I am so honored to share that I have been awarded a Silver Palm for Outstanding Intimacy Direction in the 2021-22 season for :
Lungs (New City Players)
To Fall in Love (TheatreLab)
Overactive Letdown (TheatreLab)
One in Two (Island City Stage)
How much does an Intimacy Director / Intimacy Coordinator make?
A few guidelines you can keep in mind as you budget for your theatrical season or film production:
Read MoreHow do You Become an Intimacy Coordinator
My job is a hot topic. There’s no doubt about it. And a lot of conversations I have, with strangers on TikTok, in meetings with producers, and with students at the university start with “How do you become an Intimacy Coordinator?” or “What are the qualifications to be an Intimacy Coordinator?”
Read MoreHow does an Intimacy Coordinator Help a Film?
Yesterday’s post was about how Intimacy Coordinators work with actors. Today, we look at how an Intimacy Coordinator supports a whole production, whether it’s film or TV. Here’s a look at my process:
Read MoreHow do Intimacy Coordinators Help Actors?
An Intimacy Coordinator helps actors in more than just the sex scene. Let’s break it down:
Read MoreWhat does an Intimacy Coordinator do?
You may have scene “Intimacy Coordination” in the news lately, and be wondering:
What does an Intimacy Coordinator do?
How does an Intimacy Coordinator work on set?
Well, here is a glimpse at my process.
Read MoreAnnouncing Intimacy Direction in Dance!
I came to Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination because of my work in theatre. I came to work in theatre as a choreographer and a dancer. Dance has always shaped the journeys of who I am and what I do. Since I started learning Intimacy Direction in 2018, and particularly once I met Sarah Lozoff, I had a goal of bringing Intimacy Direction to concert dance- especially ballet and modern. And now, we’re one step closer,
IntimacyDirectionInDance.com
Sarah and I, with the fantastic Renee Redding-Jones are excited to launch Intimacy Direction in Dance! We are here to let dance companies know that Intimacy Direction is available to them! And that there are professionals specifically trained in both dance and intimacy. The power dynamics, vocabulary, and performance demands of dance are all slightly different than those of theatre of film. So we want dance companies to work with folks who are well-versed in the dance performance, creation, and teaching worlds, so that the application of Intimacy Direction to dance performances is beneficial to dancers, choreographers, and audiences.
We are excited to get to work!
What is an Intimacy Coordinator?
Maybe you’ve heard about it in a celebrity interview, seen it in the credits on your favorite TV show or at your local theatre. But Intimacy Coordinator, and it’s siblings, Intimacy Director, Intimacy Choreographer, and Intimacy Professional are now part of pop culture.
So, what is an Intimacy Coordinator?
Read MoreIntimacy Coordination in the News- August 2022
Emma Thompson Defends Intimacy Coordinators- The Guardian. 12 August 2022
“Interview with a Vampire” Series Team on Working with Intimacy Coordinators- Variety. 10 August 2022.
“West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler Defends Intimacy Coordinators after Sean Bean Criticism- The Guardian. 10 August 2022.
Amanda Seyfried Wishes she had an Intimacy Coordinator as a Teen- Variety. 9 August 2022.
What is a Boundary?
What is a Boundary?
“Boundaries” is a term that gets thrown around a lot in Intimacy work. But what, exactly, IS a boundary?
Check out my TikTok series on Boundaries!
A lot of times, we think about boundaries as “don’t touch my___!” And that’s valid! But, it’s also a VERY narrow definition. I like to think of Boundaries in 3 ways:
Content
Context
Physical
Content Boundaries
What are you performing? Are there content, themes, stories that you should not engage with, for your own well being? You may find certain things activating, or simply not be your favorite kind of story to tell. If you are working towards being anti-racist and equitable, you will have boundaries on representing characters who have been marginalized by the demographics you represent.
Context Boundaries
Where are you performing? And, who are you performing with? You may be fine being in a state of undress in a 3000 seat house, because the audience is far away from you, and not with undressing in a 100 seat house, where you and the audience can see each other’s pores! You may feel confident performing certain acts of simulated sex with a scene partner you’ve worked with before, but not be ready to do so with someone you just met.
Physical Boundaries
What is my body experiencing? I invite you to open up your idea of physical boundaries. Instead of just asking what you are willing to have done to your body, also ask:
What am I willing to have my body do?
What am I willing to do (with consent) to the bodies of others?
You may be up for all sorts of content, in all sorts of contexts, but never want your body to be suspended above the stage. You may feel confident in having your glutes slapped in the course of story-telling, but not want to perform that action on others.
If you found these questions helpful, head over to the Shop at MomentumStage.org and download the Boundaries Worksheet for FREE! Then you will have them at your fingertips the next time you go to an audition or take a call from your agent. Just use the code “TIKTOK” at checkout.
Intimacy Professional Office Hours
I’m holding two events for folks in South Florida Theatre and South Florida Film to be able to speak to an Intimacy Professional. This time is meant to discuss how an ID/IC can support a production, whether you are an actor, crew member, critic, or administrator.
Register over on the Events page for the one that you are interested in, or drop your question in the form, and I will answer it during our time together.
We are meeting virtually so folks from across the region can attend, and that folks who can’t attend can still get answers through the recording.
See you there!
Congratulations, Chris Molina!
I was really excited to see this week that Chris Molina was named Miami New Times Best Director for 2022!
Part of the win is because of Chris’s beautiful film, The Truth of a Thousand Nights, which I was honored to be the Intimacy Coordinator on. The Truth of a Thousand Nights also picked up a Grand Prize at the Miami Film Fest earlier this year.
But the other reason Chris won is because he is literally changing the face of Miami as a film town. In the past year Chris has created not 1, but 2 film festivals for Miami.
Chris is an incredible collaborator, and his work shows that. He is someone who knows that we are better together, and that when we build community and celebrate each other’s work, we all benefit. Chris is making the Miami film scene a better place to work, and I’m glad to know him!
Press Release for Borrowed, the Play, in Miami!
I’m honored to be a part of the team creating Borrowed, an immersive play in Miami, opening in late June. See my Events page for ticket info. Check out the Broadway World press release all about the play here.
The Meaning of Intimacy- Part 2
In an earlier post, I offered some different definitions of intimacy from various organizations in North America, as well as my own operating meaning of intimacy.
Something I left out of that post was “hyper-exposure”, which might be a new word for you! Hyper-exposure is the word that we use in intimacy to cover a lot of different situations. Here are some examples:
Read MoreApril 2022 News Stories about Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination
Bringing Consent to Ballet, One Intimacy Workshop at a Time. 13 April 2022. Laura Cappelle for the New York Times.
The Impact of Intimacy Direction on Educational Theatre. 14 April 2022. Kaila Roach for On Stage Blog.
What does an Intimacy Choreographer DO?!?!
I get this question a lot. And the answer is, “it depends”! on the production, on the director, on the format, so many things. So, I created a new page that can help give you some insight into what I can or might do for your production.
Whether you are in live performance (theatre, dance, opera) or film/TV, an intimacy professional can do a lot to support the artistry of the project and the health of the performers.
Also on this page is some FAQs about the work.
February 2022 News Stories About Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination
January 2022 News Stories About Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination
The Golden Age of Nude Men. The Wall Street Journal. 26 January 2022.
Boston-area Intimacy Directors and Coordinators speak about their work. The Boston Globe. 3 January 2022.
The Meaning of Intimacy
When we talk about intimacy, what do we mean?
Often, when I talk about my work as an intimacy choreographer or intimacy coordinator, people also want to know- “What is the meaning of intimacy?”
Here are 2 definitions of intimacy, plus my own meaning of intimacy. Please note- all of these refer to onstage/onscreen intimacy.
Read MoreInterview about Consent in Dance Spaces
Did you catch me on IG live with Apolla Performance and Turning Point Dance? You can see the full discussion on boundaries, consent, agency, and touch in dance over on the Intimacy page. But here’s a teaser!