As part of our third year studies, we went on a trip to London to broaden our theatre knowledge and experience new shows and exhibitions to help us with our third year modules. As part of this trip we took part in an intimacy workshop with an intimacy director. 

An intimacy director is a person who choreographs intimate scenes between actors and offers support and guidance throughout the rehearsal process. “Intimacy directors are trained choreographers of intimacy. They lead performers from auditions to rehearsals, to choreography sessions and can give advice as to how to exercise closure” (Intimacy Directors International: 2016).  The directors know how difficult intimacy can be in theatre and can offer the relevant help and closure needed to deal with these scenes. 

Theatre can be very emotional and intimate, I have both took part in and witnessed intimate, evocative, hard-hitting scenes that can take a toll mentally and physically. This is why intimacy directors are important to have in the industry. 

In the workshop we took part in, we were shown and took part in a range of activities and exercises that helped us gain trust and boundaries with the people around us. These exercises involved the five pillars of the Intimacy Directors International company. These pillars are Context – Consent – Communication – Choreography – Closure. For example we used the consent pillar in the way of asking a partner if we could touch a specific part of their body with our hand, if they said yes we could place our hand on their body and if they said no we would respectfully comply. These steps would get bigger where we could ask someone if we could give them a hug or hold their hand and before we initiated the gesture we had to wait for their response. 

Before I experienced this workshop I didn’t fully understand the importance of handling intimacy in theatre and I didn’t know about the role of an intimacy director. The workshop and the knowledge I gained from it have made me look back on times I’ve been involved with theatre where these techniques haven’t been used and they could have been and how much of a difference that would have made. It also makes me realise just how important these techniques are and that I want to make sure any work I do in the future includes a comfortable way to use these techniques if needed. 

The role of intimacy director is a role I find very interesting to investigate and learn more about. 

 

Bibliography 

Intimacy Directors International (2016) [Internet] Available from:  https://www.teamidi-uk.org  [Accessed 17th April 2020]