Contact:
avanderhyde13@gmail.com

Location:
Portland, OR (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
As an Intimacy Choreographer, my goal is to create a risk aware and consensual space. I am trained in methods to facilitate this as well as generating a trauma-informed work environment. I engage in thoughtful work to provide emotional stability for actors and promote holistic resiliency practices so that artists can continue their work in an ethical and efficient way.  I do this to help create a culture of care and start promoting theater as a space to put people first, while acknowledging power dynamics and boundaries that exist in this environment and the room.  I keep in mind the access needs and boundaries for all involved in the production (crew, cast, and production team) to better support and uplift their work.

I specialize in intimacy choreography for queer, femme storylines as having lived experiences in both of these areas. I also engage in stories that have kink and non-consensual intimacy, especially in heightened scenarios like intimacy involving violence or minors.  I also specialize in working with youth and young professionals, having been engaged in workshops and productions to help support youth-driven stories.

I have training through Theatrical Intimacy Education and Intimacy Directors and Choreographers. I have Bystander Intervention training with Hollaback (now Right to Be) and Mental Health First Aid Certification for Youth adn Adults. I am also an Artistic Mental Health Practitioner (certified through the Association of Mental Health Coordinators), which includes self-care support and mental crisis support in the room - especially when lived experiences parallel the content we are engaging in - as well as conflict negotiation and de-escalation practices.

Contact:
francesca.betancourt@gmail.com
520.297.4658

Location:

Seattle (& Washington DC, willing to travel)

Personal Statement: 

My background pre-intimacy direction is as an actor, dancer/choreographer, educator, producer, and deviser. All of my intimacy work is geared towards fostering a culture in which we all have the tools to take care of ourselves and support each other in safe and brave artistic work. I consider "intimate" content as anything that feels especially close to heart or body for the artists or audience involved, which isn't always physical. I create space for artists to move with a curious, consent-based, and trauma informed lens. 

My process is based in clear and honest communication, physical/emotional/mental health, human connection, valuing humanity over productivity, personal autonomy & empowerment, comfort, trust, positivity, ritual, structure, and diligent documentation. I operate with an intersectional approach, as well as the understanding that it is part of my job as an artist to help decolonize and equalize systems that have contributed to the oppression of marginalized populations, and to amplify voices of groups and individuals that have previously been silenced. I facilitate with a combination of shared power and ownership, boundary practices, accountability structures, cultural competency, and clear avenues of communication and connection. In addition to working in productions, I also work with companies, classrooms, and other groups around consent and the intersection of mental health and the arts.

I want quality intimacy training and execution to be available for more than just the large theatre and film hubs in the U.S. and that the Pacific Northwest community, and all regional and fringe arts communities, deserve to benefit from this work. I care deeply about creating artistic spaces that celebrate and acknowledge our humanity.

Website: 

www.francescabetancourt.com 

Contact:
iangbond@gmail.com
513.235.0691

Location:

Seattle (willing to travel)

Personal Statement: 

I believe the most impactful theatre comes from highly collaborative rehearsal rooms built on respect and trust. Whether I am fight directing or intimacy directing, I see my role as that of a storyteller-facilitator supporting the building of trust with best practices and clear communication in service of a dynamic, collaborative story. In a space of trust, artists work with confidence and enthusiasm knowing the team respects each others' boundaries, advocates for each others' needs, and celebrates each others' strengths. This artistic space of integrity leads to the vulnerable truths of human existence we strive for when telling stories.

As an intimacy director with particular skills in stage combat and high risk elements of performance I foster production specific practices that will best support this group of people developing this project at this time. Working from a foundation rooted in Intimacy Directors International's Five Pillars of Intimacy, drawing heavily from Adam Noble's "Noble Method" and Theatrical Intimacy Education's Ingredients, and filtered through my experience as an actor and teacher, I help individuals and teams develop a caring, resilient, consent-based space. This begins by defining together the goals of the project or scene, determining the boundaries of those involved and the systems that best fit our team, focusing on a consent-based, performer-first style of choreographing, and staying in clear and open communication throughout the process. 

Through a trauma-informed and body positive approach to choreographing I work from performers' expertise and director's vision to shape safe, repeatable moments that dynamically tell our story. I advocate for performer safety and confidence by using de-sexualized language, moving through a process efficiently, but at a performer led pace, and openly acknowledging the power dynamics at play in the room. After documenting the specific intimacy choreography we've created I advocate for ongoing dialogue about it to ensure safety, consistency, and ongoing consent. As with fight choreography, I teach closure and de-roling practices for intimacy choreography so work can be left at work and we don't take home the emotional burdens of our show. 

A room of people that trust themselves and each other is the most exciting and creatively fruitful room to work in. As an intimacy director it is my joy to help create that room.

Website:
www.ianbond.org 

Contact:
kndrummond@gmail.com 

Location:
Seattle 

Personal Statement:
I believe that the key to compelling physical storytelling is consent, bravery, and trust. My work is defined by levity, clear communication, and ritual structures, and my intimacy practice is informed by Theatrical Intimacy Education, the IDC pillars, and my own experience as an actor, director, and movement-based creator. 

When choreographing intimate moments, I believe in clearly communicated structure and empowering actors to have autonomy in articulating their inspirations, boundaries, and needs. Beyond choreography, I believe that cultivating a strong and joyful community in the room creates a culture of trust and communication that fosters positive results. I advocate for ritual-based rehearsal rooms to build patterns and muscle memory in connection. In intensely ensemble-based work like Dacha's Dice series, I additionally strive to forge trust on an individual basis through laughter-based techniques like silly handshakes to bookend rehearsals for all individuals in the room: actors, creative team, and admin team alike! 

This year, I have been using consent-based practices to build confidence and trust for a return to in-person rehearsals, advising on and enacting structures to acknowledge the reality that for most of us, sharing space right now is an intimate act in and of itself. 

Website:
www.kate-drummond.com 

Contact:      
forevagil@gmail.com      
917.331.9273

Location:       
Bellingham, WA

Personal Statement:
As I continue to train in Intimacy Direction, I strive to create consent-based spaces in rehearsal rooms and classrooms through the use of boundary practices, self-care tools, and desexualizing language surrounding Intimacy Choreography. These guiding practices empower actors by giving them tools to create healthy boundaries, closure practices, and ways to advocate for themselves in the creative process.

When choreographing scenes of intimacy, I aim to honor the actors’ impulses and the director’s vision within the stated boundaries of the actors. Collaboratively we can create choreography that is deeply embodied, dynamic, and repeatable. Imbedding these consent-based practices into our process and industry allows for exploration and powerful storytelling without draining the overall health and passion of the artists who portray it.

Website:
www.EvaGil.com

Contact:
sarahharlett@hotmail.com
206.851.9959

Location:
Seattle

Personal Statement:
I believe that creative, powerful art comes from a place of communication, respect and trust of the people in the room. That dynamic, expressive, physical storytelling must be created within the boundaries expressed by artists involved and that serves the director’s vision of the story. 

I work to create and foster consent-based environments so that artists can safely work in a place that allows for physical and emotional vulnerability. I employ boundary practices, apply desexualized/ deloaded language and create specific, repeatable, documented choreography (using “Ingredients” developed by TIE) that respects the boundaries of the actors involved and supports the vision of the director. I also offer self-care cues and closure practices to enable artists to self-advocate and to exit the work. I apply training from Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), the pillars from IDI/IDC and additional intimacy, Mental Health First Aid, and Bystander Intervention training as well as my own practice as an actor and collaborator. I currently teach intimacy protocols in my classrooms and am the Intimacy Director at Cornish College of the Arts.  As TIE says, I work to “make it less weird.”

I believe we have an incredible opportunity in the practice of our arts, to become and continue to foster a healthier, consent-based and trauma-informed practice. 

Contact:
alyssa.kay@gmail.com
206.915.3052

Location:
Seattle, WA + Tacoma, WA (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
I come to theatrical intimacy work with a background in physical theater, ensemble-generated theater, and a particular specialization in stage combat, and am passionate about the safe and effective portrayal of both violence and intimacy onstage. My preference is for a highly collaborative process, one in which the instincts of the actors and the vision of the director and other members of the creative team are as important as the tools I bring to the room to help tell those stories.

I typically begin each process by discussing my role with the cast and creative team and giving a brief overview of the intimacy practices I use, including consent and boundary definitions, communication tools, desexualized language, etc. From there, we'll discuss the context of the intimacy in each scene and throughout the play so as to develop a shared understanding of the story we're working to tell. Once on our feet, we'll work choreographically, developing  the physical story in layers from general shapes and use of space to specific tempos, degrees of touch, and use of breath/vocalizations. My goal is to create an objectively definable and repeatable framework that is rooted in the volatile emotional life of the characters but is emotionally and physically safe for the performers to embody. I also recommend the use of closure practices and can help actors, casts, or creative teams develop their own closure practices to create a healthy boundary between the work we do in the room or onstage and the lives we live outside of it.

I currently serve as the resident fight and intimacy choreographer for both Harlequin Productions and Seattle University, and have experience working with both youth and adults as an educator as well as choreographer. I'm committed to helping offset the power imbalances present in every creative process and ensuring that everyone in the room feels a sense of agency and empowerment. And most of all, I love the collaborative, physicalized telling of stories and enjoy creating brave, supportive spaces to do that work.

Website:
www.alyssakay.net

Contact:
Coming soon!

Location:
Washington (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
Coming soon!

Contact:
jcmeyercrosby@gmail.com
585.775.6432

Location:
Portland & Bend, OR (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
I am a white, queer, disabled intimacy director. My work in the field stems from my belief that regulated nervous systems tell better stories. Trust and somatic insight are some of the tools that shape a rehearsal process in which everyone feels safe enough to take risks! I center the principles of trauma-informed care through transparency, collaboration/mutuality, clearly stated boundaries, applying a disability justice lens, and naming cultural context as it relates to power dynamics. 

I also offer harm repair protocols upfront. Breaches will happen; how can we plan ahead to respond to them with accountability and resilience? I find that front-loading some clear communication can help performers feel safe enough to play and expand in the container we've created together. After conferring with the creative team about vision and facilitating boundary-sharing with the performers, I offer movement prompts and give feedback to the performers on how the story is reading from an outside eye using my extensive research of human sexuality, gender, physiology, biopsychology, and power. As the choreography begins to take shape, I instruct the stage manager to make notes which we then review as a team before the end of rehearsal. In the case of obstacles, I may offer chemistry-building or contact improv exercises to help alleviate performer anxieties and get the physical narrative flowing.

I have been playing and nerding in the field of theatre for fifteen years, film for ten years, intimacy and consent for seven, movement and dance for five, and fight for five. Outside of strictly the arts, I have a deep personal spiritual practice and offer ritual facilitation services for queer people and those who find themselves outside of mainstream religions. It would be my honor to help you effectively and efficiently foster a truly magical creative process.

Website:
www.mythmedics.com 

Contact:
erollie@gmail.com
651.260.9406

Location: 
Central Washington (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
In my practice and rehearsal, I strive to support a brave space which focuses on establishing and communicating boundaries, creating structures for communication and advocacy, encouraging dialogue among collaborators, and mitigating as well as repairing harm. Within this brave space, we recognize the power imbalances that exist, and then I incorporate and offer anti-oppressive/antiracist, consent-based tools such as a self-care cue, community-created agreements, physical boundary practices, and recognition (and celebration!) of boundaries beyond the physical to include personal, cultural, professional. In choreographing intimacy, the storytelling comes first - there are many ways to support and tell the story via intimacy that work within actors' boundaries. Intimacy is specifically choreographed and documented - using de-loaded, de-sexualized language - to ensure it is safe and repeatable (including a "Plan B" as needed). It is my sincere hope this consent-based practice expands beyond the rehearsal space to recognize the import of informed consent, honoring boundaries as they are, and working together to create a more equitable, inclusive collaborative process and field. As an associate faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education, a theatre educator with experience teaching elementary, high school, and university settings, as well as a freelance director/intimacy choreographer and yoga instructor, I bring a passion for education, trauma-informed practice, and interdisciplinary artistic collaboration to the process. 

Website:
www.emilyrollie.com 

Contact:
jordanrosin@gmail.com

Location: 
Seattle (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
As an Intimacy Director / Choreographer (or Movement Director more generally), I aim to safely and effectively co-create moments of repeatable, heightened physical storytelling with respect to the boundaries of all involved.

In choreographing intimacy, I use Theatrical Intimacy Education’s desexualized language, “The Ingredients” mixed with other accessible and relevant movement vocabularies such as Viewpoints, Laban, Contact Improvisation, and Butoh-Fu. 

In establishing safe and effective processes for choreography, I interweave a variety of trauma-sensitive, consent-based, harm-reduction, and transformative justice practices from my training with Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process, Nicole Brewer’s Antiracist Theatre, Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, as well as my certifications in yoga (Loom Yoga SchoolRYS) and Psychological First Aid (Johns Hopkins University). My work as an IC is further informed by my degrees in acting/directing (Syracuse University), ensemble-based physical theatre (Dell’Arte International) and formal intimacy training with Theatrical Intimacy Education, National Society for Intimacy Professionals (Canada), and Cara Rawlings, IDC.

I come to intimacy work after a decade as a physical theatre artist/yogi/clown/acrobat working in devised and ensemble-based generative processes. I have emerging lived/learned competencies and interest in trans/non-binary intimacy and am an advocate for gender-inclusive spaces. As an acting teacher, I incorporate consent and boundary practices into every subject I teach and encourage the thoughtful analyses of power and privilege which enable consent to be freely given and informed. I see intimacy work as an avenue to personal and collective liberation. Collaborate with me and let’s create more possibilities!

Website:
www.jordanrosin.com/intimacy
www.jordanrosin.net 

Contact:      
jessksmith@gmail.com       
802.598.6596

Location:       
Seattle + Tacoma, WA (willing to travel)

Personal Statement:
In my work as an intimacy director and educator, I apply trauma-informed practices as I facilitate a discussion with a company about the ingredients necessary for being able to give informed and enthusiastic consent, highlight the pathways for accountability that are available to all, and develop a shared vocabulary and practice for establishing boundaries and addressing boundary violations based in Theatrical Intimacy Education's pedagogy. Company members are empowered to consider their boundaries, the shifting contexts that may alter their boundaries, and the plethora of ways that boundaries can be honored while collaboratively telling a compelling story. The foundational beliefs that undergird the work are that a performer's boundaries are right just where they are and that when boundaries are respected, everyone is empowered to do their best work. When choreographing, we start with a grounding in the script and story we are telling, then work from a boundary practice utilizing de-sexualized language to build specific and repeatable technical choreography that is documented by the actors and stage management team. Before leaving, the rehearsal team understands how they can perform necessary intimacy calls, incorporate placeholders, address shifting boundaries, and develop de-roling practices that support the mental well-being of the company. As a director who specializes in devised, site-specific, immersive, physical, and interdisciplinary work in addition to more traditional and educational theatre and as an Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre Arts at the University of Puget Sound with over a decade of experience working with and advocating for survivors of sexual violence, queer, trans, and non-binary young adults, and students of color, I come to intimacy direction with a commitment to collaboration, an imaginative and deeply physical practice, and an investment in advocating for those with the least power in the room. 

Website:       
www.jessksmith.com
www.artbarnfestival.com

Contact:      
StarrBrightConsulting@gmail.com
509.832.2233

Location:       
Prosser, WA (serving Eastern WA)

Personal Statement:
My theatre experience started at age five and includes acting, directing, producing, stage managing, designing some technical elements, and serving in technical positions. I earned my BA in Theatre from Whitman College and my Masters in Theatre from Central Washington University. I taught theatre at Yakima Valley College for 21 years and Prosser High School for 12 years. I am passionate about intimacy direction, because I want to ensure safe environments and experiences for all theatrical participants.

I am especially interested in working with community and educational theatre companies as their productions often create a foundation for future performers and include participants with varied experiences. It is my hope when participants learn a consent-based approach to intimate staging, they will come to understand and adopt these healthy practices as standard, will create safe and inviting environments in the moment, and will carry that knowledge with them into future theatrical work.

My goals as an intimacy director are to:

• Communicate upfront with all production members, in writing and orally, expectations for working on a production that includes intimate staging

• Carefully analyze scripts for intimate blocking, mature language, and moments of actor physical exposure in order to communicate roles’ requirements before and during auditions

• Advocate for actors from auditions through the final performance

• Collectively create an environment where actors feel safe, comfortable, and heard

• Create and manage all intimacy-related paperwork

• Protect the confidentiality of information entrusted to me

• Establish, revisit, communicate, maintain, honor, and respect actors’ boundaries

• Provide consent-based intimate staging which is true to the playwright’s and director’s vision

• Work with production leadership and actors to stage intimate blocking collaboratively, professionally, ethically, theatrically, and using desexualized language

• Create intimate moments which communicate the breadth and depth of characters’ emotions by using carefully staged and repetitively rehearsed blocking

• Teach, facilitate, and encourage the use of de-rolling and debriefing techniques

• Oversee documentation of intimate blocking in several ways to ensure consistent and appropriate execution

I look forward to connecting with theatrical organizations and participants to support their production needs.

Contact:      
mod.hughes@gmail.com      
206.963.3647

Location:       
Seattle + Vashon Island, WA

Personal Statement:
Ellie Hughes (she/her) is deeply honored to be the inaugural PNW TI emerging professional collective member and the coordinator of the PNW TI Emerging Professionals Group. She is a recent graduate of Kalamazoo College with a BA in Theatre Arts and Spanish Language & Literature, with a concentration in Film & Media Studies. Ellie has experience in many kinds of theatrical work, including performance, stage management, playwriting, directing, and patron service. She is currently working as the Production Management Apprentice at Seattle Rep, which is a position that is part of the Rep's Professional Arts Training Program.

For her college senior thesis, Ellie conducted a research project on the theatrical intimacy movement, which informed and strengthened her desire to work toward making the theatrical process more ethical and consent based. For the project, she interviewed five intimacy directors, wrote a timeline and narrative of the history of the movement, and wrote intimacy guidelines for her college theatre department. 

Since finishing the project, Ellie has continued her theatrical intimacy education with PNW Theatrical Intimacy and Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE). Ellie is looking to contribute her academic and research-based knowledge to rehearsal rooms in order to develop more choreographic expertise. She would be grateful for the opportunity to shadow or assist intimacy directors in order to gain more experience in this vibrant and essential field.