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My dear friend and past theatre colleague Rebecca Vickers has a podcast called “Bad Bosses, Great Leaders” and she interviews leaders from a variety of industries to offer their insights and advice on what makes a leader, not just a boss.
Rebecca and I talked about psychological safety- what it is, how to create it and why it’s important.
Check out “Psychological Safety, Vulnerability, and Encouraging Creative Leadership” now here, or wherever you get your podcasts!
It’s not often my work gets mentioned in reviews. It’s even more rare to have substantial comments on it appear. So I feel really excited that the 3 reviews published for the absurdist “Have You Boomer?” kicking of LakeHouseRanchdotPNG’s third season have not only included my name, but some great commentary as well.
When the Lights Go Out (a Miami events website)
South Florida Theatre Magazine
The show closes Sept. 1, so get your tickets now!
I am so grateful to Karina Batchelor-Gomez for being a clear and generous collaborator and Brandon Urrutia for having me back at the Ranch.
And of course, Richard K. Weber and Bianca Utset, for making me look good while you do all the hard work of telling this story in such nuanced, embodied ways. Thank you.
Actors' Equity Workplace Safety Resources for Harassment, Bullying, Abuse or other unsafe work environments:
Submit a report online or call 833-550-0030.
You do not have to be a member to use this, there simply must be at least 1 Equity contract on the show.
AGMA
SAG-AFTRA reporting and resources website
This week I have production meetings for 3 shows in organizations 24-25 theatre seasons, so it seems like a good time to wrap 23-24!
-3 shows as an ID (one was both dance and intimacy) that played out of state
-15 professional productions creating dance, intimacy, and/or violence
- 6 shows in educational settings with intimacy or dance by me
And 24-25 is off to a strong start!
Florida Intimacy Professionals (FLIP) is pleased to announce their launch of an online database for qualified Intimacy Directors and Coordinators in Florida. The organization was created by professionals in live (theatre, opera, and dance) and recorded (film and TV) entertainment to promote the use of Intimacy Professionals, and also to demonstrate best practices in the entertainment industry. These professionals, specially trained in movement for story-telling and creating moments of contact, uphold performer boundaries while fulfilling the creative vision of the director.
Read MoreOver on the “Why Hire an Intimacy Choreographer” page, I’ve created 3 new, free, downloads that I think might be useful for theatre or dance companies or production companies or studios considering whether an Intimacy Choreographer is the right fit for the project, and what they can expect that to look like:
5 Questions to ask when Hiring an Intimacy Choreographer
Intimacy Coordination Overview
Intimacy Direction Overview
As this is my website, the views expressed on this page, that page, and in those documents are solely my own.
I had the honor of being on South Florida radio staple Sundial today to talk about the intimacy profession and give a teaser of my conversation as part of the Miami Film Festival.
Hear the episode here. Get tickets to the conversation here.
Right now, my Twitter timeline is full of conversation about sex scenes in film and tv. You might think this is because I am an Intimacy Coordinator. You would be wrong. This is because I follow a lot of other exvangelicals, many who are more engaged than I in debates with current evangelicals.
There are apparently many folks who feel like current entertainment options have TOO MUCH SEX! Never mind that it’s really not the case. They don’t like it!
I think it is really interesting that this conversation is so hot (haha, get it?) around sex, and not around violence.
Read MoreMoney is a challenge for every artist. Despite the buzz around Intimacy work for theatre, film, dance, tv, and opera, payment remains a sticky subject for any Intimacy Director or Intimacy Coordinator.
Read More2022 was a big year of work for me. Here’s my year in review!
Read MoreIf you’ve read the last 2 posts, Bad Behavior in Theatre Communities and What’s the Point of Art?, read on! If not, scroll down and read those.
Ok. So these posts were in response to some specific events in my theatre community. But in conversations with folks around these events, and my responses, I’ve realized it’s not all they have in common. They may be in response to something, but both posts are actually about accountability.
Read MoreIt is absolutely OK for art to be fluffy, entertaining, and fun. It does not have to have “a point”, “a message” or be “thought-provoking”.
I am writing this at the beginning of December, aka The Nutcracker season. No one (at least not that I’ve seen) is running around demanding that we stop doing The Nutcracker because it isn’t addressing any social issues. It does not. It is a fluffy ballet. What we are asking for is that companies examine how they present The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker does not address cultural appropriation, but that is not a reason to engage in it. The Nutcracker does not address racism and othering in ballet, but that is not a reason to cast only white dancers.
The problem with doing The Nutcracker is not the choice of doing The Nutcracker (I mean, yes, you could make other choices, and I’d encourage you to examine them). We, as audiences, recognize the pull of both tradition and money-making. The problem with doing The Nutcracker is doing The Nutcracker in an unexamined, inequitable way,
Read MoreShows with nudity, intimacy, and/or hyper-exposure require extreme vulnerability from actors. We have consistently seen actors in our community provide incredible performances in relevant, nuanced shows, in these states of vulnerability.
Sadly, they often get reduced to their bodies' appearance, rather than their skills in transporting us into a story. Also, how ridiculous that that those of us who are professionals in the crafts of theatre-making are doing this. We have the best opportunity to discuss technique, skill, character, and story, but we go for looks?!
Safety in theatre or in film doesn't just include creating a safer space for work to be done. It also means respecting the work AS WORK and our colleagues (and even when we are audiences, we are still colleagues) AS COWORKERS. Exploitation and harassment have no place in a workplace.
As a community we should be disappointed and horrified when exploitation and harassment happen, and are not met with resistance or the desire for change. We absolutely should less safe when one of us not safe.
This is not about 1 person or 1 incident. This about bad behavior.
No matter who is committing the exploitation or harassment, no matter who is receiving it: it is exploitation or harassment.
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.
A few guidelines you can keep in mind as you budget for your theatrical season or film production:
Read MoreIntimacy Choreographers and their importance to the future of theatre performance. From OnStage Blog. By Irene Martinko. 28 March 2021.
I was thrilled to be interviewed this summer by Boca Magazine about my work on Theatre Lab’s To Fall In Love and Intimacy Direction in general.
The title cracks me up because I’m really the only one in Dade/Broward/Palm Beach doing this work! It’s easy to be premier that way! But huge shout out to my mentor Dan Granke in Tampa. Technically still South Florida, and they are much more gifted than I.
The piece appears in the February 2021 issue. Here’s a link to the online ezine!
Photo by Wide Eyed Studios.
Back in July I got to be a guest on the Wilzig Erotic Art Museum’s Thursday afternoon Tea and Sex sessions, talking about intimacy direction!
Here Melissa and I discuss the “what it is”. This is just the first few minutes of an hour-long conversation and interactive session with participants.
Nicole Perry is a guest on the Wilzig Erotic Art Museum's Tea and Sex Thursday afternoon session with Melissa Blundell-Osorio discussing what is intimacy dir...
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