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my education & training

intimacy direction + coordination

~200 hours of training

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Currently: 

INTIMACY PROFESSIONAL ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, Phase 1

Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | 2024 (Self-paced)

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CERTIFICATION COURSE, LEVEL 4

Cha Ramos, Mentor | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

(6 hours) â€‹

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Intimacy Coordination With Disabled Performers

Rebecca Johannsen, Emily Goodson, Sawyer VanVactor-Lee | Intimacy Professionals Association | April 2024

(4 hours) 

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Creating Safe and Authentic Performances

Marci Liroff | Sundance Collab | April 2024

(1 hour) 

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Exploring the Intersection of Intimacy & Autism

Sawyer Vanvactor-Lee | Intimacy Professionals Association | March 2024

(2 hours) 

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CERTIFICATION COURSE, LEVEL 3

Claire Warden, Cha Ramos (Tortoises section) | 

Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | Summer 2023

(~70 hours)

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Staging Outercourse

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | June 2022

(3 hours)

 

Staging Intercourse

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | June 2022

(3 hours)

 

Acting Intimacy for TV and Film

Lizzy Talbot | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | April 2022

(1.5 hours) 

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Staging Non Consent

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | March 2022

(3 hours)

 

Voicing Sex

Rachel Finley | Intimacy Coordinators of Color | March 2022

(3 hours)

 

Intro to Kink & BDSM for Theatre, TV, and Film

Dr Timaree Schmit | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | November 2021

(1.5 hours)

 

CERTIFICATION COURSE, LEVEL 2

Maya Herbsman, Claire Warden (Lavender Section) | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | June 2021

(15 hours)

 

Intimacy Choreography

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | February 2021

(7 hours)

 

CERTIFICATION COURSE, LEVEL 1

Maya Herbsman, Sarah Lozoff | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators |  January 2021

(12 hours)

 

Considerations for Virtual Intimacy

Alicia Rodis, Sasha Smith | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | October 2020

(1.5 ours)

 

Building Closure Practices

Samantha Kaufman | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | October 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Let’s Talk About Intimacy: Approaching Communication

Yarit Dor | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | August 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Acting Intimacy Essentials

Jessica Steinrock | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | July 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Intimacy Direction & COVID-19

Claire Warden | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | July 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Working Together: Intimacy Directors & Fight Directors

Eli Lynn, Colleen Hughes | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | July 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Workshop Weekend

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | November 2019

(16 hours)

consent

~7 hours

 

Power Dynamics

Lauren Kiele DeLeon | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | September 2022

(0.75 hours)

 

Consent Culture in Devised Theatre

Colleen Hughes | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | December 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Everybody for Every Body: Understanding Boundaries for the Entire Creative Team

Claire Warden | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | December 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Faculty Leadership: Facilitating Consent in High Contact Disciplines

Jill Matarelli Carlson | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | November 2020

(1.5 hours)

 

Consent in Rehearsals

Maya Herbsman | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | October 2020

(1.5 hours)

anti-harassment

Preventing Workplace Harassment - Fundamentals International 2024

Tralient | July 2024

(2 hours)

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Addressing Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct on Campus

University of Utah | April 2024

(1 hour)

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MENTAL HEALTH first aid + TRAUMA STEWARDSHIP

~14 hours

 

Advanced Master Program for the Treatment of Trauma

National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine | October 2022

(5 hours)

 

Trauma-Informed Practices

Chelsea Pace | Theatrical Intimacy Education | October 2021

(3 hours)

 

CERTIFICATION in Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid Organization | July 2021

(6 hours)

BYSTANDER INTERVENTION

~4.5 hours

 

Disobey

Aleah Black | March 2024

(1.5 hours) 

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Stand Up Against Street Harassment

Hollaback! (now Right To Be) | July 2020

​(1 hour)

 

Bystander Intervention Certification
Intimacy Coordinators Alliance Film and Television | July 2020

(2 hours)

MEDIATION, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, + JUSTICE

~7 hours

 

Anatomy of an Apology: When "Ouch/Oops" Isn't Enough

Charlie Baker | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | September 2022

(1.5 hours)

 

Calling In Workshop

Loretta Ross, Loan Tran | September 2022

(3 hours)

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Building Robust Pathways of Reporting

Zev Steinrock | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | November 2021

(1.5 hours)

 

​Bystander Intervention 2.0: Conflict De-escalation 
Hollaback! (now Right To Be) | July 2020

(1 hour)

ANTI-RACISM + EDI

~12 hours

 

Anti-Racist Theatre: A Foundational Course
Nicole Brewer | March 2021

(6 hours)

Building Racial Equity
Race Forward | August 2020

(6 hours)

GENDER IDENTITY + SEXUAL ORIENTATION

~16 hours

 

Intimacy Beyond the Binary

Adi Cabral, Kirsten Baity, Raja Benz, Jace Meyer-Crosby | Intimacy Coordinators of Color | May 2021

(3 hours)

 

Queering the Schoolhouse: LGBTQ+ Inclusion For Educators

Coursera: University of Colorado | December 2021

(12 hours)

 

Self-Guided Foundational Safe Zone Training

The Safe Zone Project | August 2020

(1 hour)

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Proud Member of the LGBTQ community

movement

~hundred of hours

 

Laban for Intimacy Work

Nicole Perry | Intimacy Directors & Coordinators | February 2022

(8 hours)

 

Alba Emoting, Level 2 Training

Hyrum Conrad, BYU-Idaho, 2005 - 2006

(30 hours)

 

20+ years experience in dance (jazz, tap, ballet, musical theatre, contemporary)

 

Experience with Viewpoints, Viola Spolin

fight choreography + stage combat

Currently seeking certification 

 

Experience in staging and performing unarmed combat utilizing safety protocols, including: 

  • Falls (forwards, backwards, to the side) 

  • Jabs, punches, slaps

  • Kicks

  • Head butts 

  • Strangling/choking

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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