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Meron Langsner

Meron Langsner was one of three writers in the country selected for the pilot year of the National New Play Network Emerging Playwrights Residencies, fulfilling his residency at the New Repertory Theatre. His work has been performed around the country and overseas, and developed at the Lark Play Development Center in NYC, the Last Frontier Theatre Conference (where he has also been a Featured Artist), and the New England Regional ACTF Festival. Publishers of his plays include Bloomsbury, Smith & Kraus, Applause, Routledge, and YouthPLAYS. As a fight director, he has composed violence for more than 175 productions, films, and tours, in venues that include the American Repertory Theater, Merrimack Rep, New Rep, and Ensemble Studio Theatre, as well as for PBS. His scholarship on stage violence and movement has been published by McFarland, The Fight Master, The Theatre Times, and other imprints. He holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU/Tisch, an MFA in Playwriting from Brandeis, and a PhD in Theatre History from Tufts University (where he won the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education), as well as an Executive Certificate in Finance from Cornell. He did his undergraduate work at Carnegie Mellon and SUNY Buffalo.  Meron is an alum of the play development programs of Project Y and Athena Theatre.  Member: Dramatists Guild, SAFD: Society of American Fight Directors, IDI: Intimacy Directors International.

Writing the Fight
Essay

Writing the Fight

What Playwrights and Dramaturgs Need to Know About Staging Violence—Part 2

21 March 2014

Stage combat is the art of creating the illusion of violence for the sake of storytelling. Some illusions are easier and/or less expensive than others. One thing I’ve found myself saying many times is that the difference between one character pulling a knife on another versus breaking a bottle and threatening to attack them with the broken base is hundreds of dollars.

Writing the Fight
Essay

Writing the Fight

Part 1 of 2

7 March 2014

What Playwrights and Dramaturgs Need to Know About Staging Violence. These two articles are based on a workshop I’ve taught at venues that include ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education), Region I KC/ACTF (Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival) , The Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and other organizations. The idea for it was based both in the experience of fight directing premieres of new plays and from my own experiences in the classroom during my MFA in playwriting.

Crossed rapiers.
Despite All of His Contributions to Modern Stage Combat, Ridolfo Capo Ferro Was NOT a Fight Director
Essay

Despite All of His Contributions to Modern Stage Combat, Ridolfo Capo Ferro Was NOT a Fight Director

30 November 2013

Meron Langsner compares his knowledge of the sports combat and stage combat to better articulate the purposes of stage combat.  

Portrait of Meron Langsner.
Fightaturgy
Essay

Fightaturgy

Towards a Dramaturgy of Stage Violence

11 November 2013

Dramatically motivated fight choreography makes the audience lean forward in their seats. “Fightaturgy” matters.  

Why Everyone Should Study Stage Combat
Essay

Why Everyone Should Study Stage Combat

10 November 2013

Meron Langsner shares insight into the difficulty and importance of creating a successful combat scene. 

Understanding Stage Combat
List

Understanding Stage Combat

A survey of short readings addressing both pragmatic and dramaturgical concerns in violence design.