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Who We Are
NYCSS is committed to creating skilled, informed performers.
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We are, first and foremost, a company and network of both union and non-union performers, instructors, and directors.

Jared Kirby, certified fight director, took his 25 years of professional work and 100s of productions and founded New York Combat for Stage and Screen. He poured those years of experience and acquired knowledge about combat, acting, and the productions process into creating an organization that provides that knowledge and experience to both performers and productions. Since then, NYCSS has grown into a full cadre of fight directors, certified instructors, and fight performers who are available to choreograph, teach, or perform.

Our Approach, Mission, and Values

With over 30 years of experience in fight choreography and training actors, NYCSS is ready to help actors hone their craft and aid productions in navigating staged violence. We can best equip you and your whole production to safely incorporate violence as a storytelling tool.

Our Vision

Creating moments of violence that have a purpose beyond shock value, that tell the story when words fail.

 

Our Goal

Help tell your story effectively while working in a safe and replicable environment.

 
 

Our Passion

Educate and guide performers to use violence as a story-telling tool, enhancing individual performances and entire productions.

 
 
Classes & Workshops
Fight Direction

Understanding the Struggle of the Fight

“Under duress, we do not rise to our expectations – we fall to the level of our training.” - Bruce Lee

Struggle is a human concept, a human reality. We all experience struggles in living and struggles in dying. As storytellers, we incorporate, we weave that struggle into our tales. The struggle is why we tell these stories. The struggle in the fight reveals more than simply character, than simply telling a story – it reveals our humanity.

Coming from a background of martial arts as well as performance, NYCSS brings the two worlds together by grounding fights with martial reality and extrapolating character driven violence from that foundation.

"Should I reach out to NYCSS?"

Who should train with us?

This training is perfect for stage and screen actors, dancers, opera performers, directors and any kind of storytellers. It’s imperative that everyone learns how to use violence to enhance the characters and advance the story. We welcome all skill levels!

Learn More About Our Training

What things do we teach?

Our classes include unarmed combat and a variety of weapons, as well as acting based performance seminars.

See Our Class Schedule

Who hires us?

NYCSS is ready to fight direct and choreograph violence in your production to help tell your story – any director or producer with violence or intimacy in their upcoming production needs qualified, skilled choreographers and performers to execute their vision to the fullest extent possible.

More About Fight Direction

The Core of NYCSS

Training with NYCSS incorporates physical training to build martial skill while educating performers to make strong, actable choices in their violence. Coming from a background of martial arts as well as performance, NYCSS brings the two worlds together by grounding fights with martial reality and extrapolating character driven violence from that foundation.

We are available for hire as performers, choreographers, or consultants. We are committed to helping your personal performance and your production succeed regardless of budget, location, or experience level.