My Life with intimacy professional Roseanne Real: Choreographing intimate scenes properly is so important

Roseanne Real spoke about her work as an intimacy professional in theatre and film.

One of the biggest misconceptions about intimacy professionals is that they only work on sex scenes in movies.

As someone who has been in the role for two years, I can confidently say this could not be further from the truth. Intimacy and romance don’t necessarily always go hand in hand. 

There is also the intimacy that exists between friends and family. Even the touch of a hand may be uncomfortable for some, which is why choreographing intimate scenes properly is so important.

You would be shocked at the number of intimate moments that exist within the pages of a script. It is, for this reason, important to consider the type of trauma someone might be carrying with them on a shoot. This has been true of any stage or film set that I’ve ever worked on.

I remember watching a documentary a long time ago featuring a girl who had been attacked by her partner. Right before the assault, he placed his hand on her shoulder. Years later, a guy she met in a bar very innocently did the same thing. The subtle gesture completely retraumatised her in a way she had not expected. 

It’s stories like these that remind us about the importance of respecting each other’s boundaries. You have to be mindful that we are all different, so it doesn’t make sense to protect everyone with the same blanket.

Every single performer is unique. Some have very individual boundaries that you would never expect. All you can do is protect people in a way that is right for them.

Romantic scenes with nudity require a lot of sensitivity. There are some people who assume that it’s quite romantic. However, this is far from the case when you are filming these scenes. 

I know firsthand from being on set that there are a bunch of people around pointing cameras and shining lights in your direction. Even on a closed set, there are cameras and sound, which effectively strip the romance away. While it might all look very romantic on screen, the set is nothing like that.

People are often very nervous before a nude performance. I find that once the performer has all the information, their anxiety begins to dissipate. They need to know what the lighting is going to look like. Being naked under bright fluorescent lights is very different to being naked under nice dim lights. 

Camera angles matter. There are ways to mask things. If you know a performer doesn’t want to highlight certain parts of their body, then there are strategic ways you can angle the camera.

This can be achieved in a way that doesn’t compromise the director’s vision and still reinforces the vulnerability needed for the scene. 

One of the first things I do is meet with the performers to gain an idea of their boundaries and what they are willing to consent to. It’s important to offer them an exit strategy in case something feels uncomfortable. They might just need a glass of water. I then meet with the director to explore his or her vision.

The choreography

Once you have gathered all the information and you know how to protect people, you can get stuck into the choreography. A Streetcar Named Desire with BOLT Productions is among the theatre productions that I’ve worked on. It took a whole day to choreograph all the intimate moments and the whole process was really interesting.

The choreography session is my favourite part of the process. After that, you are just on set, making sure that everyone is okay and that the choreography doesn’t drift. If it does, you need to re-establish consent, re-examine boundaries and make changes where they are needed.

Before so much as stepping onto a set, I need to analyse a script. You need to go pinpoint every intimate moment. It’s only when you’re in a role like this that you realise just how much intimacy there is in film and theatre plays.

People tend to feel quite comfortable around me. This quality has lent itself well to intimacy co-ordination. I don’t know why, but I always tend to end up in deep and meaningful conversations with everyone I meet. People are no different on set, which has definitely helped me in terms of my intimacy work.

The industry has changed in recent years. There is so much talk about intimacy work right now that people are starting to finally feel a bit safer and less afraid of making their boundaries known.

This is in stark contrast to years ago when a lot of performers just put up with things because they didn’t want to lose their job or appear difficult. 

Fortunately, this is not as common nowadays and directors, in turn, are more aware of intimacy boundaries, consent and everything that comes with that. It has become a much safer landscape for all of us.

• Rosanne Real recently worked on Bare, a living gallery event taking place in Bolt Theatre, Cork City, from Saturday, October 17 until Sunday, November 15. The immersive experience will feature human exhibits instead of statues.