ABOUT ME
I’m a swordmaker and theatrical lighting designer based in Washington, DC.
As a kid I loved swords. The books, movies and role-playing games of my childhood were full of blades—history, fantasy, adventure— flashing bright in the hands of the heroes and heroines. They captured my imagination and have continued to do so ever since.
We had the fragile and short lived plastic swords you could get in the 1980s, but I loved to invent my own—folding music stands and ski poles became katanas, flashlights and legos became lightsabers. My bother and I made wooden broadswords that survived a bit longer than the plastice kind. When I was old enough to get my hands on “real” swords I collected cheap wallhangers and loved taking them apart and putting the pieces back together in new (not always successful) configurations.
In middle school I briefly tried out sport fencing, but I wasn’t much of an athlete and competition never appealed to me. In high school I discovered theatrical combat which I found much more satisfying—better looking swords of course, and a partnership with your “opponent” to maximize the excitement of the swordplay while keeping everyone safe.
I also discovered the rest of theater in high school and theatrical lighting became my specialty. While majoring in theatrical lighting design at Duke University I continued to pursue stage combat, studying with Fight Director Jeff A.R. Jones and eventually certifying as an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.
For a while I thought I might become a lighting designer AND fight director, but my professional path focused on lighting and didn’t leave me much time to pursue additional studies in stage combat.
I turned my attention from sword-wielding to sword-making while getting my MFA in lighting design at the Yale School of Drama. It began as a much-needed break from design studies, but once I got started things sort of snowballed. What started as a hobby eventually crossed the threshold into a full fledged (small) business that occupies my time between lighting design projects.
I’m mostly self-taught, but I’ve benefitted from the generosity and goodwill of many other swordmakers and craftspeople who have shared their time and knowledge with me. I’m always excited to work on projects that stretch my skills and allow me to explore new techniques. I’ve learned so much since my first attempts to build a pair of aluminum-bladed cutlasses in the back of the paint deck at YSD in 2008, but I’m always humbled by the craftsmanship of the long dead artists who’s work I’m trying to emulate (not to mention the many living sword makers doing amazing work all over the world).
As Jesse Belsky Stageswords I make weapons for theaters and film performers and productions as well as historical fencers, martial artists, re-enactors and collectors. In the last few years wedding and engagement projects have become a specialty. I manufacture my own lightweight aluminum blades and mount steel blades from a variety of manufacturers onto hilts I build. My goal is to create durable weapons with authentic forms and proportions that look and feel true to the pieces that inspired them.
All my pieces are made in a small workshop with the help of my loyal shop dog Clementine (also C.F.O., C.T.O. and C-3PO) and the bemused tolerance of my wife, Sarah.
If you'd like to see what I'm working on now, please visit my facebook page: Jesse Belsky Stageswords
