Intimacy Direction

“Perfectly choreographed, from the intimate to the melodramatic.”

- Weekend Notes, review of Reigen, 2022

Utilising her experience in direction, physical theatre and cultural safety research, Isabella maintains an integrated, evidence based approach to intimacy choreography. She has trained with the United States based organisation Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), with specialisations in trauma informed intimacy choreography and working with Global Majority artists at the intersection of intimacy and race. She uses TIE’s foundations in consent, boundary led practice and intersectional and identity informed methodologies, adapting and building upon their work to fit her own practice and the needs of each individual production. She advocates for the use of, and offers, intimacy consultation on any work with touch, nudity or sexualised content, but has a particular focus on working with artists whose identities and bodies are considered to be culturally marginalised.

A core pillar of Isabella’s intimacy practice is Cultural Safety. Cultural Safety focuses on building community, shared language and tools within creative ensembles to ensure everyone feels respected and cared for throughout a making process. It is a combination of pre-emptive work before or in the early stages of a project, and responsive work, ensuring everyone involved has the tools they need to assert their boundaries and needs throughout. Isabella has trained in culturally safe practice with Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson and David Vadiveloo, and is currently a PhD candidate at the Victorian College of the Arts, researching identity informed directorial practice under Dr. Sarah Austin and A/Prof Zachary Dubar.

In 2023 Isabella was the first intimacy coordinator to be offered a VicScreen specialist placement, further specialising her skills in screen based intimacy choreography. She completed the placement on ABC TV/Black Sheep Films series White Fever, under the mentorship of Eve Morey. Other recent intimacy work in theatre includes I Wanna Be Yours, Meet Me at Dawn and 37 (Melbourne Theatre Company), 7 Captiva Road (Dir. Cathy Hunt), A Year of Dating (Dir. Lyall Brooks), Promiscuous Cities (Dir. Alyson Campbell), Variations or Exit Music (Dir. Justin Nott), Last Time (Dir. Lily Hensby), Reigen (Dir Jess Dick), Guerrilla Sabbath (Dir. George Lazaris). Further screen work includes Low Frequency (Dir. Sodi Murphy-Shrives) and The Latcher (Dir. James Hunter). Isabella also works with students at the Victorian College of the Arts in both undergraduate and graduate degrees as a tutor, lecturer and resident intimacy director.