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Last night was the Silver Palm Awards, and just over two weeks away are the Carbonells. There were no speeches at the Silver Palms, and I do not expect to win the Carbonell in the category I was nominated for. (Not false humility. The video projection mappings nominated in Artistic Speciality were cool AF!)
So, I’ve decided to write and post a thank you speech here.And, best of all, there’s no time limit!
Read MoreThank you the Carbonell judges and the South Florida theatre community for the nomination of Outstanding Achievement of an Artistic Speciality. And deep gratitude for the Theatre Lab team for putting the Intimacy Choreography for To Fall in Love forward for consideration, Lou Tyrrell for being an incredible collaborator, and Matt Stabile and Niki Fridh for being the beautiful, brilliant performers they are.
See all the nominees here.
Just like with the Silver Palm post below, I want to take this opportunity to point out that “Intimacy Direction supports good story-telling!” Because, honestly, being a part of a team that helped support these performances, is what the work is.
I was the Intimacy Director for 2 of the 6 of the nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play- GringoLandia and One in Two. These same two productions also appear in the Director category, and Stuart and Delicia were certainly outstanding to work with! UPDATE: Delicia won!
1/2 of the actors nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Male Role in a Play performed Intimacy Choreography- Tom in I Hate Hamlet and Nathaniel and Randall in One in Two. UPDATE: Tom won!
Two of the Lead Actress nominees performed Intimacy Choreography- Natalie Cordone in I Hate Hamlet and Lindsey Corey in Overactive Letdown. UPDATE: Natalie won!
GringoLandia and Overactive Letdown appear multiple times in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories. I Hate Hamlet and Overactive Letdown also gathered noms in technical categories.
Seeing productions and actors get noticed for doing work that some might consider “too choreographed”, “inauthentic”, or some of the countless other criticisms lobbed at this work is my reward. Intimacy Choreography, Intimacy Direction, make excellent art! If I get to give a speech, I shall shout this!
See the full list of nominees in the Broadway World Press Release here, and the explanation of changes here.
I was really excited to see last week that a project I worked on over the summer is releasing on Hulu on November 1! While Hulu hasn’t posted their schedule for November online yet, it should be available soon. Variety posted a Hulu description in their press release about the film.
Read MoreEarlier in September, I had a post about How an Intimacy Coordinator Helps Actors. And really, it’s basically the same for an Intimacy Director working in theatre, instead of in film. You can check that out here, or the previous post, What Does an Intimacy Director Do? for more.
There are a couple of differences:
An Intimacy Director will review performance reports for anything that has gone off or any needs the productions have. I’ve had a scene need to be looked at again, because a costume piece had changed. If I hadn’t read the report, I wouldn’t have know about the change, and asked how it affected the intimacy.
An Intimacy Director will create separate choreography for understudies that fit their boundaries. An Intimacy Director will also create a “Plan B” or “Health Option” for all contact-kisses that removes soft tissue contact, in case an actor isn’t feeling well. Whether it’s a cold, a cold sore, or COVID, folks shouldn’t being kissing while not feeling well. We’ll provide excellent choreographic options that keep everyone safe, and the story-intact.
Since many Intimacy Directors are local to the theatre company where they are working, an Intimacy Director will help promote your show! More butts in seats are better for all of us!
In a previous post, I broke down what my work looks like as an Intimacy Coordinator in Miami. Now, let’s look at what my job as an Intimacy Director at a theatre entails. Or see the whole process for all roles over on this page.
Read MoreI 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)
A few guidelines you can keep in mind as you budget for your theatrical season or film production:
Read MoreMy 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 MoreYesterday’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 MoreI 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!
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 MoreEmma 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.
“Boundaries” is a term that gets thrown around a lot in Intimacy work. But what, exactly, IS a boundary?
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
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.
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.
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:
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.
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!
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.
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 MoreBringing 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.
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.
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.
Nicole LaBonde- Transformation Coaching of Mind and Body, Pilates, Nutritional Cleansing
CABARRET- Barre and Dance Fitness
Public Persona- Professional Image Coaching for Public Speaking and/or Online Branding for Fitness Instructors, Life Coaches, Healers and other Heart-Centered Entrepreneurs.
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