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:
An easy way to think of this is any state of undress for an extended period of time. I give the example of someone playing a corpse in the morgue in Law and Order or some other cop or medical show. They are not naked, but they are in a state of undress for the duration of that scene, or multiple scenes.
Chelsea Pace of Theatrical Intimacy Education defines “nudity” as “anytime a performer is in less than they would typically come to rehearsal/come to work in”. This could also operate as a definition for hyper-exposure.
From here, we get even more nuanced. Like everything in this work, we start to say “it depends!” The following might also be instances of hyper-exposure for some people (and not for others!):
Being filmed or performing without an item of clothing or accessory that has religious meaning
Or, removing said item during the course of a scene or performance
Performing facial expressions and/or sounds that feel exposing, for example:
child birth
orgasm
As mentioned above, states of undress that may not be considered nudity, for example:
lingerie
bathing suits
All of these are personal experiences. A performer should be allowed to determine for themselves their own levels of confidence and vulnerability, and have an Intimacy Choreographer on set or in the rehearsal room for these occurrences. This is why, when I do my script breakdowns as an Intimacy Professional, I put in EVERYTHING I think could be considered “intimate”. I try to make no assumptions about what each person is feeling, their past experiences, or their needs. Directors, producers, and playwrights shouldn’t either. What is “intimate” to one person, may not be to another and vice versa.
This is why it is so important to build a more nuanced approach to performance of all types. Our performers come to us with different experiences and needs. The context is always dependent on the people in the room. People need to factor into our decision-making for productions. What do the people doing this work need to be able to do their best work? And sometimes, (a lot more often than we might think), it’s an Intimacy Choreographer. The Intimacy Professional can help the performer hold their boundaries and help the director realize their vision, in a way that is integrative, honors people, and delivers an excellent story.