Intimacy is defined as a moment which portrays intimate physical contacts, possible kissing or intimate touch, intimacy between different relations (parent and child, friends), portrayal of traumatic events such as sexual violence which involves intimacy, or non-contact-based intimacy such as nudity.
According to the Intimacy Directors Internationals UK (IDI), An Intimacy Director is a trained choreographer of intimacy. They guide performers through the whole process from auditions through to rehearsals and allow them to help with closure, whether this is theatre or film and TV. Intimacy Directors are trained in Mental Health First Aid to offer advice to anyone within the team, to ensure or help an individual if they feel that their personal lives are not being put at risk or being affected by certain scenes or stories in the piece.
During December 2019 we had the opportunity to travel to London and take part in an Intimacy Workshop with York St John London campus. This was all about Intimacy within the arts and the guidelines for performers on their rights and when on set and how important consent is. This is very important to consider during any rehearsals to ensure that the performers are as comfortable as they can be and feel safe, emotionally and physically. We learnt 17 intimacy guidelines for performers which were created by Intimacy Directors International UK:
‘1 – You have the right to your body.’
‘2 – You are part of the conversation: communicate and discuss the intimate moments with the creative team and fellow actors.’
‘3 – Always consent first and ask for consent from the other performer before starting the choreography. Be clear that you consent.’
‘4 – If you need to consider, its ok to ask for time to think.’
‘5 – Speak about your physical boundaries and your ‘no touch areas’.’
‘6 – Check in with yourself, you can retract your consent at anytime.’
‘7 – Ask for an Intimacy Director/Intimacy Coordinator to be on board to help create safe intimate choreography, support your process and advocate for your safely.’
‘8 – It’s ok to ask for a break and take some fresh air.’
‘9 – You have the right for a closed rehearsal/closed set.’
‘10 – Ask for a third party present when rehearsing intimate choreography (not director, another performer or producer).’
‘11 – When nudity is used, a robe should be given to you every time you break out of character/scene/shot.’
‘12 – You don’t have to and should not be asked to share personal experiences or relive them. The character is not you, this separation is vital for your safety.’
‘13 – Trust your body and it’s boundaries. If something feels wrong, is distressing, uncomfortable or impactful physically or/and emotionally tell your Intimacy Director or Intimacy Coordinator.’
‘14 – If the intimate choreography strays from what was agreed, communicate that to a stage manager/company manager and the the intimacy director/intimacy coordinator.’
‘15 – Remember that we all perform best when we feel emotionally safe. A certain vulnerability and performance anxiety can be expected when working in theatre/on-screen, but it should not impact you in an unsafe, unhealthy manner.’
‘16 – Practice Closure – find ways to re-centre yourself at the end of an intimacy scene/show/shoot. Self care is important, you are important.’
‘17 – Respect and be true to yourself and others.’
With these 17 points, IDI are ensuring that whoever they work with, is always feeling emotionally, mentally and physically safe with the material they are working with. This should be followed throughout the industry. (Yarit Dor, Intimacy Directors International UK 2020).
The Intimacy Directors International/UK, which Is a network of intimacy coordinators and directors of both Film/TV and Theatre. Working with big companies such as Netflix, HBO and live performances. They have started the trend #ConsensualCreativity, to support change within the arts industry and support the choice of having an intimacy director whilst on set/rehearsing. They offer workshops to go train with professionals and learn more about intimacy on stage and screen. They also offer training and courses, physical and online, surround different topics involved with intimacy and putting it on stage or screen.
An Actor and Writer-Director, Ava Duvernay states that, “Certainly as an actor, you need to feel like you can place yourself in a director’s hands even when you don’t fully understand what’s being asked of you.” As she describes, its shows how much actors rely and put trust in their directors, so it is important that actors can feel comfortable with the intimacy. Taking on roles of a sexual nature or abusive scenes can put an actor in a very vulnerable position, and is crucial that they have been given and taken the correct guidelines.
In light of the trend ‘#metoo’ which was founded by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, surrounding sexual assault, the Home Box Office (HBO) and American premium television network released a show called ‘The Deuce’ which aired 2017-2019. This show was about sex, sex work and the porn industry. One of the male stars had some sexual misconduct allegations made against him, in which he denied. After the first series of this show after the allegations, HBO decided to hire an intimacy coordinator to make the filming of this show safe for everyone involved. This is something they should have done before the show started. The job of an intimacy coordinator/director is to ensure all actors and others involved were safe and not at any point vulnerable. From this, it allowed the show to stay on air due to making the safety changes and carrying on with the new safety regulations with the new intimacy coordinator. If this show had have started out with an intimacy director, unfortunate incidents like this could be prevented. This is why it is important to have this safety net for the actors.
There are organisations out their such as Mind, Samaritans, Rape Crisis, Arts Mind and Intimacy Directors International UK. Each of these off similar services that will support, advise and help vulnerable people who are possibly at risk. Professionals can help with scenarios that have happened in real life and offer the support needed to recover and understand situations. However, charities such as Arts Mind, focus on supporting and looking out for individuals within the performing arts industry specifically. Any of these organisations will offer knowledge online as well as different contact details such as numbers or emails, so that individuals can deal with their issues in the best way that possibly suits them.
Rodriguez, B (no date). Beyond camera famous directors worked actors. [online]. Backstage. Section 13. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/beyond-camera-famous-directors-worked-actors-2818/#section13 [Accessed 10th April 2020]
Kerr, B (2018). How HBO is changing sex scenes forever. [online]. Rolling Stone. Available at: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/the-deuce-intimacy-coordinator-hbo-sex-scenes-739087/?fbclid=IwAR3dcjb58MYPmJG5dWN2El7P2B33jZN-HXwi05Kx3FBYwFOo2SpyGsQtrmA [Accessed 10th April 2020]
Me Too Movement. (no date). About – Me Too Movement. [online] Available at: https://metoomvmt.org/about/ [Accessed 10 April 2020].
Teamidi-uk.org. (no date) [online] Available at: https://www.teamidi-uk.org/ [Accessed 10 April 2020].