Art In Arms

08/14/2025

Registration for our Fall semester is now live!

Full foundations courses in narrative unarmed violence, and the use of sword & shield for stage and screen.

Our unarmed course gives performers the tools they need to adapt to almost any moment of onstage violence using just the weapons of the body - whether it's a simple slap or a fall to struggles, strangulations, and full-blown fight scenes. Don't just fake a punch, use it to tell the story you want to tell.

Our sword and shield curriculum is geared towards using the whole body to tell a dynamic story, turning the props into an extension of the character's will rather than a hurdle to overcome.

$450 for a full semester of training (over 30 hours) in one discipline, or $800 if registered for both. Scholarships available for BIPOC artists.

Weekly classes start September 28th.

More info at https://www.artinarms.org/course-info

07/20/2025

We are thrilled to welcome our friend and colleague Mike Yahn up to MN and host a pair of Fighting for Film workshops this coming weekend!

Mike is a longtime SAG-AFTRA stunt performer and coordinator, with over 100 credits including Avengers: Endgame, Sinners, Renfield (Ta**us stunt award nominee), The Walking Dead, Magnificent Seven, Sherlock Holmes, Doom Patrol, and the iconic Daredevil season 3 prison fight scene.

These workshops will cover the foundations for dynamic performance for film, from commitment and timing to camera awareness.

2 workshops sessions offered to optimize class sizes - a Q&A will follow the second session.

Location: Art In Arms studio
549 Minnehaha Ave E. Saint Paul, MN 55130
Cost: $50

https://www.artinarms.org/book-online-1

01/29/2025

Classes start February 16 and one of our class sections is already at capacity. Space is limited, so don't wait too long to register!

https://www.artinarms.org/course-info

01/21/2025

Tell us what you think!

John Wick 2: Subway Fight --> Love
The Hunted: Waterfall Fight --> Thumbs
The Raid 2: Kitchen Fight --> Laugh
Eastern Promises: Bath Fight --> Wow

Is your favorite movie knife fight not on the list? Let us know below in the comments!

Our Knife Foundations class starts in a little under a month, more info is in the comments.

01/04/2025

Performance and Rehearsal Highlights from our Fall 2024 Semester focusing on unarmed and singlesword.

Music from (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/matrika/overdrive
License code: ACWQ8VAPN9YWQVIX

12/31/2024

Putting violence onstage puts performance under a microscope. Our Spring 2025 Foundations courses will hone everything in your performance toolkit when it comes to telling stories of tension, danger, and impulse. Whether you're brand new to stage combat or a veteran performer, you'll develop the skills to dial up the intensity and clarity that the story demands. All the while, you'll be confident in the safety of everyone onstage and off.

Registration is open now! Link in the comments.

12/06/2024

Wonderful to hear Philip's insights on the work.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/25/theatre-fight-directors-combat-choreographers?CMP=share_btn_url&fbclid=IwY2xjawG_OSlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbxE-V6VkWZqQ65tNkqj1ejLfr7umINqw6mJAdeQac5C99xHR02AxPaKAg_aem_ZXj2T5BPOfIbqepNtV2Jbw

When a scene calls for violence, it’s combat choreographers who prevent actors coming a cropper during the action. They explain the rules of stage conflict

11/05/2024

11/02/2024

Send a message to learn more

10/16/2024

This coming weekend is the closing performance of The Lady Demands Satisfaction by Arthur M. Jolly with Unqualified Theatre. This production features direction by Art in Arms alum Jake Sullivan, fight direction by AiA instructor Mason Tyer, and acting by AiA assistant Merit Burgett. The production has $10 student tickets, which they have extended to Art in Arms students!

Location
University Baptist Church
1219 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis MN, 55414
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WVMgH2jwv3jmEDTy8

Dates remaining
Friday, Oct. 18th @ 7:30pm
Saturday, Oct. 19th @ 7:30pm
Sunday, October 20th @ 2pm

Tickets
https://www.simpletix.com/e/the-lady-demands-satisfaction-presented-by-tickets-186402
Select the $10 student tickets (no code required)

When a young maiden who has never touched a sword learns she must defend her inheritance in a duel, she struggles with a milksop suitor, a servant girl posing as a Prussian fencing master, the actual Prussian fencing master who believes he is there to marry her, a stodgy lord, and her domineering aunt – the finest blade anywhere - to save her house and lands.

Critical reception so far:
"It’s full of the kind of shenanigans you’d expect from a classic BBC or Channel 4 period comedy, sure thing to delight any geeks who love Jeeves and Wooster or Black Adder, but with a decidedly more feminist take... All of this is tied together with some bits of onstage violence and swordplay, ramping up the physicality of the production."
https://twincitiesgeek.com/2024/10/the-lady-demands-satisfaction-brings-swords-and-british-farce-to-the-stage/

See it before it closes and say Mason or Art in Arms sent you!"