by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 10, 2015 | journal
It can’t be repeated enough: this workshop is the beginning of something new. After you recover from this intensive, you can pick it right back up and continue, whether your purpose is to simply maintain your fitness, continue learning and become a leader in the...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 7, 2015 | Style Guide
Part of preparation for TMA is observing some of the various styles of Eastern Martial Arts. Today’s clip is an excerpt from Ip Man, displaying a stunning example of Wing Chun. In particular note the moves from 1:50 to 1:55. You get a good look at Wing...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 6, 2015 | Cross Training
In less than a month I’ll be teaching Theatrical Martial Arts* (TMA) at the Nordic Stage Fight Society’s Summer workshop. The next couple of weeks will be featuring some suggestions for how to prepare for this kind of movement. One of the common...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 4, 2015 | Cross Training
Back to maintaining fitness. Here’s a series of workouts you can do in a relatively small space, with no equipment other than some rags or washcloths! Have fun! … and be mindful of your structure! You want quality over quantity....
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 3, 2015 | Rehearsal Methods
Yesterday we talked about the importance of committing to your goals within the scene. Now, this doesn’t mean that you make the choreography as fast as humanly possible with as much viciousness as you can manage. If all you’re doing is trying for fast and...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 2, 2015 | Actor's Process
One of our tasks as actors, arguably the prime task, is to commit. “What am I fighting for?” is a more passionate re-phrasing of “What’s my intention?”. The purpose of the re-wording is to remind the performer that it’s not enough...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jul 1, 2015 | Get Physical
After an intensive day of filming last weekend, I was reminded of the importance of cooling down. When I got home after fighting on set for several hours, I took a hot bath with Epsom Salts and then did various self-care activities for almost two hours. These...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jun 29, 2015 | Resources
There’s several apps out there for helping you to learn your lines, but Line Learner is my favourite. It’s $4.59 and incredibly good value. Even the free version, Line Learner Lite, is extremely useful and will give you a sense of how the paid app works....
by Siobhan Richardson | Jun 28, 2015 | Best Practices
FDC’s National Workshop begins tomorrow! How are you feeling on your way into the workshop? I hope you’re brimming with excitement, and are ready to adapt to any and all curveballs. I know I’m excited and I totally wish I could be there with you!...
by Siobhan Richardson | Jun 26, 2015 | Best Practices
Always come from a place of curiosity. Yes, we want to get every detail down correctly. But it’s too tempting to be hard on ourselves, particularly in the intensity of a rehearsal or workshop situation. Too often we think, “I should be able to get...
