Intimacy professional for stage and screen
Coordinator and director
Shawna’s background in bystander intervention and crisis response make her a perfect choice to work with your actors. Her expertise in safer space tactics (she literally wrote the book) means she can promote a consent-based culture for the production, as well as improve the audience experience in your physical space. Though trained primarily through Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), Shawna maintains a deep bench of mentors, educational resources, and connections to various communities to stay up to date and culturally responsive.
Shawna works directly with department leads to assess production needs; communicates appropriate consent, boundary tools, and closure techniques to cast and crew; creates effective & powerful choreography within the actors boundaries; maintains up to date script breakdowns and analysis for the cast and creative team. She is happy to travel and is available for both one-offs and longer term projects, be they feature length films, short/student films, plays, musicals, music videos, commercials, or photo shoots. And don’t forget your team! Schedule a Consent/Communication/Bystander Intervention training so your crew or volunteers can help maintain that culture of consent, even when Shawna’s not on set.
Resume and referrals available upon request.
Certifications, Trainings, and Tools:
Consent-Based Support
Boundary Tools
De-sexualized / De-loaded Process
Crisis Response
Trauma-Informed Approach
Bystander Intervention
Safer Space Tactics
Non-violent Communication
Conflict Management
Mental Health First Aid
Gender Diversity
Trained by multiple SAG-approved organizations
Specialties:
Power Play
Complex Consent
Non-Consent
Kink
BDSM
Cultural Responsivity
Working on set with the Director and Actors.
Going over Intimacy basics with a new cast.
“My job is to make sure intimate scenes tell the story you want to tell, while working within everyone’s personal boundaries. When people feel safe and supported, they are able to do their best and most vulnerable work!”
- Shawna Potter
Testimonials
“I feel like I’ve been absolutely spoiled with my first experience with an Intimacy Coordinator. I felt so safe and so cared for throughout this process and I owe so much of that to you. Shawna is a safe space architect!”
“Your contribution to this production has been invaluable and it is a great relief to know that we have such a thoughtful and knowledgeable guide to help [us] navigate a play like HILTD, which contains so many possible landmines and triggers for our audiences.”
“You are truly fantastic at your job, I’ve been involved in lots of productions with other IDs and you are the REAL DEAL!! You always come up with the greatest ideas and are just so easy to be around.”
“Shawna is a very creative person in the rehearsal room and is overflowing with ideas, descriptions, and ways of communicating to meet actors where they are and develop a container of comfort to be their most creative and expressive selves. Her commitment to creating a safe and respectful environment extended beyond specific scenes and gave all members of the cast tools to create a culture of respect.”
“Shawna is an absolute gem to work with. She is able to seamlessly turn a set into a safe and comfortable space for all cast and crew when capturing such delicate scenes. She is extremely efficient and clear in how to proceed when filming intimacy scenes. Her positive and calm nature brings a sense of ease in high stakes situations, and I would not hesitate to work with her again.”
“I’ve never done anything like that before and I think it was handled so well. Thanks to you! I appreciate you.”
REVIEWS
“And while it’s so much more than aesthetics on Intimacy Director Shawna Potter’s part, there are praises to be lauded for her work as well, not only because of how the scene leading out of the first act is handled, but because of the overall intimate nature of how so many of these characters interact with one another; it is a beautiful and palpable achievement, the work that Potter has put into this production.” - Theatre Bloom, review of Spring Awakening (Maryland Theatre Collective, July 2024