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Career Highlights: After Graduating from Temple University in Philadelphia,
Wisconsin born/Minnesota raised Waller and his wife settled in
Minneapolis as he set out to create a career as
a classical
actor. He worked with the American Players Theatre in Spring Green,
Wisconsin and the Shakespeare Festivals of Utah and Oregon. His fascination
for historical sword play grew into a specialty as a fight choreographer. He
came to the Potomac Region because this area is so rich in classical,
Shakespearean efforts. He found many opportunities with local productions as
well as the chance to teach at the Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for
Classical Acting where he a member of the faculty. He also handles fight
choreography for the Washington National Opera under Placido Domingo.
As
an historian, Waller concentrates on 16th century fighting techniques. He
holds a certificate in stage combat from the Society of American Fight
Directors, serves as Artistic Director of the International Order of the
Sword and the Pen, was guest curator of the Folger Library exhibit "The
Sword and the Pen" and has taught Stage Combat at The Shakespeare Theater
for over 10 years. His fight choreography for Richard III was
nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography in 1996.
His
expertise in classical elements of sword and blade work can be an important
part of the approach for a specific production. For example, he worked with
Director Molly Smith and Choreographer Baayork Lee at Arena Stage on
Camelot where his classical
elements were incorporated in the sword dance as well as the combat aspects
of the joust. At the Shakespeare Theatre his most recent project was
Lorenzaccio where director Michael Kahn wanted the final murder scene
between Jeffrey Carlson and Robert
Cuccioli to be an "intimate act of violence" rather than a swashbuckling
event.
Sometimes he is called in on a specific scene or aspect of a production even
though the show is being choreographed by another. For example, he worked on
the Shakespeare Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream under director Mark Lamos who wanted a scene in
and around an on-stage pool of water where, as we said in
our review at the time, the "two pairs of lovers can't keep their hands and
lips off each other in ... the unsoiled equivalent of a mud wresting
exposition."
Waller's work at Arena Stage included True West where director Howard
Shalwitz told him in their first meeting "I want you to trash the set" in
the final fight between Todd Cerveris and Ted Koch so as to make it the
ultimate expression of sibling rivalry. "Most directors start off saying you
can't damage the set - what a joy it was to be brought in early enough that
we designed the set around the damage we needed to do" says Waller.
Potomac
Stages reviews of his work of as of 2-1-05:
Lorenzaccio - Shakespeare Theatre
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration
The Light
of Excalibur - Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration
The
Matchmaker - Ford's Theatre
Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof - Kennedy Center
Five by
Tenn - Shakespeare Theatre
Camelot
- Arena Stage
Shakespeare in Hollywood - Arena Stage
The
Rivals - Shakespeare Theatre
Ma Rainey’s
Black Bottom - Arena Stage
True
West - Arena Stage
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