Help Eric Create Safer Film Sets with Intimacy Training

Theater, hugs, cuddles, consent work…

These are four pieces of my life that have played varying important roles in shaping my decisions. From a young age, I have wanted to work in the field of entertainment, but I didn’t know just how I would fit. That is, I didn’t know until a couple of years ago when my best friend suggested to me that I look into Intimacy Coordination as a career path.

Now you may be wondering, what is Intimacy Coordination anyway? Or you may have seen an SNL sketch where over-the-top characters try and make a sexy scene happen, with pitfalls along the way.

In short, an Intimacy Coordinator works with producers and actors to create a final product that matches the vision of the artistic, creative, and honors the boundaries of the actors who show up to work. The difference between you and your workplace and these actors is that actors are often requested to portray nudity, sex, and other intimate acts on film for all to see. Some actors are naturally comfortable with intimacy, and many actors are not. The Intimacy Coordinator is there to work with the actors and help them manage the power differential between themselves and the production team, such as the directors or producers.

You may remember that I did training several years ago as a cuddle therapist, which involved identifying and naming boundaries, teaching communication around physical boundaries, and facilitating deeper connections between parties.

Then, a couple of years ago, I had the honor to join the Bureau of Erotic Discourse, a camp at Burning Man that focuses its time and energy on helping the hundreds/thousands of other camps specifically name consent as one of their values and create safe spaces in the event of a consent violation.

The truth is we all experience things that brush up against our boundaries every day, but no actor should have to find themselves powerless in a Weinstein type situation.

As of the time of writing this, I’ve taken approximately 50 hours of workshops specifically geared toward Intimacy Coordination, worked on a short student film, and have a TV pilot shoot upcoming in July 2025. However, full training and certification will allow for greater networking and job opportunities.

This training that I am raising money for will certify me to work on productions of all scales, from student films and independent productions to big-budget productions, and keep stages and soundstages a bit safer for those working within them.

I’m asking you as my friends and family to contribute what you are able to as I am a big old dreamer who has thoroughly damaged my credit score and cannot take a loan for this. Given that this is not a standard form of education and these courses are not offered through colleges/universities, student aid is not an option either. I will be doing what I can to work my second job as much as possible and saving for this, but I also live in Seattle, where wages still chase the cost of living.

No, I’m not gonna be able to tell you fun stories about your favorite celebrity (I’ll probably have an NDA), and I don’t know exactly where this career will take me, but the degree to which it fits me is nothing short of magical.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this and thank you for every bit of support along the way.

Love,

Eric