Category: Backstage

Backstage: Why Those Intimate Scenes on ‘Conversations With Friends’ Feel So Real

2/6/2022

BY JESSICA DERSCHOWITZ

A pioneer in the field of intimacy coordinating, Ita O’Brien has brought her expertise and perspective to projects including “I May Destroy You” and “Sex Education.” Here, she guides us through working with the directors and stars of Hulu’s “Conversations With Friends.” Like “Normal People,” which she also worked on, the series is an adaptation of a Sally Rooney novel that examines a nexus of complicated (and extremely sexy) relationships.

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BaCKSTAGE: The ‘I May Destroy You’ Intimacy Coordinator Knows That Those Scenes Were Tough

18/2/2021

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By Casey Mink

Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” struck a nerve with audiences, in part because of its hyper-realistic, challenging sex scenes (which depicted instances of assault). Fortunately, actors on the HBO miniseries had intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien as an advocate every step of the way. O’Brien, a leader in the field who has also choreographed for series including “Normal People” and “Sex Education,” spoke with Backstage about collaborating with Coel and how she protects performers’ psychological wellbeing.

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Backstage: Actors + Sex: How to Handle Consent

2/10/2019

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Intimacy on Set is a company that was founded by Ita O’ Brien to help stage, TV, and film navigate the tricky waters of nudity and sexual intimacy. The intimacy coordinators risk-assess the show, take part in rehearsals, offer on-set supervision, and provide a post-production debrief. Intimacy on Set also offers training and workshops for the wider industry, as they try to change the way onstage sex is approached.

The company also produces a selection of best practice guidelines. These include recommending that actors don’t practice nudity or sex in auditions, and ensuring actors are made aware of all scenes which could include sexual intimacy.

For producers and directors, the decision to employ an intimacy coordinator is one that needs some thought. On the one hand, there’s a valid concern that the creative process could be stymied. On the other, creating a reassuring space for great creative work to flourish is vital.

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Backstage - After Weinstein, a New Way to Approach On-Set Sex Scenes

25/1/2018

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For many actors, sex scenes can be fraught with embarrassment, uncertainty, and the downright unwanted, but intimacy director Ita O’Brien wants to change that. Before industry harassment scandals took hold of headlines everywhere, O’Brien had developed a way of empowering actors and directors to safely choreograph scenes involving nudity and simulated copulation on stage and screen; in the wake of Weinstein, she’s been in high demand. O’Brien and her agents, Samantha Dodd and Chris Carey, researched what often goes wrong in on-set sex scenes and are now campaigning with a set of guidelines that inform and protect actors. We caught up with them to discover how it works and what actors need to know to work well and stay safe.

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Backstage: Why Those Intimate Scenes on ‘Conversations With Friends’ Feel So Real

BaCKSTAGE: The ‘I May Destroy You’ Intimacy Coordinator Knows That Those Scenes Were Tough

Backstage: Actors + Sex: How to Handle Consent

Backstage - After Weinstein, a New Way to Approach On-Set Sex Scenes

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