Hawaii’s Premiere Fight Choreographer Sets the Stage for La Pietra's Spring Production
January 25th, 2022
Tony Pisculli works with 7th-graders Liv K. and Leilani S. to stage a socially distant fight scene
Coming soon this February, La Pietra will present its Spring Production of William Shakespeare's sparkling comedy As You Like It! Students have been busy rehearsing since their return in January. The first week of rehearsals started with table work, allowing them time to get familiar with the text by analyzing and reading out loud.
Next came the blocking, which is where Tony Pisculli comes in. The co-founder and producer of the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival joined the student actors on campus to set a couple of scuffles, which will be done in slow motion while the actors are safely distanced. Pisculli is also Hawaii’s premiere fight choreographer and has been teaching stage combat and directing fights for more than 20 years. He is a Master Teacher with Dueling Arts International and has choreographed over 100 productions including stage, indie film, opera and burlesque.
Pisculli joined 7th-graders Liv K. and Leilani S. on stage near the Great Lawn to choreograph a fight scene in the play's first act between two brothers. Liv will be playing the role of Orlando and Leilani has been cast as Oliver. Action scenes take skill to choreograph and execute just inches apart, but to make a scuffle look realistic while the actors are six feet away from each other? That takes some real practice and a lot of repetition.
Pisculli started by establishing a six-foot distance between the actors, explaining that this would set the tone for the audience that six feet is now face to face. Next, he went through the scene line by line, stopping to explain things like how Liv should sit or stand as Orlando, or how the character might push away his older brother's hand before the big scuffle. Pisculli really took the time to help the student actors understand the emotions that motivated their character's next actions.
Tony Pisculli choreographs a slow-motion fight scene between socially distanced students.
To get the final fight just right, Pisculli took the actors through the moves without distancing so they could get a feel for the motions. After spacing out again, students found they had to focus not only on their own motions, but also match the speed of the other's for the fight to make sense.
By the time the session was over, Liv and Leilani's distanced fight scene had already gotten smoother. We can't wait for you to see it during the February performance!
