Stage Fighting Workshop at Prep

Ahead of their annual end-of-year performance, our Year 4 dramatists were treated to a Stage Fighting Workshop with Head of Drama from Truro School, Mr Ben Oldfield. The year group will be taking to the stage next week in two fantastic takes on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and, thanks to Mr Oldfield, our pupils were able to glean some professional tips on how to make their fight scenes look super realistic.

Safety and discipline were top of the agenda throughout the session; Mr Oldfield explained, “Discipline is key to good stage fighting. It is the discipline that makes it look like real fighting. The ‘fighting’ then becomes a choreography or dance, but it must always be done safely.”

The pupils learnt how to position their bodies and hands so as not to hurt each other as they learnt how to hold their weapons and make it look as if they were really dragging their peers around by their hair or throttling them. We can assure you that no pupils were hurt during the training!

At the end of the session, the Year 4s got to grips with swordplay. With Sophie on hand to help with the demonstration, Mr Oldfield taught the pupils how to hold their swords safely and always be mindful of the “pointy bit”. He demonstrated how to position the body so that the point of the sword and the arm become one straight line, thereby avoiding contact. With the parry also mastered, it was then the turn of the Year 4s to put their skills into practice, with some impressive and safe swordplay on show.

A big thanks to Mr Oldfield for taking the time to run the workshop; we look forward to seeing all of the Year’s hard work come together for their performance next week.