Rodney Rice (He/Him)
Associate Instructor (AI)
Rodney is an Actor and Fight Choreographer based out of Ypsilanti, MI. He is recognized as an Advanced Actor-Combatant by the Society of American Fight Directors (where he is also the representative for Actor-Combatants and Friends on the Governing Body) and you can typically find him venturing around to any stage combat workshop he sets his sights on. In the Michigan acting scene, you’ll catch him working with the Neighborhood Theatre Group and auditioning around the SE Michigan Area.
Tommy Wedge (HE/HIM)
Associate Instructor (AI)
Tommy Wedge is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre at Saginaw Valley State University where he's been active teaching, stage managing, and directing. Recent directing credits include NEXT TO NORMAL, NOISES OFF, URINETOWN, A DOLL HOUSE, NO. 6, MACBETH, MAMMA MIA!, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, and STICK FLY. Tommy holds an MFA in Directing from The University of South Dakota and a BS in Theatre from South Dakota State University. Professional memberships include Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), The Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and The Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) where Tommy holds the rank of Advanced Actor Combatant. SAFD awards include Best Performer Award (ACW: 2016, AACW: 2021) and the Paddy Crane Award (2023).
Firen Williams (She/they)
Associate Instructor (AI)
Firen is a Pacific Northwest based Advanced Actor Combatant who specializes in both the development and application of martial skill and theatrical composition. She is a fight choreographer and teacher, as well as an active and consistent martial artist and stage combatant. She lives in Eastern Washington and co-owns The Pen & Sword, LLC, a company dedicated to teaching and choreographing stage combat throughout the country. You can expect her to bring laser focus, precise attention to detail, a compassionate demeanor, and a thriving passion for the art form to any space! Outside of stage combat, she loves to make things via sewing, wood burning, book-binding, and more. She loves DnD, writing plays, and training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!
Pierce Williams (H)
Associate Instructor (AI)
Pierce is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the SAFD that is operating out of South East Washington. Pierce is a Kru in Muay Thai and holds the rank of Yakan Isa in Pekiti Tirsia Kali. He is also a Knight in the Society for Creative Anachronism. Pierce is the Co Owner of The Pen & Sword, LLC next to his amazing wife Firen Williams!
Chloé Whiting Stevenson (she/her)
Teaching Assistant (TA)
Chloé is an adjunct professor, director, devisor, fight and dance choreographer, storyteller, performer, circus artist, mask maker, and Butoh dancer located in the Midwest. She is co-owner of Birds Eye View Circus in Toledo Ohio, where she teaches aerial arts for adults, teens, and youths. She also performs, choreographs, and produces with the Birds Eye View Circus Troupe. Chloé holds an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo Italy and an MA in Theatre History from Illinois State University. She is a registered Advanced Actor Combatant with the SAFD, 200 Hour RYT Yoga instructor, certified Level I Elemental Body Alignment System Instructor, and an insured aerialist and stilt walker. She has performed in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Nicaragua, France, Wales, and across the USA. Chloe’s passion for teaching, collaboration, community, human bodies in motion, and communication is what brought her to share the exciting opportunities that stage combat, physical theatre, and circus arts has to offer.
Steve Xander Carson (He/Him)
Teaching Assistant (TA)
Steve Xander Carson (he/him) is a metro Detroit-based fight choreographer, actor, and teaching artist. Recently, he has taught and choreographed fights for the Shakespeare in Detroit youth summer conservatory production of Julius Caesar, their after school program, as well as performing in their professional production of The Tempest as Stephano. He has also been seen fighting at the Michigan Renaissance Festival and Grand Rapids Symphony. In his free time he can be found snuggling his cats and playing DnD.
Raul Alvarado (He/him)
Teaching Assistant (TA)
Yes
Sarah Vicary (She/Her)
Staff Coordinator
Sarah Vicary has been practicing and performing stage combat, mostly with the Michigan Renaissance Festival for the past 9 years, over that time she has been able to train at many of the mid-west regional workshops, to expand her experiences. In addition to being a part of the Michigan Renaissance festivals resident cast fight shows, she is their costumer developing the new look as they transition to a Fantasy festival, from a historic-based festival. Most recently she has accepted the role of Captain McMorris in Henry V for Livonia’s Shakespeare in the Park.
Mia Baker (They/Them)
Production Assistant
Mia is a Michigan Renaissance Festival pirate and lover of weapons. They enjoy long walks on the beach, causing problems, and swinging swords.
Amanda Buchalter (she/They)
Production Assistant
Amanda Buchalter is an award-winning actor, director, and stage manager with experience in theatre, film, and voiceover. As a member of the SAFD, she is in pursuit of certification as a combatant and teacher, and would like to work as both a combat and intimacy coordinator in the near future. It is Amanda's core belief that collaboration and connection are an integral part of any storytelling format. Part of being able to facilitate that integral sense of togetherness is maintaining a safe space, and education empowers us to do that.
Izzy Chilian (she/Her)
Production Assistant
Izzy Chilian (she/her) is an actor hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is in her final year of getting her BFA in Acting at the University of Michigan. Over this past summer, she attended the Advanced Actor Combatant track at the National Stage Combat workshop in Ruston, Louisiana. Most recently, she played Casca in Julius Caesar and Fluffy #1 in Imogen Says Nothing by Aditi Kapil. In her free time, she LOVES gardening and crochet!
Chriss Knight (She/Her)
Production Assistant
Chriss is an enthusiastic student of Theatrica Gladiatoria and is incredibly proud to be involved with Mitten Mayhem again. She helped design the shirt for the event and her favorite weapons to work with are knives and daggers.
Heather melville (She/They)
Workshop Medic
Heather Melville is a student and performer of movement and stage combat and theatre, as well as fire spinning. She studies with Theatrica Gladiatoria in unarmed, single sword, long sword, quarterstaff, and rapier and dagger. Her most recent performance was as the Duke of Cambridge in Henry V, with Livonia Shakespeare in the Park. Her pedagogy is based more in health care than performance, but she holds a doctorate in nursing and certificate in higher education from the University of Michigan.
Brie Sanders (She/They)
Production Assistant
Brie Sanders (She/They) is from Ypsilanti, MI. She will be reprising her role as a production assistant again this year. They are thrilled to learn and practice alongside the amazing students. Brie enjoys finding the martial motivation in fights and learning new ways to use her whole body to portray the emotion inside of a scene.
Brittany Batell (She/Her)
Production Assistant
Brittany Batell is an actor, director, and applied improvisation instructor in the Ann Arbor area. She began stage combat training with Theatrica Gladiatoria in 2022.
Kyndra Wojciechowski (Any)
Production Assistant
Kyndra has been doing stage combat for the past seven years, and is a founding member of Theatrica Gladitoria. They have an ever growing love of sinking their teeth into the juicy delicious meat of the stage combat world, refining techniques both martial and theatrical, and spending time with some of the best people she has had the honor of meeting (and fighting with).
She enjoys the intermittent forays into theatre, plays violin with both the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra and Dexter Community Orchestra, and spins flag with the occasional drum corps. She loves finding the connections between all the things that they do, and eating well.
wyatt Woodside (he/HIM)
Production Assistant
Wyatt has been a student of both theater and martial arts all his life. He has a 3rd degree black belt in Hap Ki Do and was an instructor for many years. He has been training hard in the world of stage combat with Theatrica Gladiatoria for the last two years. He is excited that a workshop is coming to his home theater the Riverside Arts center and is happy to lend a hand to make that happen!
Dylan Swanson (She/Her)
Production Assistant
Dylan performs with the Raven’s Quill Pirates at various renaissance festivals.