I WILL have order!

This title is a quote from good ol’ Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (my favorite book in the series, if I am being honest). The other night, me and my childhood best friends watched this movie with all the animation of the first time we read the books. J.K. Rowling masterfully created this plump, pink woman who reigns terror on Hogwarts with her authoritarian ways, and Dolores Umbridge was as cringy as ever.

For those of you who don’t know, Umbridge is the Harry Potter character who steps in on behalf of the Wizarding government to oversee the school’s existing educational practices. She is so controlling that she implements a literal wall of rules in order to eliminate any activities outside of her knowledge, undermine other teacher’s authority, strip students of their autonomy and institute universal systems of teaching in order for the government to have total jurisdiction of Hogwarts’s on-goings.             

Now, why am I talking about this squeaky devil in a blog discussing theatrical movement practices? Well, I have been in countless conversations with critics of Intimacy Direction where they write the work off as “stifling,” “dictatorial” and “oppressive.” Watching Dolores implement rule after rule, I wonder: “Is this how these critics see Intimacy Directors?” Do they see them as this intruder from a regulation board, descending on the rehearsal process in a way that crushes creativity, blocks instincts, and strips away the actor’s freedom to explore? Do people fear the work exercises total control of touching in the production, undermines the director’s role, strips actors of their autonomy and institutes a universal system of working so that some higher power can have total control of every production across the world? Probably. And that sounds freaking scary.

I take this criticism very seriously. As an actor myself, the last thing I want is to be a hindrance to the process when I come in as an Intimacy Director. Honestly, the fear of doing that makes me want to strip away the name “Director” completely and call myself a “Consultant” or “Coach.” “Coordinator” is even more accurate. My goal is to facilitate communication, to explore expectations and establish an environment in which everyone feels safe to create freely. I want to create space for ideas rather than inflict the Fear of God in the actors and production team. 

This desire is all well and good but I look back on some of my experiences working on productions and there were definitely times where I was nit-picky, stifling and verging on oppressive to the process. There were moments where I misinterpreted the point of this work and became a police officer in the room. 

Those who do this work need to remind each other of why we do it, what we want to do and how we want to be received. Using mindful language, considerate problem solving and respect, I believe this is totally possible. We need to remember that each production is its own experience. It is a new script, a new concept, a new group of people and a new dynamic. The sooner we begin to hold value in the nuances, the sooner this work will be universally respected and embraced.