Shively named assistant faculty for Theatrical Intimacy Education

Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) is a nonprofit organization that educates colleges, universities, and theatre professionals in best practices for staging intimate moments in theatre and film. These staging practices, also known as intimacy choreography, represent an innovative trend in the performing arts for ensuring physical, emotional and mental safety not only of performers, but also of everyone involved in productions, including designer, technicians, dramaturgs and stage managers.

Theatrical Intimacy has been part of Shively’s research for over two years, as she explores integrating intimacy choreography and practices into her acting classes and theatrical productions at Elon. In fall 2018, along with her colleague and collaborator, Susanne Shawyer, assistant professor of Theatre History, she was awarded a Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning grant to bring TIE to campus for a 16-hour workshop. At this workshop Elon students, faculty and local theatre professionals learned basic techniques for establishing safety and consent in the rehearsal hall, and practiced creating choreography for scenes with romantic moments. Shawyer and Shively have also used these practices in theatrical productions at Elon University such as Moment (2018) and Trojan Barbie (2019).

As Assistant faculty with TIE, Shively will travel to colleges, universities, and arts organizations around the country, training them in the best practices of theatrical intimacy and intimacy choreography. Shively is the first named assistant faculty of the Theatrical Intimacy Education organization and will also help serve the organization as they launch their accreditation process. Through her work, Elon University stands at the cutting edge of a cultural shift towards safety and consent in the entertainment industry.