Dr Ayshia, Colleen Hughes, Marie Percy, and Sheryl Williams invite you to celebrate the release of the first textbook to address intimacy and consent work in our theatre classrooms. This livestream event celebrates the book release of Intimacy Directing for Theatre: Creating a Culture of Consent in the Classroom and Beyond with selected readings from the textbook and a Q and A. The book ranked as a Top New Release on Amazon for several weeks upon its release and is a critical addition to the world of performance. The themes we will address include navigating movement and consent; intimacy work in devised theatre; choreographing violence; and building a future of consent. Join us, and let’s make consent contagious!
Dr. Ayshia Mackie-Stephenson is an actor, scholar, activist, (intimacy) director, dancer, poet and award-winning writer from Brooklyn, NY. With an MFA from CalArts and a PhD from UMass Amherst, she uses theatre and performance to investigate pleasure, sexuality, and human rights. Her critical and creative work appears in Routledge,Black Camera, Qualitative Inquiry, Boston University Press, International Review of Qualitative Research, Theatre Topics, Howlround and Research in Drama Education. Dr. Ayshia has directed or intimacy directed productions at The Huntington, Fresh Ink Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre in NYC, Arts at the Armory (Somerville), The Rockwell, and the DC Black Theatre & Arts Festival. She is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Women’s Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. Ayshia also hosts the Youtube channel for AfroGoddess Theatre & TV, the first TV network dedicated to celebrating Black women’s joy.
Colleen Hughes (she/her) is an intimacy coordinator and director as well the Director of Core Training at Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) where she led the implementation of the new Consent Forward Artist program. Based in Philadelphia, she works internationally in this field with a particular interest in devised and immersive work. She is currently writing a book entitled A Volunteer From the Audience: Consent Work in Interactive Performance. She feels lucky to get to collaborate with and learn from brilliant and integrity-led colleagues who are working to make the entertainment industry a more equitable, accessible, and sustainable workplace.
Marie C. Percy is an Intimacy Director, Certified Laban Movement Analyst, Yoga teacher, and movement director based in Connecticut. She currently serves as IDC’s Chief Creative Officer and oversees all curricula and educational offerings at IDC. She has spent over ten years training actors in an academic setting, and her students can be seen performing in national tours, national commercials, regional theaters, and beyond. Contact Marie for intimacy work here.
Sheryl Williams A Bisexual Filipina from the ovens of Phoenix, Arizona, Sheryl Williams moved to Chicago to enrolled at Columbia College Chicago to pursue a life as a Fight Coordinator. It was through Stage combat she learned about the Intimacy Profession. She has been working in the Chicago area since 2017. As an Intimacy Professional, Sheryl Williams has over a decade of acting experience, choreography tools, and intimacy training that she uses to work with each cast and crew to create story-driven, consent-informed and boundary-enforced spaces. This allows for intimate moments and various relationship dynamics to be explored to their fullest potential. She liaisons between departments to ensure that the boundaries and consent of cast and crew are valued and being enforced. She also ensures the necessary materials are provided and precautious are being taken with intimate character relationships and scenes involving nudity and/or simulated actions. My website is iamsherylwilliams.com
About HowlRound TV
HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected] or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal. View the video archive of past events.
