What it's like to be an intimacy coordinator… in space
Being an intimacy coordinator isn't just about sex scenes, says The Acolyte and Black Mirror's Adelaide Waldrop
- Yasmin Vince
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Adelaide Waldrop has been the intimacy coordinator on several sci-fi projects including Black Mirror, the third series of Foundation and Star Wars spin-off series The Acolyte.
Intimacy coordinator Adelaide Waldrop
TO BOLDLY GO…
I was first introduced to this as a job while studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2017. I went on to train with Ita O’Brien, the first person to work on set as an intimacy coordinator in the UK, then with Yarit Dor and Lizzy Talbot at Intimacy for Stage and Screen.
SEX IN STAR WARS?
Sci-fi has historically been a genre that has pushed the boundaries of storytelling in so many ways, intimacy included. One of the very first on-screen interracial kisses was in the original series of Star Trek in the 60s. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it was unreal to work on The Acolyte. Online, some people picked up on the fact that there was an intimacy coordinator on the show and used that to make assumptions about what it would or wouldn’t mean for the series, but I’m not only showing up for romantic or sexual scenes.
I’m not only showing up for romantic or sexual scenes
Adelaide Waldrop
BEYOND SEX
As an example, medical intimacy can involve states of partial or implied nudity, as well as physical touch, like childbirth scenes or scenes set in a gynaecologist’s office. They can be equally vulnerable to perform as sexual scenes and deserve just as much support.
WORKING WITH CLONES
Here’s a sci-fi example — depending on how they’re created, clones usually involve partial or implied nudity. They’re either depicted through prosthetics or body doubles. Whenever you have multiple representations of an actor’s likeness in any state of nudity, it’s complex — how do you protect all those representations, and ensure that the actor feels in control?
FAMILIAL INTIMACY
Another area I get involved in is when a child actor is picked up, cuddled, or kissed by an adult actor playing a family member. The child might not fully understand the entire context of what they’re being asked to do, depending on their age and maturity. They can’t legally consent for themselves, so it has to be given by their parents or guardians.
The Acolyte’s “created” twins Little Osha (Lauren Brady) and Little Mae (Leah Brady) Lucasfilm
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CONSENT IS KEY
Before I go on set, l chat with the actors about their consent levels; the director about their vision for the scene; and the costume department about modesty garments, which cover intimate parts of the body. There’s a lot of checking in and asking whether we need to adjust anything from what we’ve discussed or rehearsed. Once we’re filming, I’m there to keep an eye on everything and allow people to focus — I remove worry from the room.
Authors
Yasmin Vince
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