To value the importance of facilitating a safe environment for all participants to work in must be endured by maintaining correct direction, choreography, and coordination to create moments of intimacy. The necessity of this practice is to advocate a performer of their emotional safety while protecting their rights. Intimacy in theatre and the arts includes, but not limited to; kissing, physical contact, or touching personal or private areas on another performers body. The adjective ‘intimate’ is characterized by a close or warm personal relationship, which is often needed to be replicated in performance for moments of story-telling, or accompanying characters narratives, both holding a mass amount of impact for audiences perspectives. In November of 2019, I was involved in an Intimacy In The Arts Workshop, led by Enric Ortuno, that emphasized the importance of consent, whilst raising awareness of reoccurring issues that performers may endure.
INTIMACY is defined as any moment which portrays:
- intimate physical contact – this may include, but not restricted to:
Kissing and intimate touch
Creating chemistry and attraction
Intimacy between parents and children
Intimacy between friends
Portrayal of sexual actions
Portrayal of traumatic events which involve intimacy
Portrayal of sexual violence
- Non-contact based Intimacy – can include moments of tension between characters, attraction, chemistry, or intimacy where no contact exists such as nudity.
(Intimacy Directors International UK, 2020)
The IDI-UK workshop I participated in was a safe space in which we were allowed to ask questions in a free-flowing environment; one activity included asking permission to place a part of our body on someone else’s, and encouraging the response of either a yes or no. Having the freedom to respond however you chose highlights the importance of consent and that it is ok to say no. If someone said no during the activity, you would not proceed with the action, and mutual respect is exhibited. Throughout the workshop, we discussed individually our boundaries, for example before an exercise working closely alongside a partner, to avoid any areas on our bodies that could potentially make us feel uncomfortable if touched. This confidential understanding of each other’s boundaries allowed us to communicate honestly and positively which is a significant aspect in ensuring that everyone feels safe and secure. After this exercise, we began to gain knowledge and discuss IDI’s Pillars of Safe Intimacy: context, consent, communication, choreography, and closure.
Context refers to understanding exactly what the intimate scene is portraying. Before rehearsing the scene, the Intimacy Director will discuss what the story is being told within the scene, and to encourage the actor to view this with the perspective of the character in the scene, as opposed to one’s own experiences with intimacy. Throughout this discussion, it is important for an Intimacy Director to establish what the purpose of the intimate scene serves within the performance as a whole, and how it impacts the narrative. Once the objective is established, other elements such as costume, set, lighting, etc may be discussed with the cast and crew as these aspects may be important if the scene is to include simulated sex, partial nudity, or nudity. Understanding the context of the scene allows the creative team to separate their personal lives and their individual experiences with intimacy with the scene they are creating.
Consent must never be assumed. IDI establishes that as a concept – consent is different to permission. Frequently in theatre, it is asked of performers to work intimately both on-stage and off (for example, in rehearsal), therefore it is crucial to be aware of intimacy in the theatre and the arts to ensure all members of creative teams are aware and therefore can create security for individuals personal boundaries. Consent must only be given by the person(s) directly involved to avoid emotional or physical exposure and avoid disrespecting their boundaries. An example of this being; a director has granted permission for two actors to kiss in a scene, that does not mean that the actors themselves have permitted for this to happen. If consent from either actor is not given, there should be a creative alternative to progress the intimacy of the scene that is comfortable for everyone involved. Although I have given the example of kissing, It should be made clear that consent should be given for any form of contact.
A secondary example would be if actor A was directed to place their hand on actor B’s shoulder, both actors must have given consent to touch, or to be touched. This gesture may not seem as intimate as kissing or embracing, yet consent is still needed to do so, as both participants must be comfortable with the involvement of their bodies. Richardson explains in her article entitled The 5 Cs of Intimacy;
‘for one person that’s a stroke on the chin. But maybe you’re insecure about your chin. So it could be a stroke along the jawline. We tell the story without asking someone to feel violated.’ (Richardson. ND)
Communication concerns how IDI encourages actors to feel comfortable in a safe environment to converse with their Intimacy Director, to ask questions, and query any issues that may arise when working on scenes that include intimacy. This should be reciprocated by the performers and the creative team to balance respect among the company. Nobody involved in a scene is obliged to share any sensitive or confidential information about themselves or the creative team, which includes previous trauma they have endured or anyone’s sexuality. IDI encourages any creative member to avoid language that may pass judgment onto others, and to avoid the use of sexual, or sensitive language, whether used intentionally or not can insult or offend people. Chelsea Pace explains in a blog for Theatrical Intimacy Education that using language such as acting ‘sexy’ may make actors feel self-conscious, or uncomfortable, explaining that using these phrases “can make them feel nervous and make the problem worse” (Pace, 2017). Pressurizing ‘sexiness’ can lead to less authentic portrayals of intimacy in scenes, Pace continues,
“[that] these ideas of ‘sexy’ get in the way of truthful acting and they limit the types of stories actors have the opportunity to play. Missing the truth of the moment, and ‘acting sexy’ can drag a production down and can feel like a minefield to navigate as a director or educator” (Pace, 2017).
This can be avoided by using for neutral terms when describing characteristics of how the actor may portray a character, or titling scenes as ‘Scene 4’ for example, as opposed to, the ‘sex scene’, ‘orgy’ or ‘rape scene’ to maintain the level of professionalism.
It must be noted that inappropriate jokes or comments should be avoided to protect any of the team’s wellbeing and dignity. IDI stresses the importance of everyone involved in the production to be aware of how to report abuse or harassment. If a member of the company were to make a mistake, the issue must be dealt with accordantly and respectfully to apologize legitimately. If the intimacy director is absent from this incident, it must be reported to a higher position to find a resolution that benefits the full cast and crew. Clear communication holds high importance if, for example, a performer were to retract their consent which is completely in their right to do so, it must be communicated transparently and without confusion for it to be effectively rechoreographed concerning the production.
In cases of partial nudity or full nudity, performers must be informed of this before the initial audition, along with full detail and to what extend to be described – it must also be noted that the first audition should not include nudity. For a recall audition, performers must receive more than 24 hours notice, and permission is given for the actor to invite a third person to the audition. For rehearsals involving partial or full nudity, IDI recommends 48 hours notice for this information to allow the performer, if they wish, to prepare mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Choreography is cruical for intimate scenes, and performers should never rehearse intimate scenes by themselves as they could risk putting themselves in emotional, or physical danger. IDI establishes certain rules to ensure the safety of performers, and their wellbeing with the choreography. When rehearsing and performing intimacy, a third party (excluding an actor or the Intimacy Director) should be present when setting and rehearsing the choreography, to ensure the safety of the actors and also the Intimacy Director. Alongside this, actors are within their right to ask for an Intimacy Director to be present at any stage of production when handling scenes containing intimacy.
Intimacy Directors should treat every scene individually as opposed to reusing blocking and movements, to construct intimacy fit for each performers personal boundaries. There may be scenarios where the Intimacy Director must demonstrate blocking or a movement, but this must be dealt with the same way as an actor must ask for consent to touch another actor. An Intimacy Director may need to demonstrate a form of intimacy, but should never be expected to demonstrate kissing, or to participate in partial or full nudity. If an actor retracts their consent to perform any of the intimate choreography, no changes to the scene should be made without the Intimacy Director changing it themselves to protect anyone involved.
Closure is designed to help performers involved with an intimate scene to distinguish the scene and/or characters they are portraying to their individual lives. Intimacy Directors teach performers techniques to maintain the separation of reality and fiction in scenes, which allows performers to continually be reminded of their participation in the piece and to further protect their wellbeing. During our workshop, we were explained in detail how to tackle actions with caution, which allowed us to understand that even when everyone involved has good intentions – if an intimate scene is not properly choreographed, performers can feel embarrassed, hurt, or disorientated. Devising with actors is an effective way to involve close-contact of actors to their boundaries in a way that the story-telling can be achieved. Intimacy consultant Lauren Keating expresses that
“you check in to the work that you’re doing and you check out. That helps to create an understanding: That was a performance, and it’s separate from our lives outside of that scene.” (Keating, 2020).
A performer may wish to further disengage themselves from the intimacy within a scene by engaging with self-care rituals to adjust their previous mind of the character. IDI’s Pillars of Safe Intimacy is a fantastic baseline for creating performances that safeguards everyone involved.
Moving forward with my practice, I will continue to be respectful and can confidently approach consent. The safety of not only myself, but every member involved is my main priority as I have a full understanding of the importance of performing intimacy in a safe, protected environment. I will make everyone in the production aware of the process for reporting harassment or abuse, and continue to reinforce what type of behavior is acceptable. Maintaining dignity in a workplace should always be ensured, whether that is ensuring protected characteristics are dealt with sensitively, or those who may witness or be involved in the intimate action feel they have the correct support behind them. I will aim to ensure consent is always received from all members involved. To know that Intimacy Directors are gaining recognition for their work, and that the importance of their role is progressively becoming more valued in theatre, film and television brings me confidence and reassurance for the arts.
Bibliography
Gabler, J., 2020. Consenting Choreography: How Intimacy Consultants Keep A Safe Stage | City Pages. [online] City Pages. Available at: <http://www.citypages.com/arts/consenting-choreography-how-intimacy-consultants-keep-a-safe-stage/567563031> [Accessed 18 April 2020].
Morey, E., 2020. The 5 Cs Of Intimacy: In Conversation With Siobhan Richardson. [online] TheatreArtLife. Available at: <https://www.theatreartlife.com/one-and-done/5-cs-intimacy-conversation-siobhan-richardson/> [Accessed 18 April 2020].
Pace, C., and Pace, C., 2017. The “Sexy” Trap — Theatrical Intimacy Education. [online] Theatrical Intimacy Education. Available at: <https://www.theatricalintimacyed.com/blog/2017/9/26/the-sexy-trap> [Accessed 17 April 2020].
Teamidi-uk.org. 2020. Intimacy Directors International UK. [online] Available at: <https://www.teamidi-uk.org/> [Accessed 18 April 2020].