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FAQ'S

If it's just a kissing scene, do I really need an intimacy director/coordinator?

While intimacy professionals are definitely vital to creating any sexual content, their expertise can also elevate any project involving touch! Even if it's G-rated, there's a whole world of storytelling possibilities within a scene. I've done plenty of work for shows that are "just kissing scenes," helping actors develop their character-based chemistry!

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Doesn't this make it awkward? 

Short answer: Nope!

Long answer: Sometimes choreographing and rehearsing sex scenes can be awkward, but having an intimacy professional actually makes it all much LESS awkward! When you've got someone in the room who's an expert in physical storytelling and discussing actor boundaries, it frees actors to make discoveries and empowers them to make strong choices.​

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Won't this make it look less realistic/passionate/sexy? 

Short answer: Nope!

Long answer: Intimacy professionals have all kinds of tools to create scenes that are just as realistic, passionate, and sexy as anything actors can come up with on their own, if not more so!

(And if the scene you're working on has varying levels of consent or violence in the script, then you definitely need an expert in the room!)

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We've never needed intimacy directors or coordinators before. Why do we need them now? 

The truth is we probably did need them before...they just didn't exist yet! In our post #MeToo world, we've learned how important it is to honor actor boundaries and to mitigate power dynamics when we're creating vulnerable stories that involve nudity and sex. This is a new field, but it's quickly becoming the industry standard.​

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What if I want my actors to really have sex? To make it really genuine? 

If you are asking actors to "really have sex," you're asking them to engage in sex work. Sex work is a completely valid industry, but it's a different industry from theatre, film, and television, and may have different legal restrictions. But more importantly, an actor is not obligated to do sex work when they signed up to do a play, musical, tv show, or film.​

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What can I expect in working with an intimacy director or coordinator?

Mostly collaboration! For more details on my process, check out my "What to Expect" page.

While I work in various areas throughout Utah, much of my work takes place on the traditional lands of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Goshute, and Eastern Shoshone peoples. White settlers seized the lands colonially known as the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys through the unratified and unfulfilled Treaty of Spanish Fork in 1865, in exchange for basic needs and rights, under the direction of Brigham Young. 

To learn some of the ways you can support members of these native peoples today (including land restoration and preservation), visit and/or donate to the following resources: 

Ute Land Trust

Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake

Utah Diné Bikéyah

Landback

Indigenous Action 

The Red Nation

 

I also recognize the stolen lives of the enslaved Africans brought to Utah by early white settlers, and acknowledge that their subjugation and forced labor helped to establish the cities that exist in this area today. 

To learn about direct action you can take for racial justice, visit and/or donate to the following resources:

The Black Menaces

The National African-American Reparations Commission

The Center for Anti-Racist Research

Resmaa Menakem and Somatic Abolitionism

 

These acknowledgments are only one step in anti-racist theater, film, and television. I strive to de-colonize my work through careful project selection, meaningful collaboration, ongoing conversation, self education, and uplifting the voices who have been marginalized by white supremacy.

© Liz Whittaker

lizwhittakeremail@gmail.com

208.709.8945

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