Dave Gonzalez
Dave Gonzalez is a fight director and physical theatre specialist in the city of Chicago. A long-time member of the Society of American Fight Directors, Dave's choreography has been seen across the country. His Chicago-area credits include Lookingglass Theatre, American Theatre Co, Piccolo Theatre, The Plagiarists, Elmhurst College, and Innervation Dance Cooperative. Dave has also lead workshop classes throughout the Midwest, in partnership with the Actor's Gymnasium, as well as at the Winter Wonderland Workshop, the largest regional stage combat workshop in the country. In addition to staffing and teaching at these workshops, Dave is the co-founder and co-coordinator of The Left Turn at Albuquerque, the only SAFD stage combat workshop in the southwest.
He was principally trained in stage combat by award-winning fight directors Paul Dennhardt and John Tovar. Since graduating in 2010 with a BA in Acting from Illinois State University; Dave has had the pleasure to work with fight directors and stunt coordinators such as Chuck Coyl, Nick Sandys, and Stage Combat Deutschland Co-Founder Matthias Fittkau. Dave is the only person in America to have a Certification of Assistance in Rapier & Cloak with Stage Combat Deutschland. As a stage combatant, he has performed with Chicago's Lyric Opera on multiple occasions, including a featured fight in the 2014 and 2018 productions of Il Trovatore.
In addition to his work as a fight director, Dave is a certified teacher with the American Society for the Alexander Technique, a method of enhancing the connection between the body and mind to decrease strain and tension. He began his journey in the Alexander Technique while at Illinois State, before certifying as a teacher under the tutelage of Master Teacher Daria Okugawa. While in training, Dave was able to hone his skills as a teacher by assisting classes at the School for Theatre Creators, headed by Paola Coletto.
Combining these two disciplines, Dave guides actors to a new level of physical story-telling. By focusing on the actor's awareness of the body, particularly the relationship of the head, neck, and spine, Dave teaches actors to fully embody each action and reaction their character lives out; while keeping everything the actor does a deliberate choice to express the story.
He was principally trained in stage combat by award-winning fight directors Paul Dennhardt and John Tovar. Since graduating in 2010 with a BA in Acting from Illinois State University; Dave has had the pleasure to work with fight directors and stunt coordinators such as Chuck Coyl, Nick Sandys, and Stage Combat Deutschland Co-Founder Matthias Fittkau. Dave is the only person in America to have a Certification of Assistance in Rapier & Cloak with Stage Combat Deutschland. As a stage combatant, he has performed with Chicago's Lyric Opera on multiple occasions, including a featured fight in the 2014 and 2018 productions of Il Trovatore.
In addition to his work as a fight director, Dave is a certified teacher with the American Society for the Alexander Technique, a method of enhancing the connection between the body and mind to decrease strain and tension. He began his journey in the Alexander Technique while at Illinois State, before certifying as a teacher under the tutelage of Master Teacher Daria Okugawa. While in training, Dave was able to hone his skills as a teacher by assisting classes at the School for Theatre Creators, headed by Paola Coletto.
Combining these two disciplines, Dave guides actors to a new level of physical story-telling. By focusing on the actor's awareness of the body, particularly the relationship of the head, neck, and spine, Dave teaches actors to fully embody each action and reaction their character lives out; while keeping everything the actor does a deliberate choice to express the story.
