‘DUEL’ ENROLLMENT: GUINN SHOWS LOUISIANA TECH STUDENTS THE ROPES OF STAGE COMBAT By Dave Guerin For Mark Guinn and his theatre and stage combat students, the pen is not mightier than the sword. Since joining the faculty in 1991, Guinn, a professor of lighting design, scene design, and stage combat in Louisiana Tech’s School of Performing Arts, has been developing a nationally-renowned theatre movement program which is preparing students to perform and direct stage combat at the highest levels. His experience as a director, designer, and fight director spans thirty years and has brought him into theaters and venues all over the world. “I love that I am a member of a richly supportive community that creates opportunities for the growth and development of artists and ideas,” said Guinn. In addition to his teaching and mentorship of aspiring stage artists, Guinn is also responsible for establishing one of the nation’s most respected and well-attended stage combat workshops. “Stage Combat Workshop@Louisiana Tech” has trained over 1,000 students from across the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, and France. It has also provided a venue for over 250 teachers from the U.S., Japan, Canada, England, and Australia. “The workshop started as a small regional gathering held in Louisiana Tech’s Howard Auditorium over a
weekend, twenty years ago,” recalls Guinn. “I had small, but enthusiastic classes filled with students hungry to be swashbucklers. Since that first workshop, interest and attendance has grown exponentially.” Stage Combat Workshop@ Louisiana Tech celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and featured 23 master teachers sharing their knowledge and stage combat expertise in single sword, broadsword, rapier and dagger, sword and shield, small sword, knife, quarterstaff, bullwhips, and falls and rolls. Guinn received a Bachelor of Arts from Centre College of Kentucky and a Master of Fine Arts from Memphis State University. He is a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Certified Teacher with the British Academy of Stage and
Screen Combat. This past fall, Guinn received Louisiana Tech’s University Senate Chair Award, which is awarded annually to a full-time tenured faculty member whose research, teaching and service are seen as significant contributions to the mission and purpose of the university. In his nomination packet, Guinn talked about his service to the community through his area of expertise. “As an active artist in the theater, I strive to provide a professional model of the theater artist that incorporates these ideals,” he said. “From the elucidation of principles in the classroom to the challenge of choices in the design studios and rehearsals, I find the teacher-mentor life a richly rewarding experience that exists within and beyond the classroom.”
Photo courtesy of Louisiana Tech
Workforce Impacts LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY •
Louisiana Tech was ranked as the top university in the state and among the top 30 of all universities in the southern United States in mid-career median pay for graduates (2011-12 College Salary Report from PayScale.com.)
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Over the past five years, Louisiana Tech has averaged between 12 and 23 Reports of Invention (ROI) per $10 million in research expenditures – well above the national average of 4 ROIs.
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Over the past ten years, Louisiana Tech graduates have had a collective, statewide earning impact of nearly $1 billion.
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Louisiana Tech recently ranked #2 in the nation amongst academic institutions in terms of innovation productivity and rate of generating new start-up companies (when normalized based upon institutional research expenditures.)
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Louisiana Tech is one of only two public Tier One “National Universities” in Louisiana, according to US News & World Report’s 2012 Best Colleges Report.
Louisiana Tech University – Nine Universities Strong
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