In 2018, the Huffington Post described intimacy directing as “an emerging field in which a small group of professionals are pushing to develop standards and procedures for scenes involving physical intimacy in the wake of a public reckoning with sexual misconduct throughout the entertainment industry.” That same year, Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre hired Alexis Black as assistant professor of acting and movement, in part, because of her credentials in this field.
Today, Black is one of only 30 intimacy directors for theater in the United States, certified by Intimacy Directors International and Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. She is one of only 10 certified intimacy directors employed full-time by a university and one of the two in the Midwest region.
Black also works frequently with Redtwist Theatre, the only theater company in Chicago to hire an intimacy director for a full year-in-residence. She places Michigan State University on the cutting-edge of this emerging field in the theater and entertainment industries.
For full story, visit the Department of Theatre.