By Emily Landolfi ’27
Skilled physical performer. Fight choreographer. Knowledgeable instructor.
Joshua Lamboy is a multifaceted professional actor and stuntman who graced Skidmore Theater with his expertise September 27th through 29th. He visited this semester as a guest artist to help with the fight choreography for this seminar’s Black Box production, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom. He also provided a one-credit 13 hour stage combat course to students.
Josh’s aspirations for performing arts began at an early age, leading him to major in Musical Theater at the Florida School of Arts. Shortly after his collegiate life, he began his career and gained representation from Aligned Stars Agency. He has worked on numerous television shows and movies, such as The Walking Dead, Ghostbusters, 22 Jump Street, and The Vampire Diaries. He is also a member of the elite ENSO stunt team. Today, he lives in Georgia with his wife and two kids while continues training and hones his craft.
When he isn’t punching a zombie on screen, he’s educating prospective performers on the art of stage combat. This past September, Josh gave students a unique opportunity to master a new tool to elevate their physical acting capabilities. But don’t take my word for it! Let’s hear from two students who were lucky enough to secure a spot in the class: Becca Durst ’27 and Lila Sandler ’27. Below is a list of questions I asked them about their experience and their respective answers. Some answers have been edited for length and clarity:
What did the experience teach you?
Becca Durst: This class was an amazing opportunity. I learned so much about combat on screen.
Lila Sandler: Okay this is a strange takeaway- and it is also one of many – but it is sticking with me! We did film as opposed to stage fighting in the workshop and I’ve always known that I prefer theater to film but I’ve never actually tried being in film before and the workshop really cemented my preference for theater. I adored the lessons we learned and it was really cool to expand my horizons and try something I’ve never done before, but I missed the authenticity that comes with theater. That being said, I think that a ton of what we learned can be applied in a theater context as well, and I am really grateful to have gotten to try out film and to see how it looks and feels. It was so fun to watch my classmates do the same!
What was your favorite fight sequence or move that you learned?
BD: I loved working with the knife!
LS: We all got to fake die! I had a lot of fun with it. I also have worked with swords once in my time doing theater and we did the exact same moves that I learned back then. It was so nice to get to go back to that and it was so cool to learn all of the steps individually and then see them come together once you have another person that you’re fighting. I missed that a lot, and it was nice to have the feeling of old fight choreography just magically come back to me.
How was it working with Josh?
BD: Working with Josh was amazing! He created such a safe and fun environment for learning and growth.
LS: Josh was an absolutely incredible instructor. He is massively knowledgeable in his field and he did a wonderful job instructing and correcting kindly. I also really appreciated that he didn’t take it too seriously! He would pause in the middle of class to give us story times or show us pictures/videos of old fights or his experience doing this for a living. He was open to any sort of question and we all have his email if we want to reach out for anything else! He was awesome!
Would you recommend it?
BD: Definitely!
LS: Absolutely! It was a super collaborative and interactive experience where I think we all learned new things and pushed ourselves to move in new ways, which was awesome.
In Skidmore’s current Black Box production Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, zombies and violent video games are integral to the plot. Due to its nature, the show involves physical altercations between actors which must be intricately choreographed to prioritize the safety of performers. Josh not only taught the stage combat class but worked with the cast of Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom amidst their rehearsal time.
Josh is selfless with his time and energy, displaying a clear dedication to his craft and expanding it to young actors. Thank you to Joshua Lamboy for visiting the Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater!