Making Misery Hurt: Fight Choreographer Brett Ihler on Violence, Trust, and Control
Production photography by Brandon Markin.
In Misery, violence is rarely just about the moment of impact. It lives in anticipation, imbalance, and the shifting control between Annie Wilkes and Paul Sheldon.
For ACT’s production, Fight Choreographer Brett Ihler brings decades of experience as both a performer and choreographer to the work. His approach starts with a simple principle: staged violence is not about overpowering another actor. It is about partnership.
“Staged violence is advanced acting and dance mixed together,” Ihler said. “You are partners working toward the same goal.”
From Performer to Choreographer
Ihler’s own experience as a performer deeply shapes the way he works with actors.
“Many choreographers want you to do things their way and hold to the moves they set out beforehand,” he said. “I like to speak with the performers and director to mold the violence more to cater to people’s strengths and accommodate for limitations. The collaboration is where a lot of joy comes from.”
That performer’s perspective also gives him an understanding of the adrenaline actors bring into a fight rehearsal.
“I understand the desire to go fast early in the process,” Ihler said. “But it isn’t about speed. It is about showing the violence at a pace so the audience can perceive it and go along with you.”
For Ihler, believable violence depends less on force than on trust.
“It is about trusting your partner to make you look good and vice versa,” he said. “I really like getting to know how the individual performers move so that we can make everything feel comfortable and realistic.”
The Intimacy of Misery
When Ihler first read the play, one quality immediately stood out.
“The intimacy of the violence,” he said. “A small space with only two people. One person is very injured and the other is a rugged outdoor individual. The dynamic of weak versus strong is classic and compelling.”
That imbalance becomes one of the production’s central physical ideas.
“For Paul it is about showing how damaged he is initially, then allowing him to become stronger before he is knocked down again,” Ihler said. “For the performer it is a difficult task to show the body in pain to the body in recovery and then have to do that same process a second time and make it different.”
Annie’s physical journey works differently.
“For Annie it is about how control can move slowly and saving her speed and power for specific moments,” he said. “Allowing her to feel the tension rise as her anger and frustration build until it ultimately bursts forth.”
“Annie is a great mix of cunning and brutality,” Ihler added. “I tried to make her reactionary, and when she reacts it is in the meanest way possible.”
When the Audience Is Only Feet Away
ACT’s intimate theatre changes the scale of the choreography.
“These two factors make it so we can show smaller moves and the pain still reads to the audience,” Ihler said. “They can see it and feel it more than if they were on a huge stage.”
That proximity allows the production to avoid theatrical flash in favor of something more immediate.
“You aren’t getting a lot of flashy moves and sword fights,” he said, “but this stage allows us to be gritty, raw and really dive into the honesty and desperation of the characters.”
“There are several things we do that, with the audience being so close, should really make them squirm.”
Building the Violence Together
Ihler prefers to begin with possibilities rather than arrive with every movement locked in.
“I like to bring in ideas that are extreme to the first rehearsal so we can all gauge the level of violence that we want and can actually pull off,” he said.
From there, the work evolves with the actors and director.
“It is listening to the actors as we go through and asking them what feels right in that moment, and knowing that it is okay to change as they develop the characters.”
Director Brandon Paul Eells helps maintain the audience perspective while Ihler concentrates on the physical detail.
“Brandon has been a joy to work with,” Ihler said. “He let me do what I like while always keeping the audience perspective in mind.”
And Mary Twedt and Coburn Goss have been active collaborators throughout the process.
“Mary and Coburn have been so game for pretty much anything,” Ihler said. “They have been honest in their reservations and it has been a blast to work through and make it work.”
That combination of trust, precision, and collaboration is what allows the violence in
Misery to feel unpredictable to the audience even though, for the performers, every moment has been carefully built.
MISERY runs October 14–November 1 at Argenta Contemporary Theatre.
About Argenta Contemporary Theatre
Argenta Contemporary Theatre creates bold, contemporary live performances in the heart of North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District. Through professional quality productions, new creative partnerships, and education programs for students and adults, ACT brings artists and audiences together around stories that entertain, challenge, and connect our community.
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