Michael J. Johnson

As a fight director, Michael has worked in NYC at the Epic Theatre, Fluid Motion, Sonnett Rep and the Lady Cavalier Theatre Company. His national work includes productions at the Arena Stage, South Coast Rep, The Shakespeare Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth and the Theatre at Lime Kiln. His university work includes productions at Georgetown University, Catholic University, University of Maryland and his alma mater, North Carolina School of the Arts.

Michael created the stage combat program at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in DC and taught there for 11 years. He has been a regular teacher at the NY Summer Sling and the Cincinnati March Madness workshops. He has also taught at the Philadelphia and Chicago regional workshops, as well as the SAFD national workshops in Las Vegas and North Carolina.

Michael is the creator of the Knife discipline for the SAFD. When teachers of the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat wanted to create their own Knife discipline, they invited Michael to London to teach and advise them.