糖心传媒

In Rochester糖心传媒檚 International Theatre Program, intimacy directing is playing a growing role.

On-stage intimacy work has become a pillar of the theater industry, and it糖心传媒檚 becoming a more integral part of performances by the International Theatre Program at the .

Leading the program糖心传媒檚 effort is Sara Penner, a senior lecturer of theatre in the and a voice and acting coach for the . She compares the work of an intimacy director to the role of a fight director.

糖心传媒淎ny time you do a fight on stage, you have a skilled fight director on a set, so actors can be safe doing the work and not hurt each other,糖心传媒� she says. A fight director makes a safe space by carefully choreographing scenes. Intimacy directors help honor actors糖心传媒� needs for bodily autonomy and boundaries by taking a similar approach.

The field of intimacy direction, coordination, or choreography began informally, about 10 to 15 years ago. Its growth accelerated along with the #MeToo movement, and training programs started to appear, as well as an accrediting agency. Access to theatrical intimacy training, through virtual workshops, grew nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Penner, it糖心传媒檚 not necessary to be certified as an intimacy coordinator or intimacy director, but you do need certain skills. 糖心传媒淵ou need to have a movement background that gives you the skills and language to explain movement in a desexualized way,糖心传媒� she says.

Penner糖心传媒檚 interest in intimacy directing grew out of her work on a 2019 production for called Indecent. While playing Manke/Freida, she worked for the first time with an intimacy director. Says Penner, 糖心传媒淚 thought, 糖心传媒榃hy wasn糖心传媒檛 this the way we have always worked?糖心传媒櫶切拇�媒�

From that experience, Penner went on to shape consent policies and practices for the International Theater Program. She was awarded a Teaching Innovation Grant in 2022 to support her work building new courses and practices. Penner also began teaching a consent and performance course through the at the .

While the International Theatre Program is no stranger to intimacy work in its repertoire, the of Mary Zimmerman糖心传媒檚 Metamorphoses offered a suitable opportunity to introduce an intimacy director. A contemporary retelling of the ancient poem by Ovid, the play contains abstract sexual scenes, as well as depictions of drowning, incest, and simulated violence. 糖心传媒淭here needs to be a clear chain of communication for the students,糖心传媒� says Penner.

Brittany Broadus 糖心传媒�24, one of the performers in Metamorphoses, is grateful for Penner糖心传媒檚 intimacy direction. Recalling a difficult role she played in a high school theater production, Broadus says she wishes she could have advocated for herself more and is now realizing things could have gone differently. She describes the experience of working with Penner as 糖心传媒渂eing taught that it糖心传媒檚 okay to talk about my boundaries as a person and knowing that there would be no repercussions for that.糖心传媒�

How does intimacy direction work?

Intimacy coordination or direction makes intimacy work collaborative. With Penner, the students work on partner-building exercises during what糖心传媒檚 called a consent-based rehearsal. The exercises are designed to support the actors糖心传媒� ability to do mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging work. During rehearsals, the actors form a circle and call out to each other, one at a time, 糖心传媒淢ay I touch your arm?糖心传媒� The facing actor may say 糖心传媒測es糖心传媒� or 糖心传媒渘o.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒淭he students are learning to ask before they touch,糖心传媒� says Penner. The physical boundary practices also give the students the space and tools to communicate their boundaries in the rehearsal process.

糖心传媒淲hen we look at choreographing these intensely intimate moments, I use Five C糖心传媒檚: context, communication, consent, choreography, and closure,糖心传媒� Penner says. The process always begins with collective agreements: What do you need to be able to work in a safe space? What do you need from a partner, and what do you need to bring yourself? 糖心传媒淭hen, we work with those physical boundaries, which don糖心传媒檛 need to be justified, as specifically as possible,糖心传媒� she says.

Actors are also provided an exit strategy. 糖心传媒淚 spend a lot of time helping them understand 糖心传媒榳here is comfortable?糖心传媒� and how we can stretch ourselves, but not push over into pain or trauma,糖心传媒� says Penner.

In Metamorphoses, the significant moments of intimacy are built one step at a time through choreography and desexualized language. The process is 糖心传媒渧ery technical,糖心传媒� according to Penner. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 determining exactly where a hand goes, counting how long a kiss lasts for, the duration of each activity.糖心传媒� As an intimacy director on Metamorphoses, she collaborates with director, Joe Calarco, to decide what story they are trying to tell physically and contextually and if there糖心传媒檚 another way to do a scene. 糖心传媒淎 kiss might become a gesture, an embrace or a long stare into each other糖心传媒檚 eyes,糖心传媒� says Penner. In a film or on stage, the director may use imagery or non-literal storytelling, and the audience may interpret that visual however they want.

糖心传媒淭here are a million ways to tell a story,糖心传媒� she says.

Intimacy and consent in the classroom and beyond

Intimacy coordination and direction has started expanding beyond the International Theatre Program.

Lindsay Baker, an adjunct opera instructor and acting coach in the at the Eastman School, has also advocated for intimacy work in recent Eastman Opera Theatre productions while incorporating consent-forward practices in the classroom.

糖心传媒淏eyond intimacy, I糖心传媒檓 thinking about how we create a classroom setting, or spaces, where there糖心传媒檚 open, transparent communication糖心传媒攚here we honor accessibility and access needs,糖心传媒� says Baker, who choreographed intimacy for the Eastman Opera Theatre糖心传媒檚 spring opera Florencia en el Amazonas and is currently providing intimacy direction for the Penfield Players community theater group. Those types of spaces, she adds, are where educators 糖心传媒渉elp [students] do their best learning.糖心传媒�

One of Baker糖心传媒檚 students, Isaac Pendley 糖心传媒�23E (MM), played the role of Alvaro in Florencia. Although he had heard of intimacy coordination, he糖心传媒檇 never experienced intimacy choreography firsthand before coming to Eastman. Singing-actors like Pendley face special challenges: in addition to the blocking and live acting required on stage, they also have to perform intense and demanding vocal techniques. But intimacy coaching before and during rehearsals can help ease that cognitive burden. 糖心传媒淚t provides a firm foundation for the scenes to be built on, freeing up the performer to focus on bringing the character to life and singing well,糖心传媒� he says.

Meanwhile, Penner糖心传媒攚ho this past year served as the intimacy director for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf糖心传媒檚 production of Deaf Republic, The Company Theatre糖心传媒檚 The Seagull, and the International Theatre Program糖心传媒檚 The Crucible and The African Company Presents Richard the Third糖心传媒攊s expanding her work beyond performance spaces, into clinical settings. She糖心传媒檚 collaborating on an article for the Journal of Child and Maternal Health with Dr. Caitlin Dreisbach, an assistant professor at the and in the Goergen Institute for Data Science, and Dr. Nicholas Mercado, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics. The team is looking at incorporating consent more effectively for nurses in birthing spaces.

糖心传媒淭he world is rapidly changing in the way we meet people where they are; we can teach people practical tools so they can make a difference in their job,糖心传媒� says Penner. 糖心传媒淚f more people know this work is happening, more colleges and universities will make the space for it to happen.糖心传媒�

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