Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater
Scenes of Connection: An Exploration of Intimacy Direction
A collection of scenes directed by Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26
Intimacy Directed by Kat McLaughlin ’25
Run Time
Approximately 75 minute, with no intermission.
Program Note
Intimacy direction is an all too new field in the theater and film industry, with intimacy directors slowly being integrated into the practices of theatrical and film institutions, contracts, and unions. Also known as intimacy choreographers or intimacy coordinators (in film), intimacy directors seek to create a structure to facilitate intimate material, prioritizing consent and safety in the creative and production space.
Each moment of intimacy in this piece, whether a kiss, a small touch, or a lingering gaze, was carefully talked through and directed. Actors in this practice were given tools and practices to communicate their boundaries, practice consent, and “step in/step out” of the emotional and physical intensity of performing intimacy on stage. Deroling, or the practice of stepping out of the world of the character and into the world of being a performer, is something we have invited you, the audience, to experience in this production. Just as in the rehearsal room and backstage, you will see the actors complete a ritual to physically and mentally help them step out of the previous scene. Beyond what you see in the performance, consent and safety stretch not just as pillars of the rehearsal room, but as priorities within our design, our stage management, and more. If you have any remaining curiosities about intimacy direction and my practices and collaborations as an intimacy director, I invite you to join us for a talkback Saturday evening after the show! And, if you have continued or more specific questions, you’re very welcome to reach out to me (especially if you’re a student who’d be interested in exploring this practice on campus!).
—Kat McLaughlin ’25
Content Advisory
This presentation engages the practice and process of staging intimate scenes between a range of characters in a variety of situations, and includes mentions or depictions of alcohol usage, references to sex, rope bondage, kink, kisses, and vampiric bite.
Special Note
No flash photography or audio/visual recording permitted. Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance.
Talkback
A talkback with the actors and production team will follow the Saturday evening show on Feb. 1st. Talkback begins around 9 p.m.
Cast
Actor: Lucy Shea ’27*
Actor: Ela Gebremariam ’27
Actor: Sophia Vernon ’27
List of Scenes
Nick Payne’s Constellations – Sophia and Lucy
Mishka Lavigne’s Albumen – Sophia, Lucy, and Ela
Claire Wittman’s Carmilla – Sophia and Lucy
Sappho’s 105a, translated by Gillian Spraggs – Lucy
Diana Son’s Stop Kiss – Sophia and Lucy
“Aquarium” – Sophia and Lucy
Aviv Gijsbers van Wijk’s feminine octagon [or, aristotle can eat me] – Ela and Sophia
“Sweet Reflections” – Sophia and Lucy
Sarah Ruhl’s Melancholy Play – Ela and Lucy
“Again and Again, even though we know love’s landscape” by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Edward Snow – Ela
Gary Duggan’s Shibari – Ela and Lucy
Production Team
Director and Sound Designer: Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26*
Intimacy Director: Kat McLaughlin ’25*
Set Designer and Lighting Designer: Didi Vekri ’27
Costume and Props Designer: James Morales ’26
Lighting Designer: Elena Milliken ’26*
Stage Manager: James-Allen Leyba ’28
Assistant Director: Christie Davis ’27
Assistant Intimacy Director: Kailani Melvin ’28
*denotes a student minoring in the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Faculty Advisors
Brian Herrera, Faculty Advisor
Eli Lynn, Intimacy Mentor
Dave Anzuelo, Intimacy Mentor
Note from the Project Proposer
Scenes of Connection seeks to explore tones and textures of intimacy, offering glimpses into the exploratory process our actors and production team embarked upon through the months of rehearsals, discussions, design meetings, and a wealth of collaboration and experimentation.
There are so many people I’d like to thank for offering me this explorative space to grow, collaborate, and improve my practice. As the LCA’s first intimacy direction thesis, I wanted to thank everyone in the thesis proposals space, especially Tess James, Elena Araoz, and Jane Cox for their support and belief in me to debut this sort of project. I’d like to thank Milan, Matt, Carmelita, Allie, Kay, and Chloe for your time, guidance, and support. I’d like to thank Jane especially for guiding this process and working tirelessly to grant me the opportunity to learn from four different intimacy mentors and institutions, which have each contributed so much to my practice, toolbox, and approach to this work. Namely, I’d like to thank Theatrical Intimacy Education (especially Laura Rikard, Emily Rollie, and Greg Geffrard) for introducing me to a new world of intimacy practice and community. I’d like to thank Dave Anzuelo for helping me clarify and situate my process for approaching intentionality, and build confidence in myself and my practice. I’d like to thank Profe Herrera, for helping me develop gentle specificity and considerate leadership in this process. Lastly, I’d like to thank Eli Lynn, who has given me so much detailed support in improving my skills and widening my toolbox as well as invaluable advice in and out of the rehearsal room.
I’d also like to thank many gifted and wonderful student collaborators. This process’s magical, considerate, and open tone is thanks to your devotion. I’d first like to thank Emily Yang, for your kindness, experience, and thought in helping find this collection of scenes. I’d like to thank Elena Milliken: your immense talent as a painter and sculptor with light is a gift to all you share it with, and I am so grateful for every time I’ve been able to collaborate with you over the years as a brilliant theatre-maker and leader. I’d like to thank James, for branching out with this project in pursuing costumes and props for the first time. You’ve brought a detailed and perfectly measured touch to this piece. Thank you to Christie, for bringing your skill for imbuing detailed and precise storytelling in all of the work that you do, and I’m so grateful you were able to join our process in these last two weeks. Thank you to Didi, for your joy for experimentation and collaborative decision-making. I’m so grateful for the warmth you’ve brought not just to the set, but to the entire process. Thank you to Kailani and James-Allen: I’m so impressed by both of your dedication, growth, and wisdom and I know you will have an exceptional next three years and achieve amazing things wherever you choose to put your passion.
Thank you to my lovely three actors, Ela, Lucy, and Sophia, who have been so wonderful and committed to exploration. The rehearsal process of this show, while nontraditional, was beautiful and it was incredible to watch all of you fluidly grow and create the energy, characters, and scenes that you should be so incredibly proud of. You have all been brave, dedicated, and gifted storytellers and I sincerely appreciate our time together in this process.
And of course, thank you to Orion, my creative partner through this whole process. I’m so grateful for having you as a guide and rock of this project from our first chat in an Illy cafe where these scenes were just an idea, to your grace and vision in the rehearsal room, to your kind and steady guidance through all of our conversations. Thank you for your bold and unwavering faith in the process as it took shape, and I’m grateful you took on this project last spring. I know your thesis will be incredible, and I can’t wait to see everything you achieve with your steady, considerate, and dedicated leadership in the coming year.
And lastly, a dear thank you to my family and partner for their support in my pursuit of this work both now and over the past three years.
Intimacy direction is something I fell in love with back in my freshman year, and I hope for you to get a window into this beautiful form of collaboration through this presentation. And if you’re just the least bit curious, send over a quick email. Try it out, and see if you fall in love with it the way I did. This campus needs more dedicated student intimacy directors, and I believe that just might be you.
Without further ado, enjoy the show.
—Kat McLaughlin ’25
Note from the Director
Scenes of Connection explores intimacy, and in doing so, looks at what makes us most human. Across time and space, humans seek each other out, and our production offers a glimpse into what this looks like. Inspired by Nick Payne’s Constellations, we explore relationships of all kinds. From vampires to situationships to friends to third dates, we look at a variety of dynamics in order to explore all the various ways connection manifests.
It has been my privilege to work with such a talented group of theatermakers. At the beginning of this process, I told the actors one of our goals was to help them grow their craft, and this goal has been more than realized. Elena Milliken’s lighting design never fails to stun, and Didi Vekri’s set has grown into more and more of a home with every day we spend in it (even when breaking it down every day). I thank James Morales for his cleverness and endless patience with costumes, and James-Allen for his organization, dedication, and joy he brings to the rehearsal room. Christie Davis and Kailani Melvin have bright futures, and it is my honor to have created this beautiful production with them.
Kat McLaughlin is endlessly talented, and I was surprised and honored to be offered the privilege of directing her thesis. Every production she works on pushes the boundaries of the institutions she works in, and in doing so, reimagines what we think is possible. This thesis itself is the first of its kind at Princeton, and in producing and proposing this, new opportunities have been gifted to the next generation of theatermakers. Even considering her gorgeous lighting design and careful, creative intimacy direction, her greatest talent is envisioning what the world should be, and then bringing her vision to fruition. I have no doubt that in any field that has the privilege of being her intellectual home after graduation will be lucky to have her, and I am incredibly thankful to be her collaborator and friend.
Thank you for reading and enjoy the show!
—Orion Lopez-Ramirez ’26
Land Acknowledgement
An estimated 10 million Native Americans lived in North America before the arrival of European colonizers. Many thousands lived in Lenapehoking, the vast homeland of the Lenni-Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of what is now called eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
Princeton stands on part of the ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Lenape people. In 1756, the College of New Jersey erected Nassau Hall with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples.
Treaties and forced relocation dispersed Lenape-Delaware to Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We acknowledge the violence of settler colonialism and pay respect to Lenape peoples past, present, and future and their continuing presence in the homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.
For more information about ways you can engage with and support the Indigenous community on campus please visit the website of Native American and Indigenous studies (NAI), Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Program in Theater and Music Theater: Jane Cox
View a list of Program in Theater & Music Theater faculty & guest artists
For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a list of LCA staff members.
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters
