Consent

Intimacy direction isn’t just about staging romantic content onstage — although that is one component of the role. It’s about creating a culture of consent, clarity, and safety in any moment of physical or emotional vulnerability onstage. As drama teachers, we frequently challenge our students to take risks onstage and push themselves out of their comfort zones. But in order to do that, we need to create a safer space for them, and knowing about intimacy direction can help with this. In recent years, professional theatres and post-secondary training programs have started to embrace intimacy direction as a standard part of rehearsal, just like fight choreography or dance. In many high school settings, however, the concept of intimacy direction hasn’t always been present, oftentimes because administrators or educators might feel that school shows shouldn’t have visibly romantic content, or because the intimate moments in school shows are “small” or brief. That being said, the more that teachers are able to include consent-based concepts of intimacy direction in their teaching and directing, the better we will be able to support our students in approaching these moments onstage in age-appropriate ways. Here’s what drama teachers should know. 1. What is intimacy direction?Intimacy direction is the practice of clearly and safely choreographing and rehearsing moments of closeness, affection, or vulnerability between actors. This might include physical contact (such as hand-holding, leaning on someone, embracing, etc.), romantic or affectionate moments, or moments that involve emotional intimacy. Intimacy directors help to set boundaries and act as a mediator or liaison about consent between actors and directors. They use clear language to create choreography that is consensual and repeatable, while serving the narrative of the scene. Everyone involved should know what’s happening in the scene or moment, and no one should feel pressured or unsafe. 2. Why it matters in school theatreEven if your play or musical doesn’t include romance, many scenes involve strong emotions or situations that could potentially be triggering for some students. We don’t always know what students have experienced outside of the drama classroom, and we certainly do not want to cross a line or disrespect a student’s boundaries. This can cause lasting discomfort or break a student’s trust in the drama classroom as a safe space. Using consent-based intimacy direction best practices in your teaching models respect and professionalism, builds a culture of consent and clear boundaries in your classroom, and reduces awkwardness, discomfort, and misunderstandings. It tells students that they can speak up and advocate for themselves (or for their peers, if they aren’t able to speak on their own behalf), communicate their own boundaries, and approach vulnerable moments with maturity. They learn care and compassion for their scene partners and for themselves, all of which they can use in their lives outside the drama classroom. 3. Consent-based practices for teachersTry incorporating the following consent-based practices into your teaching and rehearsal work: • Work on identifying boundaries with your students. Some boundaries might not appear until in the moment. Remember that “no” is a full sentence, and practice saying it. Try the following exercises: Yes and No Circle and the improv game “Yes, And…” and “No, But…”. • Normalize consent check-ins. Before any moment of physical contact, have students confirm with their scene partners that it’s ok to proceed with the touch. You can also say things like, “Is it ok if we try that blocking again with the hand on your shoulder?” • Avoid assumptions. Don’t assume all students are comfortable with physical touch in the drama classroom or rehearsal space. Always offer students alternatives to physical contact. • Don’t dismiss or minimize student discomfort by saying things like, “It’s just acting!” This can discourage students from communicating their boundaries or speaking up at all. For some students, even prolonged eye contact can be difficult. • Let students communicate and choose what level of physical contact they’re comfortable with. For example, start with greetings: “You can high-five, fist bump, give a handshake, or wave and say hello.” For more intimate moments, students may decide if they’re comfortable with holding hands, a side hug, a front-facing hug, or simply making eye contact with their scene partner. • Choreograph all physical contact. Any moments of physical contact should be specific, repeatable, and not improvised. This helps students know exactly what to do in each moment, and helps them portray their characters clearly to the audience, while ensuring students’ comfort. • Use clear and concise language, especially when giving blocking. Asking students to “act romantic” or “show passion” is not only vague, it requires students to attempt to portray something they may not understand, know how to do, or feel comfortable doing. Scene partners may have very different ideas of what is appropriate to do in those moments. Give clear explanations of the storytelling goal of that moment, and what physical gestures the students can employ to portray that to the audience. • Check in and use closure practices at the end of rehearsals. When working on intense exercises or scenes in the drama classroom, students’ bodies don’t know the difference between the made-up stress they are performing and real-life stress. A quick “how is everyone feeling?” and moment of closure helps students to reset and separate themselves from their characters. You don’t need to be an intimacy directing expert to bring these concepts and practices into your drama classroom or rehearsal space; you just need a willingness to learn and model care, respect, and communication. Additional Reading: An Introduction to Consent in the Drama Classroom #MeToo in the Drama Classroom

Many wonderful scripts feature lovely intimate moments between characters: a wedding, a special moment with a crush, a declaration of love, a first kiss. However, many actors (of all ages, not just student actors) are uncomfortable with the idea of kissing another actor on stage. This can be for a myriad of reasons: relationship status, prior experience (or lack thereof), religious or cultural reasons, concerns about hygiene, worries about germs, and more. Student actors may worry about being teased or gossiped about, having their first kiss be onstage, or having to kiss someone they know/don’t know/like/don’t like. But when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter what the reason is. The bottom line is that students are minors and cannot truly consent to performing a kiss onstage, whether or not they say they’re comfortable with it. As teachers and directors, we are in positions of power, and students may feel that they have to perform a kiss to be eligible for a role, regardless of whether or not they are comfortable with it. Some directors may feel that actors should just do what the script says, forgetting that working with youth in educational theatre is entirely different from working with adults in theatre. A director — an adult — should not ask a child to do something that crosses a boundary, whether the student is aware of it or not. We need to make decisions that are safe for our students. However, you don’t have to avoid intimacy onstage entirely. This is a wonderful opportunity to make some beautiful and creative staging decisions. Here are more than 20 ideas about how you can stage a moment of intimacy without lip-to-lip contact. Some of the ideas still ask students to have physical contact with each other, so be sure that students are comfortable having another student touch their hand, face, hair, etc., before proceeding. • Have actors look into each other’s eyes (which is more challenging than you think). • Have one actor touch the cheek of the other actor. The other actor might place their hand over the first actor’s hand as well, or close their eyes. • Have one actor gently brush a tendril of hair away from the other actor’s face. • Have actors face each other and hold hands, or exit holding hands. • Have actors embrace or hug each other. • Have actors place their heads on each other’s shoulders. • Have actors place their foreheads against each other. • Have one actor dramatically dip the other actor. • Have actors slow dance with each other. • Have one actor put their hands on the other actor’s neck or shoulders, and the other actor place their hands on the first actor’s waist. Then have one of the actors do a “foot pop” behind them for a classic tableau moment. • Have one actor lift the other actor up and lower them into an embrace. Optional: have the lifting actor safely spin the other actor around. • Have one actor kiss the other actor’s hand. For extra comfort, the actor giving the kiss might kiss the air above the other actor’s hand. The actor receiving the hand kiss might wish to wear a glove appropriate to their character. • Place the actors further upstage (closer to the back of the stage) so audiences can’t see the air between their faces during a “kiss” moment. • Angle the actors so that their heads and hands mask the “kiss.” For example, have one actor stand directly upstage of the other actor, and move their faces fairly close together, so audiences can’t see the air between their faces. • Mask the “kiss” with a hat, fan, book, umbrella, or other creative prop. • Have actors sneak or hide behind a couch, curtain, door, or screen, implying that they are kissing behind it. • Have one actor move towards the other as if they were going to kiss, but at the last minute either shyly or flirtatiously move away (duck away, gently push away, whatever works with the character). • Have the couple move towards each other as if they are going to kiss, then have the best friend characters pull them away from each other at the last minute. • For a comedic scene, have actors hold dolls or stuffed animals (“stunt doubles”) or Hershey Kisses chocolates and have them puppet the items together to kiss. • For a comedic scene, have actors freeze just before kissing, and have another actor hold up a sign that says “THEY KISS.” • For a lip-to-cheek kiss, have one actor place their downstage cheek next to the other actor’s upstage cheek and kiss the air. • For a lip-to-arm-or-hand kiss, have one actor get very close to the other actor’s arm and kiss the air upstage of that actor’s arm or hand. • Some actors might be comfortable performing a “thumb kiss.” Actor A places their hands on Actor B’s face, with Actor A’s thumbs over Actor B’s lips. Actor A kisses their own thumbs. Combine this with creative angling of the two actors. • Fade the lights or go to blackout before lip-to-lip contact is made. • Use a projection of a kiss while actors hold a non-contact tableau. • Have actors hold a non-contact tableau and use a sound effect of a kiss.

The following warm-up exercise is simple, but can evoke some powerful feelings and reactions. It’s a great exercise to help students develop their self-awareness and practice consent and boundary setting. It can be completed live in class, or virtually (click the link at the bottom of the article to download virtual instructions). In-Person Exercise Instructions:1. Students will sit in a circle. Have one student stand in the middle of the circle. 2. The student in the middle will turn to face any student in the circle, make eye contact, and say that student’s name. 3. The student they name will answer yes or no. Those are the only two choices, and there is no elaboration, explanation, or paraphrasing. Only yes or no. 4. If the student in the circle says yes, they will take the spot of the student in the middle and the student in the middle will take the empty spot in the circle. The new student in the middle will then turn to another student and continue on with the exercise. 5. If the student in the circle says no, the student in the middle will turn to someone else, make eye contact, and say that student’s name. That student will then reply yes or no. If they say yes, they will take the place of the student in the middle (as above). If they say no, the student in the middle will continue to call names until someone says yes and takes their spot in the middle of the circle. Continue playing for as many rounds as you wish. Simple, right? But the reactions that often arise while working through this exercise are varied and interesting. If time allows, debrief with your students about what emotional and physical reactions surfaced for them, or give them the opportunity to journal about their reactions. Here are some prompts: • How did you feel saying no to someone (emotionally, physically, or both)? • How did you feel when someone said no to you? • Did you feel pressure to answer one way or the other? Why or why not? • How does this exercise help you in drama class? • How can this exercise be applied to the real world? Some of the emotional reactions that commonly arise include worrying if they’ll be stuck in the middle for ages, feeling frustrated by being continually told no, feeling guilty for saying no, feeling obligated or pressured to say yes, feeling like they should give the same response as their friends, or feeling like they need to explain or justify their choice to say no. It can be surprisingly difficult to tell someone no directly! (Teachers, this is a great opportunity to remind students that “no” is a complete sentence.) Physical reactions might include breathing faster, avoiding or wanting to avoid eye contact, feeling tightness or tension in the body (especially the stomach), feeling itchy or crawly, fidgeting, or clenching the jaw or teeth. It’s also normal to not have any of those physical or emotional reactions, or to have different ones than those listed above. Encourage students to consider why they’re feeling the way they are. Note: It might be helpful to do a quick stretch, shake-out, or dance party to transition students into a different activity after completing this warm-up exercise, particularly if they are feeling tension in their bodies or uncomfortable feelings.

Consent can be a touchy subject in the classroom. Many students immediately think that consent refers to intimacy, such as embraces or stage kisses. While that is an important part of consent in the drama classroom, it encompasses much more than that. Consent in the drama classroom creates a safe and respectful environment, and is a big part of social and emotional learning. It can apply to incidents in drama class, as well as a multitude of real-life situations. Here’s a brief overview of this vast, evolving, and important topic: 1. Explaining consent to your studentsConsent, simply put, means permission for something to happen or be done. Consent is specific, informed, and flexible — meaning it can change or be withdrawn. You can introduce the topic of consent by discussing with your students how they’d ask a fellow student to borrow an item of theirs. They can’t just go into that student’s backpack and grab the item — they have to ask first, and wait for the other student’s response. If it’s yes, great! If it’s no, then that’s that. Or, there might be conditions involved. There are many additional things to consider — check out the download below for more. This is a simplified explanation of how consent works. Try having your students role-play the interaction above. What are their thoughts afterwards? 2. BoundariesWhat are students’ physical and mental boundaries? Are they comfortable with the content of the lesson or the scene you’re studying in class? We don’t always know what experiences students have been through that could make certain content upsetting. For example, a student who recently had a death in the family may have difficulty studying a play with themes of grief. Or, they may be comfortable reading a scene in which a character dies, but they don’t want to play that role onstage. Boundaries vary from student to student, and oftentimes we don’t know what our boundaries are until they’re pushed. In these moments, it’s important to be flexible and compassionate, so students can work through their feelings. 3. Bodily autonomyBodily autonomy refers to students’ ability to decide what happens to their body without outside influence. In drama class, we use our bodies to tell stories. We often engage in hands-on work, using exercises, games, and scenes that involve physical touching, such as holding hands. Do students not want others to be near or touch certain parts of their body (or to touch them in general)? They may also feel uncomfortable in a particular costume piece if it is too short, tight, or revealing. Can you modify the actions of the exercise, the movements of the scene, or the garments to respect students’ boundaries? 4. Power dynamicsAre your drama students comfortable speaking up to their peers? Students may say yes to their peers on the outside, but mean no on the inside. Can you tell the difference? As well, if a student is in a leadership position (such as assistant director or stage manager), does that make it easier or more difficult for other students to speak up to them? Furthermore, can your students speak up to you? Teachers hold a lot of power, especially if they’re also directing the show. Are your students comfortable telling you no, and are you comfortable with hearing no? What feelings arise when a student says no to you? Do you feel confident, defensive, proud, irritated, confused, something else? Allow yourself time and grace to reflect on this. As our students learn about consent, boundaries, bodily autonomy, and power dynamics, we teachers are also learning and breaking our own previous patterns. It is not uncommon for feelings to arise when working on consent — after all, many of us are also healing from previous hurts and traumas. Be gentle with yourself, and be proud of the progress you are making. Additional Resources: • #MeToo in the Drama Classroom • Creating a Safe Rehearsal Space • Creating a Safe Drama Classroom • Safety Concerns in Distance Learning

Nineteen million people tuned in to watch the 2018 Golden Globes. And I bet you a number of them were students (maybe some in your classroom), and many were drama educators. Listening to the speeches, which focused on equity, empowerment, and community, made me realize the important role that drama educators have in this conversation. The #MeToo conversation is difficult for adults. It is even more difficult for young people. Students are watching as some actors, directors, and producers they have admired in the world of Hollywood are accused of abuse of power. They are also learning of actors and other artists who have been mistreated and/or abused. We, as teachers, have a responsibility to change the thought processes and culture that allow #MeToo situations to take place. Although not all of our students will ultimately pursue a career in the performing arts, we still have an obligation to teach consent. Our students have a responsibility to change how people are treated now and how they will be treated in our future. We must teach respect. We must teach our students to expect respect. We must also show our students respect, and allow our students to be provided with the opportunity to be asked for consent. I wanted to take ownership of this responsibility. I decided to sit down and write a manifesto for my classroom. I thought of teacher responsibilities and student responsibilities. I am hoping that by sharing this I might inspire you to create your own manifesto from some thoughts of your own. You could choose to share this with your students, or even build the manifesto together with your students. I believe the reflection is important. The ManifestoTeacher Responsibilities:1) Students have the right to say no.I remember in theatre school (at times, not always) feeling as if I could not say no to a director (HE was in THE BUSINESS and I wanted to make a good impression). Students should not be afraid to ask for alternatives in fear that it will affect how they are perceived, or that it might jeopardize future opportunities. 2) Teachers have a responsibility to ensure all performers feel comfortable.In high school and in theatre school I was very self conscious about my body. I was often given costumes that I did not feel comfortable wearing. When given a costume to wear, you were not asked for your opinion or input. Actors take risks when they perform; they should be able to feel as comfortable and confident as possible. 3) Don’t assume that kids are okay with content.As drama educators we often explore difficult topics. Ensure your actors, crew, and supporters (audience members) are comfortable, and/or have the support they need to are explore difficult topics. Tell the stories that your students feel the need to tell. Provide warnings to audiences about difficult topics that will be explored in your plays. Perhaps provide a Q&A after the show to guide the discussion. Think about the most vulnerable person in the audience – what message might they be leaving with? 4) Remember: teachers have power.Choose to use that power to empower students. Create an environment that allows students to feel they have a voice in what they do. Teachers have a power. The role itself requires us to have power. How we use that power can have a huge impact on our students. 5) Consider blind casting.Traditionally, casting was dependent on what the actor looked like. A number of shows, such as Hamilton, are choosing to cast the best person for the role vs. basing it on the actor’s appearance. This is a choice I encourage all teachers to make. 6) Your words matter.Often students look up to teachers. Our words matter. The comments we make and the feedback we provide, all need to support students in their physical, mental and social wellbeing. 7) Ensure that there are opportunities for all students.I am guilty of this one. At the start of my career I often chose plays that had male leads. Now this is not to dismiss the role of supporting cast members, but I realized I needed to make an effort to ensure that there was more variety in the stories that were being told. This choice didn’t didn’t have to focus on gender, but it did require variety in whose stories were being told. 8) Ensure that students are aware that performers should feel safe.I recently had a conversation with my giggly Grade 9 students about the job of an Intimacy Director. Earlier in the semester we had a Stage Combat Director come into class to teach unarmed stage combat. I had explained that an Intimacy Director developed choreography for things like hugging, kissing or even a touch, because, just like Stage Combat, everyone has the right to feel safe. This was a giggly conversation, but it was an important one. Everyone needs to feel safe on stage no matter what kind of relationship they are demonstrating. Actors must be asked for consent before being touched in any manner. 9) Make sure students know you respect them.We all want to put on the best performance we can, and we can only do that if we are in this process together. Students need to know that you are there to support them – to problem solve together, to collaborate. Students need to understand that this is your role. Student Responsibilities:1) You have the right to feel safe.Your wellbeing is a priority. Ensure you speak up if you do not feel emotionally, mentally or physically safe. 2) You have the right to feel comfortable.When you are on stage, you are taking a risk. You need feel comfortable doing so. 3) You have the right to be heard.Share your opinions. Discuss stories that you think should be told. 4) You have the right to disagree.You have the right to ask questions and to discuss disagreements. 5) If you notice that another student feels uncomfortable, please speak up on their behalf.Be the voice for another if they feel voiceless. 6) You are an artist.You deserve respect for this important role in society. You expose the truth. This is an honourable role. The only way we can change the issues being exposed by the #MeToo movement is to give all people power. We all deserve the right to build creative work, and to feel safe and respected while doing so. We all have the right to advocate for ourselves and to have the strength and courage to tell stories to change society. Students need to know this. We, as teachers, have the responsibility to ensure that our students know that they have value and that the stories we tell have an importance too. If we want to change the experiences of actors in the future, we need our future actors, directors, and producers to know that their worth is based in their creative talents. We need to ensure that respect and consent are part of the process. This is the only way to change #MeToo. Click here for a Student Responsibilities poster to share in your drama classroom. _ Claire Broome is a Drama teacher, Lead Teacher for the Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major program, and Curricular _Head of the Arts at John Fraser Secondary School in Mississauga, Canada. Claire is a graduate of the Theatre and Drama _ Studies program at UTM and Sheridan College._ In her “spare” time Claire writes plays, and collaborates with students to create a Youtube show called “Student Government”. _In her younger days, Claire performed in touring children’s theatre shows._