Treat intimacy co-ordinators like fight directors, says new consent guidance

Bectu and Equity have published new guidelines for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) on approaching intimacy and consent in courses preparing students for careers in the creative industries.

The advice, which aims to “elevate the standards for safety and accountability”, encourages institutions to hire Intimacy Practitioners (IP) to train staff and students, comparing the role with that of a Fight Director or Stunt Coordinator.

Covering intimacy practice both as part of the curriculum and in productions, the guidance comes after a series of high-profile inquiries launched in recent years by drama schools into claims of misconduct by staff.

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In 2018, a survey in The Stage found one in five theatre students reported experiencing sexual harassment, prompting the Federation of Drama Schools to issue "ethical guidelines" for its members.

Three years later, a series of historic allegations were made by students who studied at Arts Ed, Guildford, East 15 and the now defunct ALRA, ranging from inappropriate comments and teaching tactics to unwarranted touching and sexual assault, leading many to question the coherence of safeguarding policies in conservatoires.

The Federation of Drama Schools has welcomed the new guidelines from Bectu and Equity, saying that they “offer a clear framework for intimacy engagement, for which the FDS has long been an advocate”.

Sustainable performance practices

In its advice, Bectu and Equity say: “In the context of drama schools…intimacy as a form of physical storytelling is not only about sex scenes and nudity but about the individual and their learning experience.”

Highlighting the association between individual experience and protected characteristics identified within EDI policy and the Equality Act 2010, it explains that “understanding the link between creative risk (vulnerability) and psychological safety is crucial for the development of sustainable performance practices and our future artists.

"Intimacy education addresses a much wider collection of concerns which ultimately feed into the ever-increasing mental health issues faced by the student body in higher education."

The guide's authors say they don't "aim to discourage touch or intimate content" as an educational tool but want to "offer a framework that allows those involved in the process to practice touch safely, consensually and effectively, ultimately optimising the training environment".

The guidance says that extra time should be allocated to addressing issues arising from intimacy in student productions, including closed rehearsals and bespoke tech sessions.

It also suggests dedicating teaching time to give student actors, stage managers, directors, movement directors and technicians “a grounding in consent and an understanding of the negotiation and renegotiation of boundaries in practice through workshops”.

According to the advice, using an IP on productions can “serve the students and staff in a similar way that a fight director/stunt coordinator does with violent content; by helping to create visually gripping scenes, rooted in the storytelling, engaged with structures and safety protocols that promote individual agency, and a sense of belonging and accomplishment.”

It adds that engaging with intimacy practitioners in an educational setting “prepares the students for the industry” while supporting “resilience, employability and the business of creativity.”

Reduce risk

The guidelines offer specific scenarios for when hiring an IP is deemed 'essential' and 'recommended' based on professional practice, but modified to reflect “the higher level of risk at play” in a HEI setting. This includes reclassifying the presence of an IP for staged passionate kissing as 'essential'.

It also recommends that institutions carefully consider whether nudity is necessary and “explore options for implication, illusion and states of undress instead” to “reduce risk whilst allowing students to learn about nudity protocols and processes”.

While the framework offers coherent guidance for all HEIs, Bectu and Equity acknowledge that each school may work with IPs to create "their own framework to support the delivery of intimacy in actor training that celebrates the type of acting philosophies unique to each training institution".

Pia Rickman, an IP who co-authored the guidelines, said: “Mirroring the changes that started with only a few networks in 2018, to finally being made standard in the industry in the United Kingdom, the next step now is to level us up in higher education in equal measure.

"I hope this guidance helps and that the collaborations further elevate the standards for safety and accountability in the creative industries in the future.”