Samantha Egle
Owner & Operator
Education Director
She/her/hers
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Meet the
Team
Samantha is a movement director and instructor specializing in dramatic combat and intimate action. Samantha has been training and working as a fight director for a decade and has more recently expanded her movement direction work to include intimacy for the stage. She focuses on building consent, facilitating communication and developing affecting moments of physical storytelling on stage.
Samantha is a Certified Teacher and Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, is a Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, and was an Apprentice with Intimacy Directors International.
She is a certified Pilates instructor and the owner of Humble Warrior Movement Arts LLC through which she teaches Pilates and hosts theatrical movement workshops and classes in the American rocky mountain region.
She is the current regional representative for the Rocky Mountain Region within the Society of American Fight Directors. She additionally serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the International Order of the Sword and the Pen.
She was an artist in residence at Arena Stage for the 2018-19 season.
She is a proud associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union.
She received her Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University where she studied theatre and creative writing for the media. In addition to her work as a movement specialist, Samantha has worked in the artistic/literary offices of The Public Theatre, Chicago Dramatists and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She additionally works as a house and theatre services manager at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
PAST INSTRUCTORS
Sean Michael Chin
Instructor
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Sean Michael Chin (he/him/his) is an SAFD Certified Teacher in Brooklyn, NY. He has taught at LIU CW Post, Pace University, Muhlenberg College, Neutral Chaos Combat, as well as the Winter Wonderland Workshop, Summer Sling, Carnage in the Corn, and Stage Combat Deutschland. He regularly performs fights for the Metropolitan Opera, appearing in Il Trovatore, Macbeth, Tosca, and Giulio Cesare.
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Jess Finley
Instructor
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Jess Finley has had a sword in her had for the past twenty years. Her initial interest was in stage combat, but not too long after beginning that pursuit began to ask "... but how did they really fight" and from that question branched out to German Medieval Martial Arts. She is the head instructor at Ritterkunst Turhalle in Lawrence, Kansas. She has taught and competed internationally at events like the Western Martial Arts Workshop in Chicago, USA; Paddy Crean International Workshop in Banff, Canada; Swordfish in Gothenburg, Sweden; and Longpoint in Baltimore, USA and has taught intensives at various events and schools, as well as weekend private intensives at her home. She also has a background studying Judo under the tutelage of Arden Cowherd of Topeka Judo Club.
She is a published author, having written a book entitled "Medieval Wrestling" on the fifteenth century Master Ott's wrestling treatise of German wrestling techniques.. She also researches medieval clothing construction and fabric armor, and has presented her findings at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo and published an article in Medieval Clothing and Textiles (Boydell and Brewer) on her study of a 15th century quilted armor.
Jessica currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas with her family. In between “kid-wrangling” her children and remodeling her house, she writes books and does her assigned physical therapy exercises.
Scot Mann
Instructor
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JScot J. Mann is an internationally recognized and award winning Fight Master, certified through the Society of American Fight Directors and the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat. He most recently choreographed swordplay, stunts and gunplay for the multi-million dollar production of Pirates Voyage in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He and his wife, Kelly co-choreographed the world premier of Stephen King's original muscial, "Ghost Brothers of Darkling County", directed by Susan Booth at the Alliance Theatre. As a director, he received a Meritorious Achievement Award for his direction of Scapin, by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in 2005. Scot has choreographed, performed and coached theatrical violence with such companies as The Steppenwolf Theatre, The Alliance Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Theatrical Outfit, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and The North Carolina School of the Arts. He has also served as an instructor for the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat in London, and Stage Combat Deutschland in Freiberg, Germany. As an actor, Scot has appeared with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, New American Theater, New American Shakespeare Theatre, Atlanta Opera, motion capture talent for digital media, and various voice-over recordings for radio, T.V. and the Internet. Scot appeared as a stunt-player and served as tactical choreographer and gun wrangler for the newly released movie, Eyeborgs, as well as on-set Swordmaster and stunt double for the “Bollywood” epic, Drona. Scot is an alumnus of the MFA/PAT program at The Alabama Shakespeare Festival and holds a BA in Communications and Theatre from Mercer University, where he currently serves as Director of Theatre.
Jake Guinn
Instructor
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Jake Guinn is an Atlanta based Action Director, Playwright, and Movement Artist. He is Artistic Director and a Founding Member of Havoc Movement Company. Jake is a second generation Fight Director following in the footsteps of his father and mentor. His selected credits include Marvel Universe Live! Age of Heroes, TruTV’s Fake/Off, Titanic at Serenbe Playhouse, Hero’s Wife at Synchronicity Theatre, the Woodruff Arts Center, Actor's Theatre Lousiville, Florida Repertory Theatre, Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati Playhouse, Folding Chair Theatre, Southern Arkansas University, Louisiana Tech University, and The Seedling Project of Atlanta.
Jenny Male
Instructor
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Jenny Male (she/her) is a Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. Jenny has served as the Fight and/or Intimacy Choreographer for such DC/Baltimore theatres as Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Rep Stage, Constellation Theatre Company, Everyman Theatre, Factory 449, Washington Stage Guild, Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, and the Maryland Lyric Opera. Jenny is Resident Intimacy & Fight Director for the Equity theatre Rep Stage. She is Associate Professor of Theatre at Howard Community College and serves as the Coordinator of the Theatre program.
Rachel McCombs-Graham
Instructor
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Rachel has been performing in a wide variety of makeup for over 15 years in professional theatre as well as gig-based walk around entertainment. Building on knowledge from her formal education, her experience has grown to include full face animal makeup, cirque style, character contour, age, combat injuries, and more. Rachel has been teaching stage makeup to children, teens, and adults for several years. The recent global events have moved her classes online, and she has had the opportunity to perfect the technique of teaching makeup classes over Zoom.
Colorado Acting Credits: Doubt, Sister James (Cherry Creek Theatre Company); Happy Days, Joanie (Aurora Fox at Stapleton); A Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck (Miner's Alley Playhouse); Alexander Who's Not...Going to Move, Title Character; No Dogs Allowed, Title Character (Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities); The Little Prince, Title Character; The Jungle Book, Baloo; Art Dog, Title Character; Rumpelstiltskin, Title Character; The Tomato Plant Girl, Title Character (Denver Children's Theatre).
Awards: 2013 Henry Award Nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play for Doubt (Cherry Creek Theatre Company); 2015 True West Award for Rumpelstiltskin (Denver Children's Theatre).
Training: Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Acting from The University of Northern Colorado.
Mia McCullough
Instructor
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Mia McCullough is an award-winning playwright who has been teaching playwriting and screenwriting for over 20 years. She has taught at Northwestern University, Carthage College, and Chicago Dramatists, and was teaching artist workshops in Chicago Public Schools for several years. Her plays have been produced around the US and in the UK. Her book, Transforming Reality, about the writing process is available at lulu.com.
Greg Poljacik
Instructor
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In addition to being the inventor of the secret recipe for Gravity & Momentum’s stage blood products, Greg Poljacik has been working as a teacher and choreographer for over a decade. He has been instrumental in the training of thousands of theater students and professionals worldwide and has provided award winning choreography for over two dozen theater companies in Chicago. Currently Greg teaches stage combat at The Second City Training Center in Chicago and is a Research Consultant in the field of Cognitive/Behavioral Neuroscience. Greg also has been a guest lecturer at Columbia University Chicago and has taught at Regional workshops across the country, including co-coordinating the Winter Wonderland Workshop, the largest stage combat conference in the US. Greg is a teacher with the United Stuntmen’s Association, a member of SAG/AFTRA, the Society of American Fight Directors, AGMA, and LBP stunts Chicago. All of his work in the art of stage combat follows the principles of “Safety, Story, Substance.”
Nigel Poulton
Instructor
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Nigel is an award-winning movement, fight and intimacy director/coordinator, SAG-AFTRA / MEAA stunt performer and actor with over 25 years of professional experience. Nigel is a certified Intimacy Coordinator with Intimacy Directors International (IDI), and Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC), an Instructor, Fight Director and past President of the Society of Australian Fight Directors Inc; a Certified Fight Director and Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors; an Honorary Fight Director with Fight Directors Canada; and has been certified with the British Academy of Dramatic Combat. Nigel has particular expertise in kinaesthetic movement processes and combat systems, classical, historical and adaptive swordplay, and edged weapon use. He has worked internationally over the last fifteen years, is a classically trained fencer under the tutorship of Maestri Ramon and Jeanette Martinez of the Martinez Academy of Arms, has trained and taught extensively in Historical European Martial Arts throughout the world, and has over 20 years experience in a variety of mainland and archipelago Asian martial systems. Nigel is also a practitioner of Vsevelod Meyerhold’s Theatrical Biomechanics system, having trained intensively with the system’s current custodian Gennadi Bogdanov.
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Siobhan Richardson
Instructor
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Siobhan has been in movement for over three decades, influenced by ballet, jazz, tap, modern, stage combat, Chinese kung fu, musical theatre, Western martial arts, Feldenkrais, animal flow, yoga and science. With over 25 years as a movement professional, various injuries have influenced my curiosity, and in some ways, the best part of going to physio is the exciting opportunity to nerd-out. Self-professed Body-Nerd, she got her first anatomy book at age 6, and continues to be fascinated with the body and mind, and the countless fascinating connections.
Instagram: @fighteractress
Facebook: /SiobhanRichardsonFighterActress
Ian Rose
Instructor
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IAN ROSE (FIGHT DIRECTOR) has arranged fights for commercials, film and stage, and been working in the New York and Philadelphia areas for over twenty-five years. Ian is a Fight Master with Fight Directors Canada and The Society of American Fight Directors. Ian has worked on Broadway (Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Liev Schrieber and Janet McTeer at the Booth), the Bridewell Theatre in London, MTM Studios in Rome, Riverside Shakespeare and Interborough Repertory Theatre in New York City, the Whole Theatre in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Theatre Company (Adrift in Macao, Chris Durang premiere) Equivocation and Streetcar Named Desire at the Arden and Hamlet and Octaroon at the Wilma. Ian's fights were featured in Philadelphia: The Great Experiment –Disorder. Ian was a Technical Advisor on the film A Winter’s Tale.