Many of you may remember Cry Havoc from a few years ago. It was a a huge hit and we all had an amazing time doing. Swords, chairs, bo staffs, fists and broadswords. You name it and we fought with it.

Well the time has come again and we’re about start rehearsal for Cry Havoc 2!

Keep posted for some pics, videos and show times and be ready to see some awesome!

And for those who need their memories refreshed, here’s some footage from the last show!

StC got a pretty nice write up in The Calgary Journal to too long ago.

Thanks a lot to Kate French for writing such a great ad!

Clicky clicky!

Its been a busy few months at StC, so lets not mince words and get right down to it. Here’s what’s new in the Crowd…

- The broadsword workshop went off without a hitch and I was thrilled with fights that all the students put together by the end of the weekend. Nicely done one and all!

- As a result of said workshop, StC is the proud owner of a half dozen new broadswords which will be available for rental. They’re gorgeous and have held up better than I could have dreamed to the rigors of combat. I’ll be throwing up a link to the supplier soon, keep your eyes open. And don’t let the website fool you… these weapons are awesome!

- The Members page is up! You can check it out on the side bar. Not a member yet? Better keep your eye peeled for the next StC throw down and get ready to get dirty!

So what’s next?

- A new rentals page will be up soon showing off the available stock to be rented out for your show or costume!

- A couple of secret projects are in the pipe right now. I can’t get into too much details, but keep your eyes open for some updates soon. Spoiler alert: Assassins in the woods and Zombies walking the streets of Calgary!

- StC will getting a make-over sometime soon. Check back for the new look!

- You all remember that photo shoot I mentioned? The final pictures are coming in slowly. The gallery should be up soon but here’s a little something to whet your whistle:

This Sunday is going to see the StC crew powdered and pretty taking a bunch of photos for StC media. Some of them will be stock photos, some will be just cool pictures to put up on the site.

Many thanks to all the people who are offering their time and their smiles for the effort and, of course, special thanks go out to Dave and Abigail for story boarding this whole thing and doing all the photos and post-pro work.

Likewise, a bit thanks to John Knight for donating the space.

If you’ve got some free time Sunday, come on down, it’ll be one of the rare opportunities where we empty the entire weapon’s shed and have’em all laid out! Quite a sight!

Registration for the Broadsword combat and Choreography workshop is over and I’m looking forward to getting it going! The swords I’ve ordered for it are beautiful and they’ll make a great edition to StC’s weapons shed.

Keep your eyes open for pictures and maybe some video from the workshop.

Learn the fundamentals of broadsword combat in Shake the Crowd’s

Broadsword Combat & Choreography workshop

Award winning fight choreographer, Aaron Conrad, teaches the principals of fight choreography as well as the use and application of this incredible weapon for the stage and screen.

All skill levels are welcome, from seasoned professionals to first timers who want to learn this art form, Shake the Crowd invites one and all to come and participate in this amazing workshop.

Space is limited so get your applications in soon!

The workshop will run:

April 17^th: 7 ~ 10pm

April 18^th: 12 ~ 4:30pm

April 19^th: 12 ~ 5pm

Registration is $250 for the entire weekend including equipment rentals.

Registration deadline is April 1^st with space filling fast.

Register before March 23^rd and receive a $25 early-bird discount!

What you’ll need:

Appropriate dress in the form of jogging pants, track pants, etc. Something you can move around in. No large earrings, bracelets, buckles, watches or jewellery.

A water bottle… trust me.

Energy and enthusiasm!

To register or for more details:

Call: 403.714.5771

Email: aaron@shakethecrowd.com

NOTE:

Shake the Crowd’s credit card system is still on the fritz, for now payment will only be accepted in cash, cheque or money order. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please call or email if you’d like to discuss payment options.

Aaron Conrad

Check out our website for details!

www.shakethecrowd.com

Scorpio Theatre Did a show called ‘Cry Havoc!’ last year and I was thrilled to be the fight choreographer for such an amazing project with such a tremendously talented group of fighters.

Here are some shots of the rehearsal period for that show (Performance shots coming later!)

Scorpio Theatre is in rehearsal for their newest show ‘Lost Time.’ I ducked in last night and took a look at some of the violence that will highlight the climax of the show.

Nothing says drama like a good old fashioned torture scene!

The show runs April 2-4, 8:00 PM, April 5, 2:00 PM, April 8-11, 8:00 PM

Leave it to Erin and Michelle to give me one of the stranger gigs I’ve had lately.

Their entry into the Regional One Act Play Festival is a short, one woman show called ‘Spiders in my grapes.’ During the show the protagonist gets into a high flying, albeit ridiculous, bo staff (Re: broom) fight against a giant imaginary spider.

After a few hours of working staff techniques and adapting them to a rickety old straw broom I’m happy to say that the piece is just the right combination of fun and effective.

The festival runs from March 4th through 7th, 7:30 nightly at the Pumphouse Theatre. Spiders plays March 5th.

I spent the afternoon today at Diefenbaker High School teaching an intro to fight choreography workshop for a Drama 10 class. We had a great time and I think everyone involved was happy with the experience.

This marks the 4th high school for the CBE that I’ve done and I’m hoping this will become a more regular thing. I got my start in fight choreography many moons ago while I was in High School. An actor named ‘Edward Belanger’ did a rapier fighting workshop for our production of ‘The Juliet Letters’ and I was hooked ever since. Its nice the way things come full circle sometimes.

Similarly I’m doing some choreography for a few upcoming shows. One for Scorpio Theatre and one for some good friends of mine who are doing a show at the One Act Festival. Both cases are pretty light lifting and their respective directors have done most of the work already, they just want an outside eye to come in and give some pointers.

Both shows are gonna be great and I’ll be throwing some reminders up later!