Rod Kinter is a New York based fight director with over 20+ years of experience staging fights and designing violence for theatre, opera, dance and film.  Most recently, Rod directed the fights for the Broadway production of  The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.  His work has also been seen in several other Off-Broadway theatres and in some of the country’s top regional theatres, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. He was the Resident Fight Director for Off-Broadway’s Pearl Theatre Company from 2009 until it closed, and was the long-time In-House Fight Director for New York City Opera during their residency at Lincoln Center.  Since their departure from Lincoln Center, Mr. Kinter has staged violence for NYCO productions at New York City Center and El Teatro at el Museo del Barrio.   

 

He is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and is on the faculty of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

 

In addition to his extensive experience as a stage combatant, Rod’s work is informed by a varied movement and theatrical background.  He began his career as a child and teen actor working in major regional houses and on national tours.  He spent several years as a professional dancer, having trained at New York’s prestigious High School of Performing Arts and at The Joffrey Ballet School.  He continued to perform as an actor even as he began to direct fights.  Rod has also worked as a live-action stunt performer and has studied several martial arts, including prolonged training in both Tae Kwon Do and Wing Tsun Kung Fu.  Currently, he is a student of internationally renowned Wing Tsun teacher Sifu Alex Richter. 

 

Rod’s work has been praised in a wide variety of media, from The New York Times to Comic Book blogs; from Opera publications to Kung Fu Magazine.  He has staged Shakespearean swordfights, contemporary violence, mass battles and farcical mayhem.  He is also the co-creator of the critically acclaimed fight shows, Deullists: The Forgotten Champions, The Jaded Assassin and Last Life.