Join us for a LIVE panel with experienced Intimacy Coordinators Amanda Blumenthal, Yarit Dor, Elle McAlpine, Ita O'Brien, and Jessica Steinrock. They'll share their journey and motivation for specializing in this field, offer advice to aspiring coordinators, and reveal how their work positively impacts actors' well-being and confidence. Learn how they collaborate with directors and producers to achieve artistic goals while prioritizing actors' safety. Moderated by Michael Mohan.
Amanda Blumenthal - is the founder of Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA), which is a global leader in the training and certification of intimacy coordinators. IPA also has an
agency branch that represents intimacy professionals, including intimacy coordinators, trans consultants, and gender and sexuality consultants with expertise in subjects such
as BDSM, kink, LGBTQIA+ topics (including non-binary and gender non-conforming identities), and other areas. Amanda is an experienced intimacy professional and a
sought-after presenter on the topic of intimacy coordination who has spoken at the Sundance Film Festival, Women in Film, Film Independent, American Film Market, Association of Film Commissioners International, the USC Peter Stark Production Program, and more. In addition, she is a leader in the SAG-AFTRA joint initiative with intimacy coordinators to create standards and protocols for IC work, she consulted with the Producers Guild of America (PGA) on developing materials for their Independent Production Safety Initiative (IPSI) program, and she contributed to the Time’s Up Guide to Working in Entertainment. She also works extensively as a trainer and consultant for US-based studios looking to train local intimacy coordinators in emerging markets such as Central and South America and the Asia Pacific region.
Yarit Dor -
Yarit Dor is one of the first Intimacy Coordinators to work across the United Kingdom and European Union screen industries. She is a SAG-AFTRA registered intimacy coordinator certified by IDC and a Movement Coach. Yarit is a co-founder and lead trainer of Moving Body Arts, a UK based company offering a SAG-AFTRA accredited programme for intimacy coordinators and this year her company received the ScreenSkills High End TV Fund and Amazon Prime Italia scholarships to train UK and EU based intimacy coordinators.
Yarit’s work expands from screen to theatre, dance and musicals.
Her screen credits include high end TV and features such as Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, The Wheel of Time Season 1-3, Atlanta Season 3, Daisy Jones & The Six, Mood, We Were The Lucky Ones, Domina and Becoming Elizabeth amongst others.
Within the live performance sector Yarit originated the Intimacy Director role in 2019 on the West End with her work on ‘Death of A Salesman’ starring Wendel Pierce. Since then she's worked on Punchdrunk’s ‘The Burnt City’, Hamilton London West End company, A Strange Loop London company, Jeremy O.Harris’ ‘Daddy’ at the Almeida theatre and she continuously supports intimacy work for top London contemporary dance company, Rambert Dance.
Her varied movement, dance and fight direction experience influences her approach to intimacy practice and how she supports performers and directors.
As a continuous advocate for embedding intimacy coordination in the UK, Yarit helped establish the Bectu Union’s Intimacy Coordinators Branch in 2020 and was later elected as its first chair. In 2021 she was nominated for the Shaker Of The Year award for creating a fully funded mentoring programme for intimacy coordinators from under-represented groups during the Covid pandemic which was funded by the Film & TV Charity and supported by ScreenSkills & Moving Body Arts.
Yarit has contributed writing and advised on many UK intimacy guidelines available online for employers, crew and performers:
- Directors UK's 'Directing Nudity & Simulated Sex'
- Bectu's Guidance for Shooting Intimacy
- Intimacy chapter in the Creative Industries Safety Passport Course (Bectu & ScreenSkills safety training)
- Stage Directors UK's Intimacy Direction Guidelines
- Equity UK’s Intimacy Working Group's guidance for performers and engagers.
- ScreenSkills' Free Safeguarding Online Module.
For more information: www.yarit-dor.com
Elle McAlpine - Elle McAlpine is co-founder of EK Intimacy. As an Intimacy Coordinator she has worked across high profile Television and Film productions including It's A Sin, Wednesday, The Winter King, Willow & Poor Things. Having worked as a professional actress for nine years she offers a skill set that has foundations in the knowledge of an Actors and a Directors process and brings a wealth of experience for nurturing safe and respectful spaces.
Ita O'Brien - Ita O’Brien is the UK’s leading Intimacy Practitioner, author of the Intimacy On Set Guidelines and founder of Intimacy On Set which provides intimacy support in the industry for TV, Film and live performance.
In the live performance space productions include, Manor & The Crucible (National Theatre), Spring Awakening (Almeida Theatre), Like Water For Chocolate (Royal Ballet Company) & Ruination (Lost Dog and Royal Ballet Company),Theodora (Royal Opera Company), The Rape of Lucretia (Britten Pears Arts/Royal Opera House), Antony and Cleopatra (The Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona).
Film & TV productions include; Normal People & Conversations With Friends (BBC3/Hulu), Sex Education 1&2 (Netflix), I May Destroy You (BBC/HBO), It’s A Sin (Channel 4) and Empire Of Light (Neal Street Prods / Searchlight Pictures).
'Intimacy on Set' was established in 2018 by Ita O’Brien in response to the growing demand for Intimacy Practitioners for Live Performance, Film and Television and teaching in Drama, Opera & film Schools. At the heart of the organisation are the Intimacy on Set Guidelines which have been adopted widely in the industry. Intimacy on Set provides experienced Intimacy Practitioners for international productions, and are training the next generation of Intimacy Practitioners for the global Industry, as well as working with the leading Drama, Opera and film Schools, sharing the Guidelines with staff and students alike to embed best practice into each organisations’ ethos.
Jessica Steinrock - Steinrock is a professional intimacy coordinator as well as the CEO of Intimacy Directors and Coordinators based in Chicago, IL.
She holds a Ph.D. in Theatre at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and published the first dissertation related to intimacy work in live performance and tv/film.
She came to intimacy work by way of improv comedy and has developed techniques and methods for promoting consent during improvised theater that focuses on the specific needs of improv training centers. Her work has expanded to encompass film, opera, improv, devising, still photography and scripted theatre. She has also extensive experience with working with minors and supporting new and young artists on stage and screen.
Please feel free to submit questions in advance for our panelists here. The form will also be available during the program.
