GET TO KNOW OUR NEXT MASTERCLASS GUEST ARTIST:
MATTHEW R. WILSON
Matthew R. Wilson is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors, as well as a union actor (AEA, SAG-AFTRA) and director/choreographer (SDC). One of America’s leading experts in Commedia dell’Arte, Wilson has staged dozens of plays in the style, toured the world with his on The Great One-Man Commedia Epic, and written extensively on Commedia from its historical origins to contemporary performance. He is also the author of the stage combat chapter in Movement for Actors (2nd ed, Allworth, 2017) and a contributor to the SAFD journal, The Fight Master. Wilson is a Helen Hayes Award recipient and five-time nominee as a director, playwright, and fight director. He holds an MFA from the Academy for Classical Acting and a PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Maryland, and he serves on the faculty of The George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. matthewrwilson.com
We asked Matt a few questions to get to know him a bit better and learn more about the classes he has planned for his workshop:
Hey Matt, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! You’ve been a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors since 2012, but how long have you been doing stage combat? What draws you to this art form specifically? Did you come to comedy or combat first?
I was first introduced to combat, mime, clown, mask, and commedia all together in 1995 through a summer theatre camp. Since I hated sports as a kid and was terrible at all of them, this was the first time that I felt at home in my body and excited about physical work. I realized that the problem wasn’t that I couldn’t do things–it was that I hated the atmosphere of competition in kids’ sports. Collaborative physical activities, on the other hand, it turns out I love those!
Coming up on April Fool’s Day, you’re offering a workshop on “Making Fights Funny” – what do you think makes a fight inherently funny? Are there specific moments and moves that you think only work in comedic violence, or can anything become funny depending on how it’s acted?
One of the biggest things about comedy, to me, is the element of surprise. It’s the divergence from what is expected–but only a small divergence. If the surprise is too great, if the logic isn’t there, then the moment isn’t funny; it’s just confusing. So, yeah, I think anything could be funny depending, mostly, on its relationship to the things around it. You know, set up, knock down.
You have a PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies and a MFA in Classical Acting – and you’ve focused your career largely on the blending of these with a combination of Commedia dell’Arte and slapstick. What draws you to comedic storytelling and the mixture of comedy and violence?
Well, I also like contemporary, realistic drama, too! But, yeah, I think, for me, it’s always about the unexpected, our ability to tell stories in ways that say something larger than life about reality. Something that is honest but not ordinary.
In all your training in stage combat over the years, what’s the best piece of advice that’s ever been imparted on you? How does that affect and transform your work?
It was at the end of the National [Stage Combat Workshop] in 2007 when I was a tired and cranky intern that Fight Master Scot Mann said to me, patiently, “When you took this job, what did you think it would be?” I think about that all the time–about how it is work and commitment and your choices are either to take the job or not, not to grumble about the job you already took. But, also, it was the kindness with which Scott said it. He gently made his point and then jumped in and helped me out. He’s been a great example to me.
What’s 1 fascinating fact about yourself that we wouldn’t know from your bio?
Well, right now, my arms are numb because I just donated platelets. Apparently there’s a platelet shortage in our area, so get out there and donate at your local Red Cross, folks!
Come check out Matthew Wilson’s Masterclass Workshop in Making Fights Funny on April 1st, 2019 by reserving your spot now at fvworkshops.brownpapertickets.com!
