Combat performance actors sharpen their sword-fighting skills at local park
The clanging of steel swords and the grunting of physical stress rings through the air each weekend at the waterfront of Cypress Grove Park.
Partners dip, roll and stab at each other rhythmically as if they’re ballet dancers perfecting a routine. Their fights often end in a simulated dramatic death and often laughter.
Members of Live Action Novelty Combat Entertainment, or LANCE, are actors improving their craft for shows at venues such as dinner theaters, bars and Renaissance fairs.
“I tell people to imagine what you see in things like ‘Lord of the Rings,’ King Arthur or Robin Hood,” said A.J. Harrett, the troop’s training committee chair. “In a dance, you choreograph the steps and the movements … that’s the same thing we’re doing.”
Sunday, about 20 participants wrote scripts for fights and worked to perfect each move. Some were armed with swords with arm-length blades, while others preferred daggers or wooden staffs.
The blades, although steel, are purposely dull. In a perfect fight, the strikes are dramatic and swing close to their partner’s body, with attacks parried away by a sword. They focus on eye contact, sound effects and dialogue to create a more authentic scene.
“A lot of what we do is acting. All of our training is geared toward performance,” said Charles Hale, who helped found the group. “A lot of people don’t understand what we do.”
They practice for about four performances per year and are working toward auditions scheduled for the end of July for their biggest show, the Orlando Renaissance Fair.
Last year LANCE headlined the inaugural show with a live-action chess board, where when once piece conquered another, a sword fight ensued.
Participants include college students, professionals and some professional actors and theme-park performers. Others, such as Marissa Kraatz, are weekend warriors.
“It’s physical activity that is fun and not a
chore,” said Kraatz, a computer animation instructor at Full Sail University. “Rather than go to a gym and pick up heavy things, I can come out here in the disgusting Florida heat and swing weapons at my friends.”
LANCE meets every Saturday and Sunday at the south end of the park on Lake Jessamine.
They work on developing characters as they try to weave narratives and storylines into some fights, as well as trying to create the most authentic fight scenes they can.
At a recent performance at the Cloak and Blaster in east Orange County, they set the venue up as a dinner theater of sorts as actors battled it out in the center.
While perfecting their performances in the park, LANCE is no stranger to odd looks from passersby, though some ultimately end up joining in on their fun.
To the confused and intrigued, the group will explain what is happening — and that it’s not actually dangerous — while enjoying the opportunity to show off their work.
“It’s something really different,” Kraatz said. “As soon as you show up, you have a bunch of people who are willing to play in the dirt with you and nobody thinks it’s weird — except other people in the park.”