A rip-roaring mix of swashbuckling, crotch kicking, bullwhip cracking, and body slamming is taking place on the stage of Columbia College’s Getz Theater. The crowd shouts at and taunts the fighters. “Go on girl!” yells one woman. “Kick some ass!” In the center of the packed auditorium sits David Woolley, who can barely conceal his glee. He leaps up sporadically and pumps his fist in the air, spurring the audience on to cheer even louder.
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Despite the rowdy atmosphere, Woolley makes it clear that stage combat is an art form. “It’s an important skill for an actor to have, because it helps you be in control in violent situations rather than killing yourself or your partner,” he says. “Being a teacher, you are not looking for results within two weeks, but later in their careers it saves rehearsal time, because they already know what’s going on.”
Fighting has become Woolley’s way of life. He’s choreographed violent scenes for over 100 local productions and won a Jeff Award for consistent excellence in stage combat choreography in 1988. He also performs 280 dates a year on the road with Douglas Mumaw as the medieval combat duo the Swordsmen, a career that was launched in 1989 in that venue of verbal warfare, the Uptown Poetry Slam at the Green Mill. “On that little stage with a neon sign, a piano onstage, porcelain fixtures in the ceiling, and a big bar owner you don’t want to upset,” Woolley says.
“You can spend more time trying to create moments in theater than you can in film,” he says. “I liken swordplay to tap dancing, because it is a specific skill that requires your entire body and mind and motion, and the only way to get better is to practice.”
