Red in Tooth & Nail: an Exploration of Unarmed Theatrical Violence & Death

Red in Tooth & Nail: Explorative Unarmed Theatrical Violence & Death
with Argent Combat

Tuesday Nights | 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM
August 13th- October 8th, 2024

& Friday, October 11th, 2024 | 6:30- 10 PM
Death & Dying in Performance Master Class
with SAFD Fight Master J. David Brimmer; Fight Director and Intimacy Choreographer Eli Lynn; and Brittany Holdahl Donahue, CEOLD.
Death Café-Like Reception to Close

St. Mary’s at Penn, Hamilton Village
3916 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104

This immersive course is open to Theatrical Violence and Stage Combat students of all levels. From curious enthusiasts to veteran Advanced Actor Combatants: All who would like to delve further into multidisciplinary and multicultural martial arts, biokinesiology, and culminate in a Master Class of the art of performative death are welcome.

What is it to Fight?
Who Fights: How and why?
What makes us “win” during a Fight? What defines our “win?”
What is it like to Die and be Dead after we’ve “lost” the Fight?
These are some of the elements we will explore in this course.
Observers welcome.

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What is Stage Combat?
Stage Combat refers to all acts of conflict, danger, and violence performed for entertainment. A slap to the face, a fall down some stairs, an epic fifteen-person battle with swords and axes - all of these are examples of stage combat. More than just set moves, true stage combat uses violence to tell a story, just as dance choreography, set design, or costuming can.
Who is Argent Combat?
Argent Combat is a Philadelphia-based organization of students, performers, choreographers, and instructors of Theatrical Violence and Stage Combat. We are dedicated to promoting safety and fostering the excellence and proficiency of action-oriented entertainment.
To learn more about who we are and about our missions, you can check out some of our media appearances
Who are Our Instructors?
J. Oliver Donahue (he/him) is Co-Founder and Director of Education of Argent Combat as well as a Philadelphia-based performer and choreographer. He is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and Fight Directors Canada. Oliver spends most of his time choreographing violence and teaching actors technical, safe, and performative methods of exploring violent impulses on stage. His body of work includes collaborations with Bristol Riverside Theatre, Irish Heritage Theatre, Allens Lane Theatre, Sewer Rats Productions, Jackpine Productions, Eastern University, the University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph's University, Lebanon Valley College, Temple Theatre’s Sidestage, GDP Productions, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses at The Booth Theatre.
Master Class Guest Instructors
J. David Brimmer (he/him) has been choreographing violence in New York City, as well as in regional theaters around the country for over 20 years and is a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors. Broadway credits include Spring Awakening, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Grace, Speed the Plow, Thérèse Raquin and Long Day’s Journey into Night. Off-Broadway credits include Futurity; Gloria; Punk Rock; An Octoroon; Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; Blasted; The Whipping Man; Bethany; The American Pilot; Blackbird; Bug; Killer Joe; The Revenger’s Tragedy; The Duchess of Malfi, and The Changeling. He has also worked with The Metropolitan Opera, as well as regional venues such as The Geffen Playhouse, American Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre and Guthrie Theater. His choreography has been nominated for a Douglas Fairbanks Award for Excellence in Theater and his work is currently on file at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He is the creator and current instructor of the stage combat program at New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. He has taught at The Meisner Extension, the Classical Studio, the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Lee Strasberg Institute, the Playwrights Horizons Theater School, the Atlantic Theater Company, and the Yale School of Drama. He is a former president of the New York Fight Ensemble (NYFE).
Brimmer's approach to fight choreography focuses on the reality of pain; an often overlooked element to stage and Hollywood fights. In his classes, students are asked to live through the situation of hurting or getting hurt.

Brittany Holdahl Donahue, CEOLD (she/her & they/them) is the Executive Director of Argent Combat, which she co-founded in December 2017. She has been an active member of the Philadelphia arts community since 2008. As a performer, Mrx. Holdahl Donahue has collaborated with Irish Heritage Theatre, Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Hedgerow Theatre, Luna Theatre Co., GDP Productions, Represented Theatre Co., Automatic Arts, Save the Day! Productions, otherWORDS Theatre Co., and the Philadelphia Dramatists Center. Brittany had studied stage combat under FDC/SAFD Fight Master Ian Rose, earning Actor Combatant status (Unarmed, Single Sword, Smallsword, Rapier and Dagger), and has since been an advocate for making stage combat accessible to artists and enthusiasts ever since.
In addition to arts administration and performance, Brittany became a Certified End of Life Doula under The International Association of Professions Career College in February 2024 to support her advocacy for death-positivity in the palliative, hospice, and postmortem/funeral care industries as well as in the theatre and film industries.

Eli Lynn (they/them) is a trans* non-binary actor, fight director, Intimacy Director, dancer, musician, and artist based in Philadelphia. Eli has trained for 15+ years with the Society of American Fight Directors. They have also trained with and are considered an Advanced Actor Combatant with the following organizations: Fight Directors Canada (Teaching Apprentice), British Association of Stage and Screen Combat, Society of Australian Fight Directors, and Nordic Stage Fight Society. They have been Barrymore Nominated for their work on The Play That Goes Wrong (1812 Productions), 'Tis Pity She's A Whore and Jane Eyre (Philadelphia Artists Collective). Their work has been seen at regional theatres including the PA Shakespeare Festival, The Arden, Philadelphia Theatre Company, InterAct, Theatre Exile, Hedgerow Theatre, Theatre Horizon, and the American Shakespeare Center. They have also had the great privilege of assisting on numerous productions under Broadway Fight Masters Ian Rose and J. David Brimmer.

Host or Publisher Argent Combat