How to Effectively Hire an Intimacy Professional
This article is the second in a series looking at the work that intimacy professionals--coaches, coordinators, and choreographers--do. This article looks at how to hire an intimacy professional—the dos and the don’ts. The first was an introduction <<insert link>>. Other installments will look at best practices of intimacy coaching, how the pandemic has changed the profession, what intimacy coaching won’t do and how the work of equity, diversity, and inclusion intersects with cultural boundaries.
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In the past few years, intimacy coaching has received new attention and more theater companies and producers are wanting to have intimacy professionals as part of their team for works that require physical contact between actors.
Laura RIkard, co-founder of Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) with Chelsea Pace, says the time to hire an intimacy professional is when you look at a script and realize there is a lot of intimacy and you want support.
So, how do you hire?
Start by knowing what it is you want from an intimacy professional. When a hire results in a bad fit, it often turns people off intimacy choreography as a whole. Know what you want and the role you want a professional to play.
“Figure out why you want to hire,” Pace said. “What are you hoping they’ll bring to the table? Do you want someone who will do education or just choreography? Are you looking for a borderline co-director because the show is so intimate? Ask questions tailored to what you need, rather than what you think they should have.”
Elizabeth Terrell, an intimacy choreographer and theater instructor at Western Michigan University, finds referrals and word-of-mouth to be the best way for an organization to find someone to hire because it is still unclear in the industry who is qualified.
“There are a lot of us who have been doing this for a long time,” Terrell said. “There are also people who are doing it because it is trendy and who don’t actually know what it is.”
Hiring Dos:
· Look at qualifications
· Ask for references
· Ask about process
· Ask about collaborative style
Hiring Don’ts:
· Don’t expect a person to guarantee a “safe” space and be suspicious of those who do
· Don’t use a one-size-fits all model
· Don’t ask the person to practice mental health care, even if they are a mental health professional
· Don’t value quantity of experience over quality
Look at qualifications
Find out what the person is able and willing to do.
Rikard points out that different professionals have different specializations. She and her partner Pace are skilled not just at coming in and choreographing the moments, but in providing models around how to help and support the environment. Others may do only the physical moments of kissing, touching and hugging. Others will say that they don’t do non-consensual moments.
She recommends staying open to the different titles that an intimacy professional might have. In addition to intimacy coach, intimacy director, intimacy choreographer and intimacy coordinator, they may have other titles that incorporate intimacy work.
“Something important to remember about the intimacy discipline is that people have been doing it for a long time,” Rikard said. “There are stunt coordinators, particularly women in Hollywood, who have been doing this for 30 years, but the industry didn’t allow the intimacy title.”
Because the title is new, it can often be difficult to sort out what qualifications a person has. Few people will have long lists of intimacy credits on their resume and certification in the industry has not yet been standardized--anyone can create a website and a certification.
“There is no standard for certification and there is no standard for training,” Pace said. “There is no gold star for being an intimacy professional. There are organizations that certify, that provide training and documentation, but it is important if you are hiring to ask good questions.”
Both recommend looking at qualifications and not certifications.
If you are going to look at certification, Terrell recommends that it not necessarily be in intimacy coordination.
“I want them to be movement trainers, voice trainers, or something physical so that I know they have an understanding of what it is to deal with bodies and spirits,” Terrell said.
Ask for references
Like any other job, it is important to get references. How does that professional work in the theatrical environment? In what sort of environments are they a good fit? What works for one environment may not for another.
Pace encourages those hiring to get references from a variety of people.
“We ask that you talk not only to directors but to actors and stage managers so you get a sense of what that person is like to work with. What are they like in the room?” Pace said.
“Ask for references not just from people with power, but from the most vulnerable as well,” Rikard adds.
Ask about process
Rikard says one of the most important questions you can ask is about an intimacy professional’s process. What will they do from the moment they are hired until the moment they are done working with you? The answer can be revealing.
“See if they clearly explain their process and technique and how it supports the production,” Rikard says. “If they say, I’m going to make everything safe, that’s abstract and objective.”
For Rikard, someone saying they are going to make everything safe is a red flag. She gives the example that she has child-proofed her house, but her children can still fall and scrape their knees. Likewise, it isn’t possible for an intimacy professional to guarantee safety.
There is also the problem that someone who makes those kind of promises is often playing upon a theater’s fear of getting intimacy wrong or being accused of being abusive. They are offering themselves as an insurance policy rather than being committed to creating a consent-based environment.
Ask about collaborative style
Pace encourages theaters to ask a potential intimacy professional about their collaborative style and determine whether it matches that of the theater company.
This goes back to what an organization wants from an intimacy professional. Will that person be “in charge” of all the intimate moments, or will it be more collaborative? Who will the intimacy professional work with on the production team? How early will they be part of the process?
Questions to ask
What are some other questions to ask? The three intimacy educators recommend such things as:
· When there is a problem, how do you handle it?
· How do you establish boundaries?
· How do you support consent-based practices even when you’re not in the room?
· How do you see your role in the production?
Background checks
Pace says there is a lot of movement toward conducting criminal background checks for people doing this work, but she suggests moving with caution.
“Criminal background checks are unequally applied, especially with racial disparities. It’s not as revealing as people think. So sure, do it, but with a grain of salt.”
Looking at qualifications, asking for references, and asking probing questions will set your theater on the path to finding someone who is a good fit for the production’s team. It lays the groundwork for a productive relationship with a professional who can help you stage your intimate moments.