Summer Spotlight: Eliana Tate

    Our final student summer spotlight is Eliana Tate (she/her, ‘24), who attended the National Stage Combat Workshop this summer in Ruston, Louisiana! This year, Eliana was accepted into the Advanced Actor Combatant Workshop after four years of training with the Society of American Fight Directors. Over the course of this three-week intensive, Eliana was able to renew three of her weapon certifications, take the theatrical firearms certification course again, receive 30 hours of training in four different weapon disciplines, and then at the end of the workshop, test and receive certifications in those four weapons.

    This was Eliana’s third time attending the NSCW and she says she keeps going back for “the incredible people you get to train with. You make so many new friends from all over the place who love creating the same art as you. Then, you get the chance to play and explore together for three weeks which makes for a simply incredible experience. This year, the AACW had sixteen students and it was the best cohort I could’ve asked for. We also had the privilege of having two Fight Masters as our instructors, Geoffrey Kent and Robert Westley. They brought an atmosphere of graciousness, patience, and humor, not to mention decades of professional knowledge and skill, to class which made our very long days zany and constructive.”

Having a cohesive and energetic group of people to learn from and train with made the stressful elements of the workshop, mainly rapid renewals and multiple tests, far more enjoyable and worthwhile. In reflection, Eliana has realized that “while receiving multiple certifications in such a short amount of time was rewarding and fulfilling, the friendships and connections, memories, professional knowledge, training, and the opportunity to grow as a performer were what made this experience especially valuable.”

If you’d like to explore more of Eliana’s stage combat work and training, you can do so here!