It was quite an interesting challenge to do the fight choreography for Heathers: The Musical. The first fight, during the song “Fight for Me,” requires the actors to fight silently in slow motion while the other characters sing. This took away two of the fight choreographer’s most potent tools– vocalization and knapping. While initially I thought this would be an easy altercation to choreograph, the auditory restrictions caused me to modify my initial choreography and direct the three combatants to make both their attacks and physical reactions to the pain extremely clear. In the end, the fight resulted in a humorous, but realistic slow motion beating that toed the line between verisimilitude and camp, just as the director intended. Here are a few shots from the final dress rehearsal of the fight.

Heathers: The Musical. J.D. Blocks a strike and prepares a gut strike.

Heathers: The Musical: J.D. with a knockout!