Reimagining consensual engagement in drama education: the possibilities of intimacy choreography in a “post”-COVID-19 world
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/28169344.13Keywords:
drama education, consent, intimacy choreography, ethicsAbstract
COVID-19 has brought forth new risks for students and teachers as they navigate how to engage safely with each other. It becomes necessary to consider the role of consent as a daily practice in “post”-pandemic life and explore what consent may offer young people as agents of their own bodies. In this paper, I consider how the emerging field of intimacy choreography (IC) illuminates new possibilities for engaging ethically with others. I situate this exploration in the context of drama education, guided by the following questions: how may IC provide practical tools for fostering consensual interactions amongst students, their peers, and their teachers? How may IC shed light on new ways of living more ethically with others?
This paper discusses the potential of IC through the five pillars of rehearsal and performance practice identified by Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (Percy, 2020), supplemented by IC scholarship and professional literature (Ates, 2019; Lehmann, 2018; Morey, 2018; Pace, 2020; Purcell, 2018; Sina, 2014), and reflections on my experiences as a drama teacher working with an IC apprentice and high school students to share observations of how IC promoted consent in rehearsal. This paper will conclude with suggestions for how IC can help teachers support students in a “post”-COVID-19 context.
References
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human Condition. University of Chicago Press.
Ates, A. (2019). The New (Intimacy) Direction. Backstage, 60(19), 6.
Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. (n.d). About us. Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. https://www.idcprofessionals.com/about-us
Hannah Arendt/Karl Jaspers: Correspondence 1926-1969. Kohler, L, & Saner, H (Eds). (1992). Harcourt Brace.
Lehmann, S.M. (2018). Theatrical intimacy: Creating a safe process and a common vocabulary in the #MeToo era. Southern Theatre, 59(4), 19.
Lévinas, E., & Hand, S. (1989). The Levinas reader. Wiley-Blackwell.
Morey, E. (2018). The Five Cs of intimacy choreography: In conversation with Siobhan Richardson. TheatreArtLife. Retrieved from: https://www.theatreartlife.com/one-and-done/5-cs-intimacy-conversation-siobhan-richardson/
Pace, C. (2020). Staging sex: Best practices, tools, and techniques for theatrical intimacy. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429487613
Percy, M. (2020). Intimacy directors and coordinators present: The IDC resource guide. Retrieved from www.idcprofessionals.com
Purcell, C. (2018). Intimate exchanges. American Theatre, 35(9), 56-60.
Sina, T. (2006). Intimate encounters: Staging intimacy and sensuality. [Master’s Thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University]. VCU Scholars Compass.
Sina, T. (2014). Safe sex: A look at the intimacy choreographer. Fight Master: Journal of the Society of American Fight Directors, 36(1), 12-15.
St. John, A. (2021, May 17). Dismantle the hierarchy: Best practices for creating a more equitable, consensual theatre classroom. Howlround Theatre Commons. https://howlround.com/dismantle-hierarchy-best-practices-creating-more-equitable-consensual-theatre-classroom
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Copyright (c) 2022 Kristy Smith
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