Performing Arts Feature | Chicago Reader: Seven months and over 223,948 lives lost. As a theater practitioner who has given her heart, soul, and emotional well-being to her craft, I think a lot about how we protect artists going forward. As studios resume production, theater conservatories open up to students, and theatrical unions release their own COVID-19 guidelines, we have to consider the importance of personal boundaries and emotional safety of every individual involved with these productions.
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This article is more important than I can even describe. In and outside of the entertainment industry, a culture is present in some areas that involves an expectation that no one has boundaries or would be uncomfortable with anything, especially physically. Intimacy Directors directly combat this and ensure that all performances are done in a way that leaves everyone involved feeling as comfortable as possible. I know I am biased, but I can not see a single situation where someone could convince me that Intimacy Directors/Coordinators should not exist in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, until reading this article, I did not factor in how they could be responsible for ensuring that personal boundaries are being respected when it comes to Coronavirus. I like how the article described intimacy directors as an advocate and a voice for the performers. I think this article demonstrates that the work of an intimacy director goes beyond just choreographing intimate scenes, they work on all levels to make sure the production is as good as it can be in the way that is most comfortable for everyone involved on the team.
-Ariel Bernhard
This article is one that is extremely important, especially now. I responded to another article earlier about sexual assault and how it is still very prevalent in Hollywood, as it has been from the beginning of time. Intimacy training, along with sexual assault, is one hundred percent an educational issue. There have been a lot of issues especially in the college setting surrounding sexual assault in theatre and a lot of it is the result of not investing the institution's budget and time for sexual assault and intimacy training. In theatre, there are a lot of potential intimate moments that happen that are not only shared by the production team and cast, but eventually the audience as well. Intimacy training should be the first and top priority in order to avoid sexual assault, harassment, etc. I don’t understand how people don’t understand the importance of this- we learned it in kindergarten- keep your hands to yourself.
In Stage Management Seminar this week, we just had the intimacy director for Oregon Shakes come in as a guest speaker to talk about her work, which I found really interesting and helpful, and now I’m wishing I’d asked about her thoughts on intimacy direction in a zoom world, because I think there’s some different issues at play here. During a Zoom show, even if the actors aren’t physically in the same place, specific shows may require some level of theatrical intimacy, and it’s important to figure out boundaries, especially because they may be different in the new environment. Nudity was a big one that jumped out for me - even if the actor may have been okay with performing nude in a live setting, they may no longer feel comfortable doing so in a streamed setting where recording could easily be taken by an anonymous audience member. One that didn’t appear in this article, but that I was thinking about during JPPs, is the comfort level of our actors with their homes and bedrooms being on view as well, and how can we work to make that the least invasive process that we can?
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