2024 Instructors
Leraldo Anzaldua - SAFD Fight Director

LERALDO ANZALDUA is an Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC), a Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and a Fight Choreographer with Stage Directors & Choreographers society (SDC). Regional theatres worked with include: Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Playhouse. He has been a motion capture performer and fight director with Sony Pictures in Tokyo, Japan. He has been a Motion Capture Fight Director & Talent for video games in Stockholm & Uppsala, Sweden. He is also a Voice Over performer for anime with titles on Hulu, Netflix, Crunchyroll, HiDive, Cartoon Network: Adult Swim Notable titles include: Kei Tsukishima – Haikyu!, Ryo Kurokiba – Food Wars!, Noda – Angel Beats, Takashi Komuro – High School of the Dead, Largo – One Piece, and many more!
www.leraldoanzaldua.com
He has received a Master’s Degree in Acting from the University of Houston. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Movement and Stage Combat with the Dept of Theatre & Dance at Indiana University.
www.leraldoanzaldua.com
He has received a Master’s Degree in Acting from the University of Houston. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Movement and Stage Combat with the Dept of Theatre & Dance at Indiana University.
David Reed - SAFD Fight Director

David Reed is a director, educator, and stage movement professional currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. He has directed, choreographed, and trained professional and collegiate actors across the country, most recently working with Theatre Squared, Orlando Shakes, Riverside Theatre, and Orlando Family Stage. David is an Associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, a Certified Teacher and Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators.
Nicky Jasper - SAFD Certified Teacher

Nicky Jasper (she/they) is a Chicago-based Certified Teacher, fight choreographer, and performer. She is one of the co-founders and current Company Manager of Open Gate Movement Arts, a company whose mission is to provide high quality and accessible stage combat and movement training to the Chicago community. They are an Adjunct Professor in the Stage Combat department at Columbia College, as well as the Coordinator for the National Stage Combat Workshop.
Tom Ringberg - SAFD Certified Teacher

Tom Ringberg is a Certified Teacher, Stunt Coordinator, and fight choreographer in Minneapolis, MN. Ringberg is a graduate from Augsburg University with a BA degree in Theatre with a focus on performance, directing, and stage combat. Tom is also Firearms Instructor at The Modern Sportsman, a gun shop and range in Minnesota, and works as an armorer for the Twin Cities film industry.
Samantha Egle - SAFD Certified Teacher, IDC Intimacy Director

Samantha Egle (She/her/hers) is a movement director and instructor specializing in dramatic combat and intimacy for the stage. Samantha has been training and working as a fight director since 2009 and has more recently expanded her movement direction work to include intimacy for the stage. She focuses on building consent, facilitating communication and developing affecting moments of physical storytelling on stage. Her work has been seen on the stages of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver Children’s Theatre, Athena Project Festival, Lagoon Theme Park, New York Fringe Festival, The BiTSY Stage, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver and numerous other educational institutions in Colorado. She is the founder of Humble Warrior Movement Arts and consistently works supporting productions across the Rocky Mountain Front Range and facilitating in-person and virtual educational experiences. https://www.humblewarriormovement.com/
Patrick Kelly - SAFD Certified Teacher, Stunt Performer

Patrick is a professional martial artist, fight choreographer, action designer, stunt coordinator, performer and educator. He is on faculty at Indiana University-Bloomington where he has served as the Director of the Martial Arts Program since 2006. He has studied several martial arts including, Jun-fan Kickboxing, Wing Chun Gung Fu, Muay Thai, Savate, Kali/Escrima, Silat, Hapkido, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Fencing and Archery in addition to primitive and modern tactical firearms training. He has presented to the Indiana Department of Education establishing a teaching pedagogy for attribute development and skill acquisition in physical education programs. He also served as consultant and research designer for The Wick Lab, a study of the metabolic requirements and injury analysis for the John Wick movie franchise. He worked on the Stunt Team for the History Channel's Vikings and Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla television series. He has served as Stunt Coordinator and action design for several feature films including So Cold The River, starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Runner, directed by Marian Mathias, We Strangers, starring Kirby Howell-Baptiste and The Duel, starring Dylan Sprouse. Additionally, he has designed and performed action for docu-dramas, stage productions, music video and mo-cap. In what spare time he has Patrick enjoys cycling, hiking with his pack of dogs, kayaking, reading, and sleeping... when the coffee wears off.
Jessica Erin Bennett - SAG Stunt Performer

Jessica Erin Bennett is an Atlanta based Stunt Professional & Intimacy Director & Coordinator with credits such as, Stunt Doubling Billie Eilish on Swarm, Intimacy Coordinating shows such as The Big Door Prize, Swarm, & upcoming The Idea of You, Intimacy Direction for Nashville Rep's Fences and Nashville Symphony's The Jonah People, & Stunt Coordinating the Never Hike Alone Series & You're Killing Me on Showtime. Jessica can be found teaching at SAFD Regional Workshops, Acting Out Academy's Summer Camp, and Sweet Spot of the Flame's fireburn workshops. Jessica is also a founding member & Key Operations with Intimacy Professionals Education Collective (IPECIntimacy.com) where they offer movement based training for Intimacy Directors, Coordinators looking for certification & continued education. You can connect with Jessica on Instagram @jessicaebennett.
Ernesto Maldonado - Guest Instructor, HEMA

Ernesto Maldonado has studied historic fencing for 35 years, especially 16th and 17th century Italian and Spanish Martial arts, including attending and studying at 25 workshops in the US, Canada, and Italy, as well as studying Classical Italian fencing with the Fencing Masters Program at Sonoma.
Additionally, he has trained in and choreographed historic dance in re-enactment and Renaissance
Festival environments with a focus on Spanish Golden Age dance for the past year.
Additionally, he has trained in and choreographed historic dance in re-enactment and Renaissance
Festival environments with a focus on Spanish Golden Age dance for the past year.