During sex scenes this intimacy coordinator comes into play

To make a film, you need a lot of people. There is the director for the overview, the illuminator for the lights, the decorators to give texture to the film’s universe, and the costume designers to imagine the outfits of the actors.

And when those outfits come off and things start to get out of hand? that’s where it comes in Jessica Steinrock.

Steinrock is a intimacy coordinator —or director of intimacy, when he works in theater and performing arts— who facilitates the production of scenes of nudity, simulated sex or hyperexposure, which she defines as “something someone wouldn’t otherwise discover in public, even if it’s not legal nudity.” Much like a stunt coordinator or fight director, she makes sure the actors are safe throughout the process and that the scene is believable.

This function has grown in importance over the past five years. As the entertainment industry reeled from the litany of abuse uncovered by the #MeToo Movementmany productions were eager to Publicly demonstrate your commitment to safety. Hiring a privacy coordinator was one way to do this.

“A lot of places were really excited about the possibility of this work and being on the cutting edge, showing that their company cared about their actors, cared about consent,” Steinrock said in a Zoom interview from his home in Chicago. .

Steinrock, which has worked in projects as the acclaimed Showtime survival drama “Yellowjackets”, Netflix’s teenage comedy drama “Yo nunca” and Hulu’s miniseries “Pequeños fuegos por todas partes”, has participated in the coordination of intimidated desde his beginnings. The industry took off largely thanks to the high-profile work of privacy coordinator Alicia Rodis on the HBO series “The Deuce” in 2018. At the time, Steinrock, whose lineup was the improv comedywas pursuing a master’s degree in drama at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus, focusing on navigate consent issues in this space.

In the world of improvisation, they touched me a lot, kissed me, grabbed me or made jokes about me that I didn’t consent to“, he recalled in a TikTok video. “And I was very curious to know if there were any better ways to handle that.”

The issue was particularly thorny in improvisation, which relies on a philosophy of accepting and building on what your stage partner gives you.

“You end up in awkward or even damaging positions because the whole culture is about saying ‘Yes and…’,” said Valleri Robinson, head of the university’s theater department, who advised Steinrock on his master’s degrees. and doctorate. “He really started to realize that was a problematic way to create art.”

Steinrock and Rodis met through Steinrock’s boyfriend, now her husband, who is a fight manager. Rodis recognized a kindred spirit in Steinrock, with all the qualities of a great intimacy coordinator. Was the Steinrock’s mentor in his first job: an orgy of 40 people in the TNT series “Claws”. “They put her in the lion’s den and she triumphed,” Rodis recalled.

Steinrock quickly became a leader in this burgeoning field and now spends much of his time educating people about it. In April 2022, he opened his TikTok account, which now has over 700,000 followers. In his videos, he talks about “naughty” scenes from television series (among his favorites are “Bridgerton”, “Sex Education” and “The House of the Dragon”), explains how these scenes are filmed and responds to questions. Frequently asked questions about your work, such as: “What do you do if an actor has a boner?” or “If two actors are in an off-screen relationship, do they have to follow the same protocols?” She doesn’t just demystify her work, but also invites people to engage in broader conversations about privacy and consent.

The role of intimacy coordinator can be a difficult balance between choreography and attention, and Steinrock brings an academic grounding in feminist theory and performance to the work, as well as an innate flair for people.

“He’s very patient,” said Karyn Kusama, director and executive producer of the Showtime drama “Yellowjackets,” who worked with Steinrock on the series pilot. “It’s good to listen. He expects the actor to take the lead in…what he will do to make him feel more cared for.”

The “Yellow Vests” pilot includes several intimate scenes, including one in which two high school students, played by Sophie Nélisse and Jack Depew, have sex in a car and another in which a housewife, played by Melanie Lynskey, masturbates. Having Steinrock on set for these scenes was vital, Kusama said.

As a director, Kusama says she has always felt a deep empathy for the actors’ vulnerability in such scenes and makes sure they feel comfortable. but even if you ask an actor how they feel, it can be hard for them to feel confident to answer honestly knowing what’s at stake. A privacy coordinator, as a neutral person, is more likely to get an honest answer.

“Socially, it’s very difficult to talk about sex,” Steinrock said. The role of the coordinator iscreate more lines of communicationhe added, to make the cast feel safe talking about any topic that might come up, big or small.

“Privacy coordinators are no panacea for an industry that has historically abused its players and, frankly, most people who work in it,” Steinrock said. “But integrating them into productions is a clear step that institutions can take, as part of a broader commitment to safety and fairness.”

For Steinrock, this commitment also includes work on the diversification privacy coordinators. Despite being a rare female-led discipline in a male-dominated industry, it remains overwhelmingly white and heterosexual, one of the pitfalls of a young profession that has relied heavily on mouth by ear to develop.

Last resort, the hope is that coordinating intimacy scenes will become a standard in the entertainment industry and “that it helps us see ourselves and the role of sex in our lives in a different way, as something deeper and full of possibilities,” Kusama concluded.

© The New York Times 2023

Continue reading: