2024 tEACHING staff

OLIVER DONAHUE

A Certified Instructor with both Fight Directors Canada and the Society of American Fight Directors, Oliver has been choreographing and performing theatrical violence for more than fifteen years. Lead Instructor with Argent Combat, he currently teaches privately in Philadelphia, as well as at Eastern University just outside the City in St. Davids, PA. He also serves as Co-Coordinator of the Philadelphia Stage Combat Workshop.

HANNAH "ROCK" ROCCISANO

Hannah "Rock" Roccisano (she/her) is a New York City based fight and intimacy director, director, educator and Shakespeare nerd. Her work has been seen off-Broadway including Wolf Play, A Bright New Boise, and Montag. Rock has additionally choreographed regionally and at multiple universities such as Columbia University, Syracuse University and the Hartt School. She is a Certified Teacher with the SAFD and holds two masters degrees, an MFA and Master of Letters in Shakespeare & Performance from Mary Baldwin University. Hannah is the Chair of Development for the SAFD and the founder of Expand, Educate, Empower, an initiative bringing free stage combat training to students in underserved communities across the U.S.

JONATHAN EZRA RUBIN

Jonathan Ezra Rubin is a Certified Teacher with the SAFD and freelances as a Fight & Intimacy Director throughout the Washington, DC-Metro Area, currently hosting classes and choreographing under his company, Fire & Ice Movement Arts. He is also a licensed professional wrestler in the State of Maryland. A three-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Choreography, Jonathan is also a proud Associate Member of SDC. In addition to stage combat, he has been studying intimacy direction since 2015 under the tutelage of some of the industry's founders and most influential names, continuing that training and legacy of work to this day as the Head of Administration and Accredited Intimacy Director for the Intimacy Professionals Education Collective (IPEC). Jonathan is also a full-time arts administrator and serves as the SAFD’s current Treasurer and Development Department Co-Chair. Jonathan is also the Co-Coordinator of the Summer Sling's Fight Choreographer Track, and the Mid-Atlantic Melee launching June 8-9, 2024 in Columbia, MD.

DARRELL RUSHTON

Darrell Rushton was recently promoted to Professor of Theatre at Frostburg State University. He has been a Certified Teacher since 2007, a Theatrical Firearms Safety Instructor since 2010, and a SAFD member since his first workshop; the 2000 NSCW. He has taught stage combat regionally and across the country at Cease and Desist, the Allegany Alley Fight, Rumble in the Rockies, Seattle Sockeye, Winter Wonderland Workshop and the NSCW. He has been Fight Director for numerous productions at Frostburg State, Ball State University, the Cumberland Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, and National Tours with Windwood Theatricals.  He has also been a guest artist at West Virginia University, The University of Oklahoma, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, and Marshall University.

Darrell is a SDC Associate Member, and a Union Member of SAG/AFTRA and AEA with acting credits in New York, Washington, DC, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland.

MIKE SPECK

Mike Speck joined the SAFD in 2004 and certified as a teacher in July 2016. He served as the Mid-America Regional Representative for the SAFD from 2007 to early 2010, the Friend/Actor Combatant/Advanced Actor Combatant rep on the SAFD's Governing Body from 2010-2012, and the Regional Rep Coordinator from 2013-2015. He founded the Carnage in the Corn regional workshop at Drake University in Des Moines, as well as co-founding Minneapolis's Brawl of America.

Mike has an MFA from Western Illinois University, a BA from Luther College, and degrees in Arts & Cultural Management and Project Management from St. Mary's University of Minnesota. He has choreographed many productions for Indiana State University and for colleges and universities in greater Minnesota.

Mike currently works as the Operations Director at the Chatfield (MN) Center for the Arts.

bILL gORDON

Bill Gordon is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the SAFD who is enthusiastically pursuing Certified Teacher. Utilizing a student centered teaching style, his goal is to make every moment of a fight full, vibrant and intentional, while also engaging and elevating his students. Using techniques learned all over the world (Sydney, Moscow, USA) and developed in over a decade of practice and research, Bill provides a unique storytelling centric approach to his choreography and performances. Bill is a represented actor, fight director, and intimacy designer based in Chicago.

Andrés X. López

Andrés X. López is an advanced actor/combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, holding certifications in all eight weapon disciplines. For over ten years, he has taught stage combat to people of all ages at workshops and in classrooms both in the United States and internationally. He has been the fight choreographer for several productions, including Vinegar Tom, Water by the Spoonful, Streamers, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, The Three Musketeers, Don Giovanni, and Carmen. In addition, Andrés has lectured at universities, organizations, and theatres domestically and internationally on the historical and contemporary practice of stage combat.

eMILY nORRIS

Emily Norris is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. She holds her B.A in Theatre from the University of Kentucky and will be graduating from Louisiana Tech University in May with her M.A in Theatre. Norris is also an actress and interned for AthensWest Theatre Company for 2 years. She discovered her passion for stage combat 7 years ago and has been doing it ever since, she hopes to one day be a Certified Teacher with the SAFD.

aNDREW rATHGEBER

Andrew is a fully-recommended Advanced Actor Combatant in the Society of American Fight Directors. As the Company Fight Director for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Andrew has choreographed nine productions, and toured on seven more an actor. Andrew serves as Fight Director and Verse and Text coach for Oak Park Festival Theatre; he also works locally as an Actor/Fighter with Lyric Opera Chicago. Additional Credits: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Commission Theatre Co, Raven, The House Theatre, Haven Theatre Co. and side project theatre co., American Players Theatre, Forward Theater Co., Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Montana InSite Theatre, Tippet Rise Art Center, and Bozeman Actors Theatre. Andrew is pursuing Teacher Certification and is a Consent Forward Artist with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. Andrew teaches stage combat with Open Gate Movement Arts and The Actors Gymnasium, as well as on the regional circuit at workshops and universities around the country.

iAN cLAAR

Ian Claar is an award winning staged violence and intimacy choreographer as well as teaching artist and active member of the stage combat community. He has choreographed the fights, intimacy, and movement for productions through the DC Metro region at the professional, community, and academic levels; with styles involuting various martial arts, sword-play, grappling, found weaponry, and more! He has a passion for the art and technique of stage combat and stunt performance and is an advocate for the safe and skilled application and education of the art to all performing arts organisations, and especially to young performers. Ian is a current Advanced Actor / Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and a 2024 Fight Director Workshop Candidate, a proud Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographer's Society, and the Managing Director of The Noble Blades stage combat troupe, out of Northern Virginia. He is one of the Coordinators of the Mid-Atlantic Melee regional workshop.

jA'nAE cLAPP

Ja’Nae is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and still calls Kentucky home. She is a recognized Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. She has a wide and extensive movement background, specifically in gymnastics and tumbling where she has worked as an athlete and coach. She began her acting and stage combat journey five years ago; during that time, she enjoyed training with professionals in the industry, as well as serving as a teaching assistant for stage combat classes. Ja’Nae has also had the opportunity over the last two years to expand into film projects, where she has worked as a stunt actor and choreographer. Ja’Nae has a passion for the art-form and is committed to creating safe, impactful storytelling for actors and audience members. She is looking forward to continuing her journey with stage combat for years to come!

aLEX tAYLOR

Alex Taylor (she/her) is an actor, teacher, and an SAFD-certified Intermediate Actor Combatant living and work in New York City. In her work, Alex is drawn to stories and processes that create safe, comfortable spaces so that actors feel free to explore and play. Some of Alex’s favorite combat-heavy roles include Richmond (Richard III) and Aufidius (Coriolanus), and she loves to bring her perspective as a queer woman of color to classical roles that have traditionally been played by white men, especially when it comes to violence and war.