WORKSHOPS on request

BOUNDARIES & CONSENT up to 3hrs
The initial Boundaries & Consent (B&C) session takes place with Cast, Stage Management, and Directors. We require a minimum of 1.5 hours for this session. This is an opportunity for all the company to check in with their own boundaries, explore some tools for comfortable working practices and provide a shorthand which can save valuable time in the rehearsal room. The B&C session is show-specific and as part of this session there is an opportunity to form a Company Agreement, which is about building an agreed rehearsal culture, entirely guided by the company’s wants and values.

DE-ROLE 2hrs
Acting requires one to be vulnerable. Even the most experienced actors can suffer the effects of playing emotionally exhausting scenes night after night. De-roling is about taking time to remove the character from the self after rehearsals, a show, or the run. We use a process of connecting to the neutral body, shifting the mode of embodiment from that of the Character back to the Actor.
 
REPLICA FIREARMS CONSULTANCY up to 3hrs
This consultancy is specific to the production. We take the SM team through all the does and dont's including law, paperwork and procedures. We train the actors and stage the gun action including all the backstage logistics and return for the technical rehearsals as required.
 
HOW TO PREPARE FOR INTIMATE & VIOLENT MOMENTS A full day
In person and online versions available. We equip you with the necessary knowledge to prepare for violent and intimate moments in your production. How to establish a comfortable environment with complicit working practices. We look at the whole production process from pre production and casting through to maintaining a long running show. We look at the practical realities such as appropriate language and boundaries to running warm up and calls to ensure the best working practices possible.

REPLICA FIREARMS A full day
In person and a theory only online version available. Training can be delivered either as a full day or as 2x 3hr theory sessions.
Our Industry recognised course is the only one of its kind in the UK. It is an essential component to Stage Management Training as endorsed by the Stage Management Association. We began offering Replica Firearms training in 2005, preempting the 2006 VCRA (Violent Crimes Reduction Act). Our course offers comprehensive practical training and guidance including UK gun law and has directly affected attitudes to the safe working practices of Replica Firearms use. 

REPLICA FIREARMS CONSULTANCY up to 3hrs
This consultancy is specific to the production. We take the SM team through all the does and dont's including law, paperwork and procedures. We train the actors and stage the gun action including all the backstage logistics and return for the technical rehearsals as required.

BANG! A full day
For those who wish to gain practical experience in firing and handling a handgun for theatre. We practice handling, operation, loading, unloading and clearing jams.We use tarictal training and drills culminating in team work actions with live blank firing rounds.  

HOW TO PREPARE FOR INTIMATE & VIOLENT MOMENTS A full day
In person and online versions available. We equip you with the necessary knowledge to prepare for violent and intimate moments in your production. How to establish a comfortable environment with complicit working practices. We look at the whole production process from pre production and casting through to maintaining a long running show. We look at the practical realities such as appropriate language and boundaries to running warm up and calls to ensure the best working practices possible.

WEAPONS FOR THEATRE A full or half day
In person and online interactive versions available. 
All you need to know about theatrical weaponry from how to identify them to cleaning them. We look at making confident choices on whether an item is ‘safe’ to use as either a practical or decorative item. We help you identify what to look for when sourcing/hiring weapons, including fatigue warning signs. Examine all theatrical blades from metal to latex to facilitate how to recognise the type, material, period and application. And discover how to maintain and perform basic repairs including essential items for your tool box.

BLOOD & GUTS! 3hrs
Blood bags, Blood capsules and more! Messy but fun Blood FX. Get to grips with the gorier side of fights and mock injuries without breaking the budget or compromising safety (we exam the H&S). You provide the Blood and we’ll supply the knowledge! Remember to bring a change of clothes because you will get messy and sticky. 

HOW TO SAFELY DIRECT ACTION 2/3hrs
This workshop can be tailored for Theatre or Film Makers. Drama is conflict, a conflict of wills. Most films and theatre productions involve an element of violence. However budgets can be tight and compromises have to be made, we will help you to ensure that safety is not one of them. Expecting your actors to choreograph their own action is an unnecessary risk, which could cost you more in the long run. In this workshop explore how you make informed choices to protect the physical and emotional safety of your actors. We will address the action scene from the preproduction to the practicalities of rehearsals, choreography and the shoot/performance. Learn about your responsibilities, the law, appropriate weaponry choice, how to utilise your Fight Director/Action Coordinator, Doubles and Actors, varying abilities, setting boundaries, the paperwork protocols and safety procedures. Rc-Annie will introduce you to their unique approach, drawn from our professional experience, we highlight the difficulties of creating authentic, un-choreographed, looking violence.  

To book contact us 

"I can't recommend RC Annie highly enough. They are good value for money and the students love working with them. They put safety first while making it fun and really care about the work and the students experience. Their agent is on hand to make sure the school doesn't need anything else. Stage fighting is conducive to supporting: creativity and sensible risk taking. Unlike dance, where the positions have to be perfect, stage fighting is about using the body as a dynamic instrument. I found that the girls in workshops really like that many of the instructors are women. They expect that it will be the boys' forte, but when a female instructor arrives, the girls realise that their preconceptions about stage fighting were wrong and that they can be every bit as good as the boys." DAVID KENWORTHY  - MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.

We are committed to creating a safe and creative environment for young people that promotes cognitive and physical development. We offer a range of workshops and a bespoke service to suit any learning outcome.

POPULAR WORKSHOPS

SLAP BANG WHALLOP    Unarmed techniques from cool out of distance moves to falling safely 
ALL IN!                                        A Training Workshop and 2 additional Fight Directing sessions on the play of your choice
SLAPSTICK!                            The clear language of knockabout violence from the silver screen to the present day
BATTLING THE BARD!    A physical exploration of the text and conflict within any Shakespeare play
HAVE AT THEE!                    Exploring the history, social etiquette and strict honour code of the Duel!
SBLOOD AND GUTS!       Look at the H&S and then get messy having a go a devising simple but effective blood solutions
FIGHT CLUB!                         After school and drama club sessions, a series of one off classes of BADC certification courses for the 16+

BADC CERTIFICATION COURSE 5 to 10 days or weekly classes
The British Academy of Dramatic Combat is the oldest stage combat organisation in the world with internationally recognised qualifications. Intensives are full time courses which culminate in a BADC examination or showcase. Weekly classes of delivered in 2 hour sessions a week (minimum of 40 hours is required to examine). Many Drama Schools, Colleges and Universities offer Stage Combat as part of their curriculum as regular weekly classes. Courses range from in length depending on the choice of BADC Level. The teachers, assistants, weaponry and exam fees are all included. Stage Combat naturally brings together all of the performers core skills such as Voice, Movement and Acting into one coherent discipline.
 
ACTION FILM LAB 5 to 10 days
This comprehensive fighting for film course provides practical experience of working as a fight performer for camera. Film sets can be both exciting and intimidating as performers are expected to deliver quickly, often with little rehearsal in a highly pressured environment. We prepare you thoroughly for the task in hand, the course includes: Jargon Busters, Who is who, Shot and Frame Identification, On Set Etiquette, Camera Awareness, Blank Firing Handguns, Squibs, Breakables, Mat and Pad work, FX, Blood, Make-up and Costume, Location Fights, Casting Fight type, Stair Rolling, Armed and Unarmed Combat, Hitting Marks, Doubling, Stand Ins and Safety. All delivered in a 5 to 10 day course.

FIGHT CLUB weekly 
You may choose to run weekly classes that focus on teaching the principles of Stage Combat or a specific Theatrical Weaponry System. These classes can culminate in Certification or a Fight Night showcase.

THE RC WAY S.C.R.A.P. weekly
Spatial awareness, Control Response, Accuracy, Power. A series of workshops catering for all levels, exploring these fundamental elements that help you become a better performer and equip the students for action at all levels.

SWASHBUCKING 2hrs
Inspired by the early swashbuckling movies with quick to learn, flashy sword fighting techniques that exploit your environment. Fight around, on and under furniture. We teach you sword phrases that keep you safe whilst you propel yourself around the set playing with the stock characters of the genre.

KNOCKABOUT 2hrs
Messy looking Comedy fights. How can we make our fights funny? Explore: the rule of 3, misleading the audience, silly actions, trips and falls, clear communication with your audience, underplay, overplay and the payoff. Culminating in creating a comedy Slapstick fight routine.

BLACK & BLUE 2hrs
Discover how to safely impact and collide with objects, such as walls, tables, fall off chairs and be battered black and blue with a variety of props. This class is taken from our shared experience of working on film sets. We have created our own techniques of how to lessen then blow when working with robust prop items and how to find your feet when being thrown into or over items.

SCRAP 2hrs
This workshop gives the participants tools to help them perform messy un-choreographed looking fights. Rc-Annie trademark scrappy fighting allows performers to access the action with their own physicality while remaining within a repeatable and safe framework.

SHADY CHARACTERS 2hrs
Drawing influences from Melodrama, Silent Movies, Film Noir and Shadow Puppetry. We look at the physical story telling of fight and character led action through the art of shadow play. Embracing the challenges of creating clear intensions and dramatic fight imagery through this medium.

For more details contact us