Selected Choreography Credits

• Knife/Unarmed. Fang Feature Film, Sky View Productions

• Broadsword/Knife. The Wayward War, Odd’s Bodkins

• Unarmed. Cabaret, Dunes Theatre

• Found Weapon/Unarmed. Hades Short Film, Free Chicken Productions

• Smallsword. Assassination at Midnight Short Film, CCC Practicum

selected performance credits

• Unarmed/Baton. Jurassic World Live! Tour, Feld Entertainment

• Single Sword/Rapier/Smallsword. Fight Quest: Game of Thrones, Otherworld Theatre

• Broadsword. Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl Poet/Raven Theatre

• Unarmed/Quarterstaff. Phaedra: Released, Poetry Is Festival

• Smallsword/Knife. Nobody’s Wench, Fury Theatre

selected assistant credits

• Unarmed. The Mousetrap, Court Theatre

• Unarmed/Gun Wrangler. Conrad Series Pilot, Volition Entertainment

• Unarmed. Medea: Rewritten, Poetry Is Festival

Choreography- The Process

From The Source

• Kellen’s approach to choreography stems from the script’s text in addition to what is wanted from the creative team. Every violent action choreographed helps move the story forward— like characters who sing in a musical, characters only fight when words can no longer do the job.

First Steps

• Starting with a meeting with the creative team, she talks through what the wants, vision, and necessary story beats in each moment of violence are.

• She talks to the actors involved in the moments of violence and asks questions to assist in building the fight, like combat experience, movement restrictions, and comfort level. She takes the responsibility of making the violence look real and engaging (while also remaining safe) very seriously!

Building The Violence

• Taking everything she’s learned, she choreographs the moments of violence to best suit the needs of the script, creative team, and the actors all together.

• For particularly complicated moments of violence, like full fights or difficult sequences, Kellen films examples and writes down the moves step by step- then sets up a google drive for all involved to reference when rehearsing.

Teaching The Choreography

• Kellen has extensive experience teaching and working with actors ranging from people who have never done any stage combat/movement to other Advanced Actor Combatants! She adapts her teaching style to each student— everyone learns differently.

• Her teaching style tends to be a mix of explanation, showing with her own movement, and verbal examples/similes- all the while keeping it lighthearted and fun!

• While encouraging actors to push through and conquer something new or difficult, she never makes actors do any movement that is uncomfortable or unattainable— there is always a way to tweak the choreography to the actor.

Training

• Kellen graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a minor in Stage Combat and her Advanced Actor Combatant status within the Society of American Fight Directors. Since then, she has continued her training in the stunt world as well, understanding that the needs of theatre and film are very different!

• Teachers:

  David Woolley- Unarmed, Rapier & Dagger, Sword & Shield, Knife, Smallsword, Quarterstaff, Hollywood Single Sword

  John MacFarland- Broadsword, Rapier & Dagger, Knife, Sword & Shield

• Since graduating, she has continued her training with some of the best stunt coordinators in the city. She also makes sure to attend the MACE Winter Wonderland Workshop every January to continue to train as well as get together and train with her fellow Advanced Actor Combatants and other stunt performers frequently.