instructors
Patricia Cotter
Patricia is a
professional actor, whose passion together with her combat training and
drama teaching, is the 'classics'. Having played most of Shakespeare's
gutsiest women, such as Juliet, Ophelia, Rosalind and many more for
the Shakespeare by the Sea Company; she has also toured for two years with the Bell Shakespeare Company, on their production of The Comedy of Errors and for their Actors At Work program. Recently she has played nurse Ally on All Saints, and a bare-knuckled fighting Russian terrorist for the ABC's Double the Fist.
She is proficient in Rapier & Dagger, Quarterstaff, unarmed combat,
broadsword etc. She is also a competent Harness Flyer (as
performed in Pan at the Capitol Theatre as Wendy Darling.) She is currently performing as Thaisa in Cut Theatre's Queen Lere.
Michael Pentecost
Michael Pentecost has worked in a stage combat role for various industry establishments, including The Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia and elsewhere, most recently assisting Lawrence Carmichael in the ABC's upcoming return season of Double the Fist (in which he also acted). Proficient in all weapon systems, he has taught students at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, The Actors' Centre, The Actors' College and at the school itself. Having trained as an actor at The Drama Studio, London, he was introduced to stage combat by the renowned John Waller.
He has performed in countless fight scenes throughout his acting career, not a few of them in plays by Shakespeare. Performing in a production of King Lear some six years ago, he met with Fight Director Lawrence Carmichael and was introduced to Kyle Rowling and the Sydney Stage Combat School, where he has worked and trained since, becoming an instructor in 2006. When not involved in acting or stage combat, Michael works for SBS Television.
