When I Grow Up: Intimacy Work and Collegiate Theatre

The field of intimacy work within the wider theatre industry is rapidly growing, and universities should be prepared to meet the demands the industry is setting forth. Since 2016, intimacy direction has been making its way into the professional theatre world. As intimacy work becomes more mainstream, students will enter college with the ultimate goal of going into the field. Through this research, I have set out to create courses that could fit into the framework of a collegiate theatre program that would support students’ desire to learn about the intimacy field, and to create a department environment built on consent and collaboration. To do this, I researched the current intimacy landscape through participating in intimacy workshops with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc. and Theatrical Intimacy Education, as well as conducting textual research in the fields of trauma and feminist theory and applying those findings to the theatrical process