Fight Direction

Fight Direction is the art of safely and effectively creating and coordinating dramatic action - whether bloody brawls, elegant swordfights, hair - raising stunts, or historically accurate battles. Whether the script calls for slapping, falling down, or for more extensive physical conflict, the use of a fight director greatly improves the safety, believability and ease of performance of any fight or action sequence.

Joseph Travers

As a highly experienced fight director and action coordinator, Joe has created literally hundreds of action sequences - from one - on - one duels or fistfights to mass battle scenes and melees. Adept in the techniques of both live theatre and on - camera action, his approach helps the actors tell the story of the conflict safely and believably. He is a certified Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors(SAFD), and is the Founder and Managing Director of Swordplay, a NYC based training organization preparing professional actors for fights, stunts and action on stage and screen.

Critics have called his work, "flawless...breathtaking"; "amazingly real..."; "the most dynamic I've ever seen..." (for further press, as well as director's comments, see the "Reviews" page).

In addition to conceiving exciting choreography for armed and unarmed combat, Mr. Travers is well versed in a variety of techniques and subjects that can be taught and employed to add to the overall realism, fun and excitement of any fight or action scene.

Here is a sample list....

~ falls, rolls, fainting

~ stylized and period movement

~ physical comedy and clowning

~ commedia dell’Arte / lazzi

~ safe use of firearms

~ military history

~ weapon history and historical combat

~ special effects (blood, etc.)

~ stunts (jerk harness, minitram, high falls)

If you need a fight for your production, call Joe now at

(212) 726-2400!

or email Joe at the address below

Fight safe,

and always use

a fight director!

For concise resume or biographical info, click on the pages from the menu above. Thanks for visiting!