Babes With Blades is a Chicago-based all-female stage combat theatre company.
In 1997 Dawn "Sam" Alden staged four performances billed as Babes With Blades: An Evening of Women Wielding Weapons as a showcase for female stage combatants in the Chicago area. [1] Thereafter, Babes With Blades was formally incorporated as a theater company whose mission statement read:
"...to expand opportunities for women in the world of stage combat. By exploring theatrical violence as a storytelling tool and as a means to entertain, educate, and enlighten, we challenge traditional expectations, push personal limitations, and celebrate the historical role of the woman warrior and her modern evolution."[1]
Since the late 1990s, the company has worked with other Chicago-based arts organizations to develop resources and promote awareness in the field of women's stage combat. Two collaborations with Chicago Dramatists resulted in new scripts written for female actor-combatants, and Babes With Blades' own playwriting initiatives (Joining Sword and Pen and New Plays Development Program) continue to generate new works focused on female characters in strong, complex dramatic and comedic roles. In addition to theatrical productions, the company's promotional and educational projects include stage combat and acting workshops, appearances at festivals and in the media, newsletters and demonstrations. [2]
The Joining Sword and Pen competition was established in 2005, in an effort to promote the writing of scripts and the production of plays with physical stage combat roles for women.
The inaugural theme was proposed by Society of American Fight Directors Fight Master David Woolley, inspired by Emile Bayard’s painting entitled An Affair of Honor, depicting a duel between two women on a secluded country road.
Since inception, the competition has been held bi-annually, with the winning play receiving the Margaret Martin Award and being produced as part of the company's theatrical season. All entries are inspired by particular works of art chosen for the competition, and must have women in most or all of the primary roles, and featured in most or all of the combat.
Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. With the advent of cinema and television the term has widened to also include the choreography of filmed fighting sequences, as opposed to the earlier live performances on stage. It is closely related to the practice of stunts and is a common field of study for actors. Actors famous for their stage fighting skills frequently have backgrounds in dance, gymnastics or martial arts training.
Sonya Blade is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter, a military officer with the Special Forces. In the storyline of the games, Sonya becomes involved with the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament through pursuit of her archenemy, the criminal leader Kano. She subsequently joins the warriors defending Earthrealm and establishes a government agency dedicated to battling otherworldly threats. The series' rebooted timeline also depicts her as the love interest to martial arts actor Johnny Cage and the mother of their daughter Cassie. A mainstay of the franchise, Sonya has also appeared in various media outside of the games. Reception to the character has been generally positive, with respect to her role as one of Mortal Kombat's primary female fighters. Though, some of her outfits in the games have received criticism.
A melee weapon, hand weapon, close combat weapon or fist-load weapon is any handheld weapon used in hand-to-hand combat, i.e. for use within the direct physical reach of the weapon itself, essentially functioning as an additional extension of the user's limbs. By contrast, a ranged weapon is any other weapon capable of engaging targets at a distance beyond immediate physical contact.
Combat reenactment is a side of historical reenactment which aims to depict historical forms of combat. This may refer to either single combat, melees involving small groups, or nearly full-scale battles with hundreds of participants.
Heavenly Sword is a 2007 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3.
Janet Munro was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for her performance in the film Life for Ruth (1962).
Soulcalibur is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Chanbara (チャンバラ), also commonly spelled "chambara", meaning "sword fighting" films, denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. Chanbara is a sub-category of jidaigeki, which equates to period drama. Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay.
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language epic period drama film based on the life of Pazhassi Raja, a king who fought against the East India Company in the 18th century. The film was directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by Gokulam Gopalan. It stars Mammootty in lead role with an ensemble supporting cast. The music score and soundtrack were created by Ilaiyaraaja, while its sound design is by Resul Pookutty.
Hanlon-Lees Action Theater is an American entertainment company credited with the development of theatrical jousting. The company was formed in 1979 by partners Kent Shelton, Robin Wood, Richard "Dikki" Ellis, R. Vincent Park, Taso N. Stavrakis, and Stephen "Omms" Ommerle.
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs), literally "one who answers". The actor's interpretation of a role—the art of acting—pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. This can also be considered an "actor's role", which was called this due to scrolls being used in the theaters. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is "playing themselves", as in some forms of experimental performance art.
The British Academy Of Stage & Screen Combat (BASSC) is a British organisation for the tuition and development of safety in stage combat for theatre, television and feature film.
Arthur M. Jolly is an American playwright and screenwriter. In 2006, he was awarded an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his comedy The Free Republic of Bobistan.
Roberta Brown is an American swordmaster and actress.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is a 2011 wuxia film directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Gwei Lun-mei, Louis Fan and Mavis Fan. The film is a remake of Dragon Gate Inn (1966) and New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) but takes place three years after. Production started on 10 October 2010 and is filmed in 3-D. The film screened out of competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. The film was nominated for eight awards at the 2012 Asian Film Awards and won two: Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
Marie Louise Anna Beaudet was a Canadian actress, singer and dancer for more than 50 years, starred in stage productions ranging from comic opera to Shakespeare, as well as music-hall and vaudeville, and appeared in 66 silent films.
The Practical Theatre Company is a Chicago-based theatre company founded by Northwestern University students and active throughout the 1980s before returning to the stage in 2010. Its productions have included new plays, satiric agitprop, rock and roll events, and a series of successful improvisational comedy revues. The PTC, whose motto is "Art is Good", is notable for the fact that the entire cast of its 1982 improvisational comedy revue, The Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee was hired by Saturday Night Live.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a 2017 epic fantasy action-adventure film directed by Guy Ritchie who co-wrote the film with Joby Harold and Lionel Wigram from a story by Harold and David Dobkin, inspired by Arthurian legends. The film stars Charlie Hunnam as the title character and Jude Law as the tyrannical king Vortigern who is attempting to kill him, with Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, and Eric Bana in supporting roles.
Touken Ranbu is a free-to-play collectible card browser video game developed by Nitroplus and DMM Games. The game was launched in Japan in January 2015, in Mainland China in 2017, and worldwide in April 2021.
Ueno Tsuruhime (上野鶴姫) was a Japanese female warrior (onna-musha) in the late-Sengoku period. She was the daughter of Mimura Iechika and wife of Ueno Takanori the last leader of Ueno clan. In 1577, she led thirty-four women in a suicidal charge against the Mōri army in the Tsuneyama castle during the Bitchū Conflict.