News

REMINDER! Fight and Intimacy Direction Panel on Monday, February 21

Published February 17, 2022   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas
This is a reminder that the AGMA Staging Staff Caucus will host a special presentation on fight direction and intimacy direction on Monday, February 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

This is a reminder that the AGMA Staging Staff Caucus will host a special presentation on fight direction and intimacy direction on Monday, February 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Joining the event are guest speakers Doug Scholz-Carlson, artistic director, fight choreographer, actor, and certified intimacy director, and Michelle Ladd, action director, fight choreographer, and performer of stunts, staged combat, dance, and acting.

The presentation will focus on best practices for a safe rehearsal environment. ALL AGMA staging staff in good standing are encouraged to attend and should register here! Those who have already registered do not need to do so again. The Zoom details will be sent in the days leading up to the panel.

Submit questions in advance by emailing stagingstaffcaucus@musicalartists.org.


ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Michelle Ladd has been working as a professional action director, fight choreographer, and performer of stunts, staged combat, dance, and acting for over twenty years. Although a native of the Southeast, she honed her stage fight skills in Britain at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and built her career in Los Angeles. She is a recognized Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors and the International Order of the Sword and the Pen. She has worked throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and Asia. Her credits span theater, film, and motion capture and include Motion Capture Stunt Coordinator for Thor; Motion Capture Fight Director for Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End; Motion Capture Combat Choreographer for The Lord of the Rings – Return of the King and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; performer in France at Viking Fest with Freiki Klan Denmark; fight instruction and demonstration of Parnü Vöitlus Estonia, and featured guest for Korea’s Theatre Magazine. Currently, she is the resident Fight Director for The Atlanta Opera and the Intimacy Coordinator for Disney’s Queens. She and her husband own RE: Action Stunts and Broad-Motion Entertainment while raising their three young stunt boys.  

Doug Scholz-Carlson is Artistic Director of Great River Shakespeare Festival and works nationally as a director, fight choreographer, actor, and certified intimacy director. Doug was the first intimacy director at the Metropolitan Opera and has directed intimacy at theaters including the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, and Park Square and taught workshops for organizations including Opera America. Directing credits include Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Opera, Portland Opera, Madison Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Park Square Theatre. Doug’s fight choreography has appeared at theaters including New York City Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Utah Opera, The Guthrie Theater, The Children’s Theater Company, Opera Montreal, Michigan Opera Theater, Park Square Theatre, Minnesota Opera and the Seattle Police Department, and was featured in the world premiers of the operas The Grapes of Wrath and Silent Night. As an actor, Doug has performed at theaters including The Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theater Company, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Jungle Theater, Chanhassen Theaters, and the Seattle Repertory Theater.