September News Stories about Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Coordination

What Intimacy Direction can Bring to Dance. Dance Magazine. September 2020.

What Playwrights can Learn from Intimacy Directors. A conversation with Gaby Labotka for Howlround. September 1, 2020.

What It’s Like To Be A Black Intimacy Coordinator In The Era Of Consent And Political Resistance. An interview with Tenice Divya Johnson and Sasha Smith. Elle Magazine. September 8 2020.

Tea and Sex Session on Intimacy Direction

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...

I talk. A lot. Sometimes people let me talk on their shows.

And this is one of those times!

Jimmy Chrismon, an intimacy direction colleague, hosts ThedTalks, a theatre education podcast. He interviewed me about intimacy direction and Momentum Stage. Check it out here: https://thedtalks.com/podcast/

I have a few more podcast appearances coming up. Stay tuned!

August News Stories about Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Coordination

Intimacy Direction in a time of Physical Distance. Emily Snyder for HowlRound.com . Nicole was interviewed for this piece, but sadly no quotes were used.

Creating a Pedagogy and Ethics of Teaching With(out) Touch

Momentum Stage has just launched a new course I wrote combining my training in intimacy choreography, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System and my years as both an educator and creator of movement.

This is to offer teaching options for those who are either encouraged or mandated to not touch in teaching. This is not a class about touching student. It is a class to consider IF touch is necessary, HOW do we teach without it (or very little of it), and WHEN/IF it is necessary, to make very specific choices in our type of touch in order to be as effective as possible with that touch.

Read More

June News Stories about Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Coordination

What does Intimacy on Stage Look Like after Corona?

Well, that’s a really bold question, as we have no idea what just being on stage looks like right now!

But, in the past week I’ve had a couple of conversations about this, and I do have some thoughts.

  1. Even if we’re “back to normal”, there are going to be performers, directors, and administrators that are more wary of intimacy, especially if those intimate moments would cause a meeting of soft tissues like kissing. I am already in the habit of choreographing a “Plan B” for kisses that can be done in case of actor illness, and understudy stepping in, etc. A good intimacy director/choreographer should have been providing these all along, and they, the director, and the actors involved should all feel just as confident about the story-telling involved in those moments as they do with the kiss. See my earlier post about Plan Bs.

    It is possible that bringing on an Intimacy Director/Choreographer is part of a company’s safety plan. This was raised in a conversation hosted by Directors Lab West yesterday with Ann James of Intimacy Directors of Color and Carly D. Weckstein, an independent sex educator and Intimacy Director (check out the convo here). Bringing in an ID could be a way a company says to their community that they take the physical and mental health of their performers and production crew seriously, and are hiring people with specials skills in doing that.

    Both of these thoughts lead me to #2.

  2. Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are Movement Specialists. And movement is still going to be on stage, even if physical contact is not.

    Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are movement specialists (or at least they should be). They have been trained in movement for the stage. Sometimes this aspect gets lost in the more “news-worthy” part of the job- gaining consent, establishing boundaries, hopefully avoiding lawsuits for the company, etc. I came to this work after 10 years of choreographing. I have a Bachelor’s degree in dance. I have studied movement at an even deeper level by obtaining my Laban certification. When I train with IDI, IDC, or TIE, we are given feedback not just on our ability to put best practices in communication into use, but in our choreographic abilities. My job is make sure the story is told, and told well, and that the director and actors feel confident in the performance.

    I believe my in-depth knowledge of movement will make me more of an asset to confident story-telling on the stage, even if the actors must remain apart or not fully physically engaged in the intimacy.

I do believe my role will still be necessary when we get back in space together. For safety and for the sake of the story, I think it will be even more necessary! We’ll see if the industry agrees!

I’d love your thoughts- whether you are a performer, director, producer, or audience member- what would seeing this role in a playbill mean to you pre-Coronavirus? Would it mean the same, or something different after? Leave me a comment!

Movement Analysis of the Creature in The National Theatre's "Frankenstein"

The Making of a Monster

One cool thing to come out of this time of physical distancing is all of the recorded/broadcast theatre being made available. This is especially awesome for shows I would not typically have the opportunity to see, like ones in London! So last night, I watched both versions of the National Theatre’s much-talked about new Frankenstein, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (BC) and Johnny Lee Miller (JLM). These broadcast recordings are available on the National’s Youtube channel until May 7 and 8, depending on the version.

What’s so talked about in this play, you ask? Besides Sherlock on the stage, of course. Well, it’s that the 2 leading men would swap parts, one night playing The Creature, another night the creator. Handling 2 parts of this size, at the same time is pretty amazing, in and of itself. And as a story-telling device, the interchangeability of creature/creator is an interesting concept, especially when you remember that in Frankenstein, the word “monstrous” is used to refer to the Doctor, not his experiment. But, as a movement analyst, I’m going to talk about the specific movement choices made by the actors when they played The Creature, and what that brought to the production.

What is important to know about Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis is that this is an observational technique. That means that the observer (me) still has all their own preferences and interpretations about what they are observing. I have reasons for believing that my observations are correct, however, until I actually speak to the actors and their movement director about the choices made, I have no way of knowing if I’m “right”. This production did have a movement director, Toby Sedgwick, who is an incredible master of movement (A movement director is a position I don’t see a lot of theatres employ, and he is a great example of what having one can bring to a production!). I’ve never spoken to him, so I’m not sure how much of a “score” he gave the actors, or what that score was.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

I started watching the version with BC as The Creature first. In the first 6 minutes, my movement analyst brain was freaking out! Once The Creature is out of “the womb”, he moved through Irmgard Bartenieff’s Patterns of Total Body Connectivity. Bartenieff gave names to Patterns she saw humans move through to achieve what is considered healthy, coordinated development. These don’t happen linearly, so much as overlapping and intertwined, and the ones that come before underpin the ones that come after. The PTBCs are:

  1. Breath

  2. Core-Distal

  3. Head-Tail

  4. Upper-Lower

  5. Body-Half

  6. Cross-Lateral

It is in Cross-Lateral that humans have access to the full 3-dimensionality of their bodies, and coordinated movement. Significantly, in terms of analysis, JLM’s Creature gets to Cross-Lateral movement about a full minute before BC’s Creature does. It is my guess that this is why I, and several of my friends “like” BC as The Creature more. His Creature spends more time discovering himself before moving out.

While he does explore all 6 PTBC’s in his opening scene, BC’s creature spends much of it, and much of the show, in Upper-Lower. This Pattern is where we “get work done” and builds our sense of “personal power”- an incredibly resonant movement choice for The Creature. Upper-Lower helps us push and pull, towards or away, in order to achieve a goal. There is a developing sense of intention. This is why I think BC’s Creature works so well- he is working to achieve a goal, and it is hard work! But, the movement is able to be upright and obviously human-like, without being fully what we identify as human. He only hits the full Cross-Laterality of his movement in moments of extreme (I’m thinking of his spiraling leap in the Scotland lab, in particular).

BC makes really clear choices in the Body category. JLM work in the category of Effort, particularly his choices as regard to Time. The Time element relates to our decision-making, and JLM embraces the Sudden side of the polarity, which totally works for a Creature acting only on impulse. There is no reflection, research, or weighing of options. This gives a sense of urgency to his Creature. The show with BC in The Creature role feels like a developing power struggle- the Doctor losing it as The Creature gains it. The show with JLM in The Creature role has a sense of urgency to it, when it all gets resolved feels more important. I believe this choice drives the scenes he’s in as well, picking up the pace of the entire show.

JLM demonstrates incredible flexibility and fluidity. Which doesn’t quite resonate for The Creature, for me. However, Frankenstein’s line about “balance” when he and The Creature interact after William’s death does better fit this version of The Creature. JLM’s Creature’s movement being more fully developed as Cross-Lateral, with fine motor skills, makes his Act 2 lines about “assimilation” ring even more true. And, therefore makes his following actions even more heinous.

If you want to continue to analyze: A place to really see these different choices (Upper-Lower v. Time Effort) at play, besides the opening, is the fight between The Creature and Frankenstein after Williams’s death: BC over-powers, JLM out-maneuvers.

So. Is one of them “better” than the other? Totally subjective and relates to your preferences. They each embody their character from what I would call a “different category of the system”, and each actor’s choice gives us a very different Creature and story. I’ve set out why I think each actor’s choice works, and I do have a preference! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these 2 versions of the characters and production. Please leave a comment!

April News Stories about Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Choreography, and Intimacy Coordination

25 April 2020. Sexy Beats: How “Normal People”' ‘s Intimacy Coordinator Works. by Sian Cain for The Guardian.

21 April 2020. Claire Warden Receives Drama Desk Awards Special Award for Intimacy. See list of all nominees and awards at the link.

12 April 2020. The Stake Were Really High: The Stars Bringing Sally Rooney’s ‘Normal People’ to Life. by Claire Armistead and Johanna Thomas-Corr for The Guardian.

4 April 2020. Creating Scenes of Intimacy Safely, Seamlessly, and Convincingly on Stage. by Aaron Krause for Theatrical Musings.

Consent and Intimacy in Dance

Please check out the guest post I wrote for the Consent Awareness Network!

Momentum Stage is pleased to be an Ambassador for the Consent Awareness Network.

March News Stories about Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Choreography, and Intimacy Coordination

Times-Union. Choreographing Intimacy for a New Era in Theater by Tony Pallone. 24 March 2020.

HowlRound Theatre Commons. Intimate Reform. by Ann James. 19 March 2020

Denton Record-Chronical. The Look of Love. by Lucina Breeding. 19 March 2020

Provokr. Creating Initmacy. by Amanda Jane Stern. 9 March 2020

The BBC. The Women Helping Hollywood Shoot Safer Sex Scenes. by Valeria Perasso. 7 March 2020

The New York Times. Review of “The Hot Wing King”. by Ben Brantly. 1 March 2020

Intimacy in a Time of Distance

Tonight should start the 2nd weekend of 2 shows for which I had the honor of creating the intimate moments. Island Song at Measure for Measure Theatre Company and To Fall in Love at Theatre Lab. Both are currently postponed, due to coronavirus limitations in Florida. 

But, I wanted to take this moment to talk about Intimacy Direction/Choreography, because this outbreak raises questions that may not be considered when it comes to staging or performing intimacy in shows. What happens if a performer is sick? Can we still tell the story effectively and well? 

Whenever I choreograph intimacy that includes a kiss, I always choreograph a Plan B. As one of my mentors, Tonia Sina reminds us, “Kissing is the most dangerous thing you can do onstage.” Unlike stage weapons, the soft tissues and bodily fluids are quite real. It’s my job as the Intimacy Choreographer to develop this, not the actors’. It’s my job as the Intimacy Choreographer to rehearse, to make sure the actors are confident in it, and that tech knows what to expect if we go to Plan B. Last week, in one of the shows, we had to employ our Plan B. It took 0 extra rehearsal time, because it had already been set. All it took was a check in with the actors and stage managers at call time. 

I also had a significant case of NOT having to employ plan B, because of how I staged the intimacy. (I hope Island Song reopens, and you get to see it, so I’m going to remain slightly vague about what happens.) Island Song has a number in which every member of the cast is involved in intimacy, in some way, except for 1. Most of them with another member of the cast, some of them alone, but they are all onstage, in various states of undress, involved in various acts of intimacy. What is significant about this number and it’s staging is that not only is the sex simulated, the kissing is too. All of it—  and there’s a lot. 

There exists currently only 1 review of the show, and I don’t know that it will ever be published. But NOTHING in that review makes me think the critic felt it was “fake”, “inorganic”, “inauthentic” or less than. 

I created that scene to look like a lot of people enjoying physical intimacy—  while keeping my actors safe. Part of my decision making was purely creative choice. I wanted the couples to all start the same, and then diverge into various acts. Part of my decision making was time related. I had a lot of people to choreograph, so having something repeatable cut down on my teaching time, giving me an efficient rehearsal. Part of my decision was safety- if I can make actors and the story look good, while keeping them safe, why wouldn’t I?! I don’t give them real swords so “the audience believes the story”. Staged correctly, I don’t need to give them real kisses either. 

Now, not every stage nor every story allows for that. This one did, and I took advantage of it. And on Thursday night last week, I was very, very glad. The actors were able to do their choreography confidently, with no changes. And they looked awesome. Again, I really hope Island Song is able to come back, and you can go see. Then you can tell me if you agree!

If you are a director or an actor that has never worked with an Intimacy Choreographer/Director before, I hope this gives you a different perspective. It’s not just about harassment or abuse. Directors, we really can make your job easier. Actors, we can help you stay healthy. We can help the people who want to do a good job confidently go out and do their jobs. 

When we’re all able to get back to making art together again, I hope you’ll think about hiring an Intimacy Choreographer/Director, even if it’s “just a kiss”. 

And, just in case you hadn’t heard, currently, Theatrical Intimacy Education is recommending that NO shows go forward with intimacy, in rehearsal or in performance. 


February News Stories About Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Choreography, and Intimacy Coordination

Medium. Setting the Stage for Sexual Abuse. By Randy Ginsburg. 27 February 2020.

Montana Kaimin. Intimacy coaching: Keeping actors safe behind the scenes. By Maghan Jones. 26 February 2020.

The Edmonton Journal (Canada). Special Director on Hand to Manage Scenes of Intimacy. 21 February 2020.

The Mail Tribune (Oregon). The ‘Sacred’ of OSF’s Intimacy Director. 17 February 2020.

Oregon Live. Oregon Shakespeare Hires First Full-time Intimacy Director ahead of 2020 Season. 17 February 2020.

CBS Sunday Morning How intimacy coordinators oversee romantic movie, TV scenes. . 9 February 2020.

The Pulse (an NPR Podcast). How Movies Move Us. The segment with Alan Yu includes an interview with Intimacy Director Colleen Hughes. 7 February 2020.

Intimacy Coordinators on Set in Israel. 6 February 2020.

The Lyric Stage (Boston) interviews their Intimacy Director to learn more about the work. 4 February 2020.

The Age (Melbourne, Australia). Rules of engagement: How actors and directors create intimacy on stage. By Louise Rugendyke. 1 February 2020.

Art and Apophysis

The post was originally a discussion paper for an elective theology class in my MFA work.

One of my favorite things about theatre and dance is their evanescence. They are fleeting. No moment will ever be the same again. An actor may deliver the same line the next night; the dancer may dance the same step. But the moment is never recreated. S/he is bringing more experience to it the following time around. Each audience is comprised of a new collection of people, each with his/her own expectations. Live art is a reminder that everything in our lives is happening for the first, last, and only time.

In a way, live art is its own apophasis. As soon as it is experienced, it is gone. It can only be recounted or remembered but never re-experienced. As we recount or remember the act, we are connecting with ‘a quality’ rather than ‘an object’ (Miller, 138). A quality, or as Miller calls it, ‘adjective’, is what fuels the imagination (139).

Miller uses poetry as an example in his essay for the apophasis of the body. Theatre and dance seem to me to be better examples, as the body is a necessary instrument for their full execution. The body is the instrument of both the actor and the dancer. Each repetition of a performance etches the character, the movement, deeper into the muscle memory of the performer. Ideally, it becomes instinctual, unconscious. When it does, it ceases to be a performance.

In becoming fully embodied, the actor and dancer have ‘said away’ the acting and dancing. Rather s/he has become the character or become the dance. It may be for only that line or step. It may be for a scene. It may even be for a whole evening. But eventually, the performer must come back to his/herself. While their bodies and minds may allow them to ‘say away’ their actual reality for the world of imagination, it is only momentary.

Dancers and actors constantly confront what they are not. They allow audiences to suspend their disbelief and to stay away from the world around them for a few hours. Those audiences are left with only the qualities that have enlivened their imaginations as souvenirs of the moment they were able to find transcendence, led there by artists. Dance and theatre are apophasis in practice.

Miller, David. Apophatic Bodies: Negative Theology, Incarnation, and

    Relationality. Edited by Chris Boesel and Catherine Keller, Fordham UP,

    2010.


Intimacy Direction / Intimacy Choreography Video Series

In my effort to update my website, I realized that this series of videos that I created last summer was living only on YouTube. So here are 8 videos about:

  • what is Intimacy Direction

  • why you might or might not hire an Intimacy Director

  • how I got into Intimacy Direction

  • what the scene is like in South Florida

  • and more.

    The first video in the series was produced by David Nail and Cliff Burgess. Enjoy!

January News Stories About Intimacy Direction, Intimacy Choreography, and Intimacy Coordination

HowlRound: The Art and Craft of Intimacy Direction by Holly Derr. 30 January 2020.

SAG-AFTRA News Alert about Intimacy Coordinators on Set. 29 January 2020.

NYT: Oregon Shakespeare Festival Hire Resident Intimacy Director by Laura Collins-Hughes. 24 January 2020.

NYT Magazine: The Sex Scene Evolves for the #metoo Era by Lizzie Feidelson. 14 January 2020.

SF Chronicle: A Case for NOT Talking About an Actor’s Sex Appeal by Lily Janiak. 7 January 2020.

CBC News. How is a love scene like a stunt sequence? Both need safeguards, say intimacy co-ordinators. By Jessica Wong. 4 January 2020.

The Time’s Up Foundation. The Time’s Up Guide to Working in Entertainment. 4 January 2020.

Consent Isn't About Sex.

Consent isn’t about sex. It isn’t about touching, or feelings, or legal liability. 

Consent is about seeing the other person in the conversation with you as a full person, with boundaries, agency, opinions, and rights.

In the performing arts, saying “yes”, whether we really mean it or not, has been reinforced over and over again. Especially for those on the performing end.  We need to see “yes”, “no” and “I need more information” as equally valid answers.

Theatres are starting to incorporate consent work into scenes of an intimate nature. The work of Intimacy Directors International and Theatrical Intimacy Education has been to establish these practices. But what about other moments where consent should be requested? 

  • Auditions

Theatres who hold auditions without disclosing the productions to be staged, and/or the characters available in those productions. I get that sometimes you are waiting for your rights, and you really need to have auditions. However, consistently holding auditions without telling performers what they are auditioning for is telling performers that their time, preferences, boundaries, and ability to ask questions that matter to them are of no importance to you. That you, as the producing entity, have the right to know what you are looking for, but they don’t. This continues traditional power structures and removes personal agency from your actors.  This may not be what you’ve intended, but it is what happens; and it’s dehumanizing.

  • Teaching/Directing

A lot of choreographers and dance teachers especially, instruct with corrective touch. It’s a time honored tradition. However, with 1 in 6 women having been a victim of sexual assault, and approximately 60,000 children assaulted each year, touch from a stranger or authority figure may not be one of the best ways to teach groups any longer. Yoga is doing a better job with trauma-informed practice, and dance and theatre would do well to consider some of their solutions. At the very least, teachers/directors/choreographers should be asking before we touch anyone on any given day. 

Somatic movement pioneer Irmgard Barteniefff said “Tension masks sensation.” If you see a student tensing before you correct them, is your touch even going to be useful? Could your corrections actually be more applicable to more people, if given with evocative language, rather than personal touch? 

Check out this free resource about teaching with a trauma-/touch-informed lens. Purchase Touch card templates here. 

  • Being an Audience

Does the audience know what they have agreed to when they enter your space? If your show is “immersive” or contains content that may offend someone, is your audience aware of that before they buy tickets? As they buy tickets? Enter your space? Or only after it has happened? And are they clear on whether or not they can interact with the performers, and the consequences of violating expectations? You may assume your audience has consented, simply by being in your space. But consent requires specific and clear information, and if that hasn’t been given, neither has consent. 

How are you (or is your organization) approaching consent in artistic work? Leave a comment!

Creating a Class or Cast Contract

I have found this practice to be incredibly useful in alleviating behavior issues within classes or casts.

Why have a class or cast contract? 

  • Decentralizes Power

    • This is a big one for me, especially when it comes to dealing with young people in the arts. They are dealing with a dual power structure of director or choreographer/actor and adult/youth. Young people often feel they cannot say “no” or ask questions because of this. By creating a contract, the power shifts to the group as a whole shaping the expectations they have of each other, not just what the person in charge wants to see.

  • Promotes Buy-in and Accountability

  • Clarity of Expectations

    • Safety

    • Participation

    • Attitude

    • Attire

  • Success is Built in

Recommendations for creating a class or cast contract:

  • Use a posterboard that can hang in your room or a corner of the board that can remain dedicated to this, or post in Classroom or Group Page.

  • Stay Small. 5-7 points should be sufficient. Draw connections whenever possible to an existing point. 

  • Include:

    • Consequences of Contract violation

    • Chain of Communication if the director/choreographer/teacher violates the contract

    • Any Departmental or umbrella organization expectations/requirements. 

  • End with “Have fun!”, “Have a good show!” or similar. This should be just as much an expectation as respect or wearing appropriate footwear. 

  • If a hard copy, have every member of the class or cast sign it.

Do you have questions regarding creating or maintaining a class or cast contract? Nicole Perry has experience in using these documents with students as young as kindergarten to adult professionals. Set up your Creative Practice Consultation now.