BEST PRACTICE WHEN WORKING WITH INTIMACY, SIMULATED SEX SCENES, AND NUDITY

Ita O’Brien

These guidelines have been developed over several years from my experience in the industry collecting best practice. They would not have been possible without the work of Vanessa Ewan, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Movement at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, in particular chapter 9 of her book “Actor Movement: Expression of the Physical Being” – Vanessa Ewan & Debbie Green (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2015), and her generous support in developing this approach. I am grateful to Meredith Dufton, head of movement at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, who invited me to teach the work to Mountview students since the Summer Term of 2015, which was instrumental in honing the guidelines. I would also like to thank Jennifer Ward-Lealand, President of New Zealand Equity, who were the first industry organization to adopt guidelines in this area; Michael Hurst for sharing his working practice; and Samantha Dodd and Chris Carey.