PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 21, No. 19, May 2, 2002

The sword play's the thing

By Melissa Mitchell, News Bureau Staff Writer
(217) 333-5491; melissa@illinois.edu

Photo by Bill Wiegand Gotcha! Mary Foran (right) delivers a well-directed hit to Philip Herrington during their stage combat class. They were practicing under the watchful eye of Robin McFarquhar in the outdoor amphitheater at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

If Robin McFarquhar were to chart his life on a timeline, "The Three Musketeers" would make a dramatic appearance … not once, not twice, but thrice.

"If you believe in synchronicity, curiously enough, the only film I recall watching during my undergraduate days [at the Loughborough University of Technology in London] was ‘The Three Musketeers,’ " said the Illinois theater professor who has spent the past two decades schooling actors in the fine art of swash-buckling, sword play and all manner of stage combat.

"I still remember the opening sequence, and exactly where I was sitting in the theater, in the balcony," McFarquhar said. And oddly enough, several years later when he was at something of a career crossroads, McFarquhar found himself in the balcony of another theater, in Louisville, Ky., where he was watching another performance of "The Three Musketeers." This time, it was a stage production, in which McFarquhar’s girlfriend was performing.

McFarquhar was employed at the time by the UI theater department. He had come to Illinois from London, where he was born and raised, to study sports psychology in the kinesiology department, and was working on a doctorate in movement psychology. But David Knight, then head of the theater department, threw McFarquhar a curve ball when he offered him a full-time position teaching movement classes. The would-be kinesiologist waffled, unsure of which career path to continue along.

"It was a difficult decision, because I knew if I said yes, I would never work in kinesiology," McFarquhar said. "But then I had one of those synchronistic moments again. I remember sitting in the balcony in that theater in Louisville saying, ‘I want to do this!’ "

And so he did. In 1990, McFarquhar found himself in another theater, watching yet another production featuring the escapades of D’Artagnan and company. But this time the actors – in a UI theater department production at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts – were performing moves that McFarquhar had choreographed.

Photo by Bill Wiegand Rare talent Illinois theater professor Robin McFarquhar is one of only three or four dozen people nationwide certified as a teacher and fight director by the Society of American Fight Directors.

"It was wonderful because I had all these actors around me who I knew could fight," he said. "It was fun, but incredibly challenging."

And McFarquhar is always up for a good challenge. Among the toughest, he said, are situations in which one of the actors has a good sense of movement, but his or her foil does not. With such a mismatch, even the best fight choreographer’s plans for the scene can fizzle, and sometimes have to be scratched altogether.

"Often the best stage fighters, if they have dance or basketball training, have some sort of awareness of their bodies," he said. Those individuals, naturally, are a pleasure to work with. Still, McFarquhar derives satisfaction from the shaping and molding process required when working with less physically inclined actors.

"I like to watch the development of students over the years," he said. "Even if someone comes in with very little physical acting background, I can give them a lot of skills by the time they leave. That’s the joy of what I do."

And while what he does involves a mix of fun and games, laced with loads of illusion, McFarquhar is well aware that it’s still serious business. That’s because the swords, rapiers, daggers, knives, guns and other weapons used on stage are the genuine article, not plastic imitations.

"In all the work I’ve done, I’ve never had a serious accident," he said, quick to add that bruises, scratches and strained muscles don’t count. "That almost goes with the territory. My job is to make it all as safe as I possibly can so no serious accidents occur. I want to make actors look out of control in a way that they’re in control of their out-of-controlledness."

Since 1983, McFarquhar has directed the movements of nearly every student who’s been through the UI’s professional acting program. Undergraduates and grad students alike are required to take a year of course work in movement and stage combat with McFarquhar. They’re also required to take courses he teaches in circus arts, acrobatics and masks. At the end of their training in stage movement and combat – which includes all manner of physical stage violence – students are tested by an outside adjudicator from the Society of American Fight Directors. Those who pass muster receive stage-combat certification, a resume credential that ultimately enhances their chances of landing professional roles down the road.

McFarquhar himself is one of only three or four dozen people nationwide certified as a teacher and fight director by the society. And by all accounts, he’s among the best in the business.

"He’s the best there is, and very creative," said Joe Foust, a Chicago-based actor and fight choreographer who studied with McFarquhar at the university. "There isn’t anyone who can touch him – especially when it comes to court-sword fighting. He excels in that," said Foust, who described a court sword as "an incredibly intricate sword that looks like a long needle," and requires actors to make stealthy, cat-like moves.

The Illinois alumnus added that he is awe-inspired by his former teacher’s overabundance of energy and ability to focus on multiple projects simultaneously.

Photo by Bill Wiegand Practicing what you teach In addition to teaching at Illinois, Robin McFarquhar (left) frequently serves as fight choreographer for productions staged at some of the top theatrical venues in Chicago.

"And he has that Dick Clark wonder-youth syrup. What is he, 68 now?" Foust quipped. Getting serious again, Foust said, "Robin has so much to offer. I could’ve studied with him for 12 years and still kept learning. He’s amazing. He’s working constantly, but he’s always willing to put in extra time with his students. He’s even acted in student shows."

In addition to teaching at Illinois, McFarquhar frequently serves as fight choreographer for productions staged at some of the top theatrical venues in Chicago – the Steppenwolf, Goodman, Court and Chicago Shakespeare theaters among them. His credits include the American premieres of "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Libertine," starring John Malkovich, at the Steppenwolf, as well as that theater’s Tony Award-winning production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," starring Gary Sinise. He also has directed fight choreography at Shakespeare festivals in Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Virginia. Among his professional credits, he counts more than 75 Shakespeare productions, including 10 runs of "Romeo and Juliet."

Most recently, McFarquhar worked with cast members of "The Royal Family," which opened April 18 at the Steppenwolf. Actor David New, who engages in a round of playful dueling in that play, praised McFarquhar as "one of the best I’ve ever worked with."

"The extraordinary thing about Robin is his humility as a creative artist in the presence of the text," New said. "Most fight choreographers tend to be creative and inventive, but they are not always in tone with the story. Robin has this incredible sense of what is right in terms of the fighting onstage. He’s a great collaborator as well," said New, explaining that McFarquhar welcomes input from the actors.

Some of the actors McFarquhar works with in Chicago are former students.

"One of the great pleasures of what I do is that I can help students get work," he said, "but sometimes students have helped me," McFarquhar said. In fact, his first big break in Chicago resulted when a former student recommended him for a job.

"One of the things that’s unique about theater is that it’s very much a business of networking, especially in Chicago. People like to work with people they know, so the thing is not to offend anyone."

By this point in his career, McFarquhar hardly needs to worry about that.

"The fight directors in Chicago all know each other," he said. And up there, the running joke – repeated in a tone that drips with good-natured sneering – McFarquhar said, is "Robin gets all the big shows, and his students get most of the others."

There appears to be a good bit of truth to that statement. "I haven’t sent out a resume in a while," McFarquhar said. People call me."

Calling next is the Utah Shakespearean Festival, where he heads this summer to work alongside Kathleen Conlin, dean of the UI College of Fine and Applied, who has worked as a resident director and casting director at the festival for several seasons. Joining them will be UI theater professors Henson Keyes, Leslie Brott and Bob Anderson, along with a handful of current students and alumni.

This season’s rotation includes "Othello," "Twelfth Night," "Cymbeline," "As You Like It" and "I Hate Hamlet."

"It’s a great festival," said McFarquhar, who must have been more than a little relieved to learn that "Romeo and Juliet" is not among the plays on the bill this year.