The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa To Host Free Webinar with Intimacy Director Claire Warden

The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Department of Theatre and Dance is sponsoring a free public webinar with Claire Warden of Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) about best practices in intimacy safety for theatre, television, and film. Warden's talk, titled "Building a Consent Based Workspace: The Fundamentals of Intimacy Direction/Coordination," will introduce the concept of Intimacy Direction, a growing artistic practice to promote psychological and physical safety in the performing arts. The Zoom webinar is free to all and requires advance registration. The event will take place on April 2 at 1:00pm HST. Click here to register.

Claire Warden is one of the most respected practitioners in the field of Intimacy Direction. She has extensive experience in working with institutions and individuals on the development of safe practices for artists. Warden consults for and intimacy coordinates on television networks, such HBO and Hulu, as well as independent films. In 2019, she made history as the first intimacy director in a Broadway production for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, with Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon. She was also the first woman to be nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Intimacy and Fight Direction, which she won for Slave Play in 2019. Other recent Broadway credits include The Inheritance, Jagged Little Pill, and Company.

Sexual harassment associated with intimacy work in theatre/TV/film has had an overwhelming negative impact of women throughout these industries, as recent journalistic investigations have shown. Intimacy Direction presents an opportunity to address this unfortunate truth in a positive way: by presenting specific and up-to-date strategies for promoting safety and avoiding and harmful dangerous situations and practices; these strategies can benefit all genders.

The #metoo movement has brought national attention to the issue of safety in the rehearsal room, on the stage, and on set. Warden is part of the collaboration team advising SAG-AFTRA on their effort to standardize, codify and implement guidelines for on-set intimacy coordinators. In April 2021, SAG-AFTRA updated its standards and protocols for the use of Intimacy Coordinators (Found at https://www.sagaftra.org/files/sa_documents/SA_IntimacyCoord.pdf). This document was created in order to standardize, codify and implement guidelines for on-set intimacy coordinators.

Warden's webinar is funded by the University of Hawai'i Foundation's Roger Long Western Theatre fund.

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