrusts as well as slashes. The weapon, and the clothing with it, is light and easy to maneuver. It was a reaction to gunpowder; you needed the ability to be light on your feet, to dodge.
"A broadsword, the kind you use two hands to swing around, is more for chopping and cutting, and it's very Medieval. People wore armor back then, so they weren't as nimble. A saber is more military; it's curved, so it's more efficient when chopping people down from horseback. You don't see many saber duels on stage. But whatever the weapon, the footwork and body language must be appropriate."
A swordfight special like "Romeo and Juliet" would typically use a combination of rapier and dagger, and lots of scampering.
"You see a lot of rapiers on stage, and one reason is that they're less expensive than big heavy swords," said Hoffman. "Actors also relate more to fencing, which uses an epee, which is rapier-like. The smaller the weapon is, the harder it is to understand. A broadsword -- everyone knows you just swing it. But there are different movements, theories and techniques for each weapon.
"Give an actor a sword, and nine out of 10 times they get all excited, and their biggest question is, when do I get to use this? There aren't a lot of roles for women swordfighters, though."
Hoffman also teaches good ol' on-stage brawling as well. "It's another way of expressing character. And it's great exercise!"
Hoffman's favorite examples of on-screen swordfighting include the George MacDonald Frasier-written "Three" and "Four Musketeers" films from the 1970s, and Gerard Depardieu as Cyrano de Bergerac in the early '90s.
"But the best recently was the climactic duel in 'Rob Roy.' All of these films were choreographed by Bill Hobbs. These characters weren't just slinging swords, it was a vision of the character, expressed through their weapons."
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