Theatre Arts Program
4:30pm - 6:30pm
RSVP Here
This workshop will cover the basics of Unarmed Fighting for the Stage. We will cover safe ways to make contact with your partner, pushes, slaps, punches, and falls, culminating in a brief piece of choreography. No previous experience necessary. Participants are expected to wear clothing that will not restrict movement, and closed toe athletic footwear. Please bring a water bottle and be prepared to move.
Penn undergraduate students are invited to join us for this workshop. An RSVP is required as spaces are limited.
J. Alex Cordaro is a Philadelphia-based Fight Director and Educator with over 30 years of training, practice, and experience creating stage violence.
As a Designer, Alex has Fight Directed well over a hundred professional productions with Equity and AGMA, (Opera Philadelphia, The Wilma, Arden, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, The Lantern, Theatre Horizon etc.) including six World Premieres and numerous Philadelphia and U.S. Premieres. In addition, his choreography has been sailing across Europe for the past thirteen years with twenty-eight different casts for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Alex has directed numerous fights for Philadelphia area dance companies, regional colleges, and Young Company Tours.
Since 2018 he has been the Stage Combat Instructor and Fight Director for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, offering five semesters of training for the Brind School of Theatre. Previously, he has taught at Arcadia University, Rowan University, Temple University, and The University of Delaware. Alex is also a core instructor for the annual Philadelphia Stage Combat Workshop which is going into its 25th year.
Alex is a Certified Fight Director, Certified Teacher, and Theatrical Firearms Instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors. He is a three-time Barrymore Award Nominee for Outstanding Movement/ Choreography, and he was featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Project Discovery” series: Careers in the Arts; Fight Director.