January-June 2021 Vol. VIII, Issue 1 ISSN: 2284-3310
79
An Unexpected Pair: Can Consent Practices Make Your Rehearsal Rooms More Inclusive to Underrepresented Groups? Kristy Thomas and Brooke M. Haney Abstract: In March 2021 at the World Theatre Day Symposium for Shakespeare Frankfurt, DEI Consultant Specialist Kristy Thomas and Intimacy Choreographer Brooke M. Haney met and began a conversation about how their fields intersect and can support each other. This paper will incorporate reflection on those discussions, changes in the theatre (as individuals and as an institution) drew to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, and address the following: as theaters look to reopen, what lessons can be taken from both of these areas that will lead to more inclusive, consent-forward rehearsal and performance spaces? Can consent practices support anti-racism work in a meaningful way? Keywords: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, Theatre, Intimacy, Staged Sex, Nudity, Consent, COVID-19. *****
1. Introduction In March 2021, we met at the Shakespeare Frankfurt World Theatre Day Symposium and hit it off. We are two distinct voices – Kristy, a queer, African American writer and DEI consultant, and Brooke a white, queer, gender queer actor, professor and intimacy choreographer – excited about how our fields intersect, speaking about ideas that overlap each other. Sometimes we write together, sometimes separately. When we write from personal experience, we will let you know with the notes “Kristy” or “Brooke”.
Kristy Thomas and Brooke M. Haney An Unexpected Pair
