Intimacy & Fight
on set of “Darker Than Night 2: Last Rite”
L to R: Talent Michael J Rye & Morgan Yamada; IC Sam Jeffery
Director Braydon Langford
Intimacy Coordination and Direction
Good intimacy needs to bring the audience further into the story, not take them out of it. Actors have often been told to make something 'sexier' - but what that means can vary from person to person, production to production, and character to character. Add in the power dynamics of a room, familiarity and lack thereof, chemistry, staged violence...
Hiring an intimacy director (stage) or coordinator (screen)?
Just like stage combat, the well-being of the actors is in their hands. Check their training. Make sure you are familiar with their work, or ask someone who is.
"[Intimacy direction] really allows people to lose that fear of going too far, or not going far enough. They know exactly where they can be every night."
- Sam Jeffery, interviewed on CBC
"Sam was beloved by all the student-actors working on our production. She has a keen eye for dynamic stage pictures and provided the actors with all the tools they needed to create arresting and affective stage fights and to responsibly create moments of intimacy for the stage. Sam is also incredibly intuitive and puts safety first, physical, emotional and mental. I had every confidence in Sam’s ability as a collaborator on this large-scale show!"
- Jay Whitehead, director of Titus Andronicus & University of Lethbridge Drama Chair
I’m a certified Intimacy Director and Intimacy Coordinator with IDC. I’ve trained to handle a wide range of intimate scenes. I’m constantly seeking out further training and knowledge to aid every production I’m a part of and build community regardless.
Want to hire me, have questions, or just want to chat intimacy? Shoot me a message.
Fight Direction
I have been working in theatre as a fight choreographer, teacher and performer since 2013. Having worked with Fight Masters and Instructors from all over the world, my training encompasses a wide variety of weapons and styles. I’ve choreographed everything from realistic horror gore to stylized Shakespearean sword battles and comedic standoffs.
Favourite style: Unarmed combat, brawl-style.
Signature move: The head slam.
Proudest moment: Sterling Award nomination for Outstanding Fight Choreography - Henry V (Malachite Theatre). This was the first time a woman was nominated for fight direction in Edmonton’s history.
Dead Centre of Town, Catch the Keys Productions
Photo: Marc J Chalifoux
Fight Choreo: Sam Jeffery
Experience
Intimacy Coordination
Features
Sidelined 3 - Tubi / Michael Medico
How To Lose a Popularity Contest - Tubi / Stephen S. Campanelli
Sidelined 2: Intercepted - Tubi / Justin Wu
Prom Pact - Disney+ / Anya Adams
To All The Boys: Always and Forever - Netflix / Michael Fimognari
Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders - Front Street Pictures / Sean McNamara
Wifelike - Paramount / James Bird
Darker Than Night 2: Last Rite - ODP Studio / Braydon Langford
Eudaimonia - Truthful Work Films / Dylan Rhys Howard
Balestra - Elevation Pictures / Nicole Dorsey
No Apology - Link to the Past Productions
Series
Durango - Hulu / Jesse Peretz
Family Dinner S1 - OUTtv / Panta Mosley
Crew Girl S1 - Netflix / Various
Death and Other Details - Hulu / Various
Batwoman Ep 311 - Warner Bros. Television/The CW / Camrus Johnson
School Spirits S1 - Paramount+ / Various
Shōgun Ep 101 - FX / Jonathan van Tulleken
Scout S1 - Screaming Mantis Films / Anna Cooley
The Magicians Ep 501-513 - NBC/Universal / Various
Shorts
We The Cathedral - Independent / Kaden Connors
My Mother, The Zombie - Crazy 8s / Samantha Pineda Sierra
MoonBeaming - JV Film Co. / The Gudgeon Twins
Virile - Independent / Sebastian Ortiz Wilkins
I Loved Her First - Independent / Braydon Langford
Intimacy and Fight Direction (theatre)
The Play That Goes Wrong (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director
Liste des enfants dévorés par les loups (Théâtre la Seizième)- Fight Director
The Fiancée (Western Canada Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Fire Never Dies: The Tina Modotti Project* - Intimacy Director
The Mousetrap (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] (Bard on the Beach) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Ce que je sais de vrai (Théâtre la Seizième) - Fight Director
Jersey Boys (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Boy Trouble - remount (Amoris Projects) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
it lives in my bedroom* - staged workshop (Playwrights Theatre Centre) - Intimacy Director
Brick Shithouse* (Fenceless Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Carmen (Vancouver Opera) - Intimacy Director
Measure for Measure (Bard on the Beach) - Fight Director
Comedy of Errors (Bard on the Beach) - Fight Director
Sexy Laundry (Arts Club) - Fight Director
Red Velvet (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director
Parifam (VACT & Medusa) - Intimacy Director
Sunrise Betties (ITSAZOO Productions) - Intimacy Director
Elf: The Musical (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
MOB (Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Gaslight (Western Canada Theatre) - Fight Director
Boy Trouble (Amoris Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
The Treadmill (IGNITE! Festival) - Intimacy Director
Grease (Western Canada Theatre) - Fight Director
The Grind (Or Festival) - Intimacy Director
Flowers of the Rarest (Flowers Artists’ Collective) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Dooja Ghar (The Other House) (Monsoon Festival) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Smoke (Tiny Bear Jaws) - Intimacy Director
Bunny (The Search Party) - Intimacy Director
Oil (University of British Columbia) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Botticelli in the Fire (ABBEDAM Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Concord Floral (Scona Theatre Co.) - Intimacy Director
Metamorphosis (Scona Theatre Co.) - Intimacy Director
The Amazonomachy (Tigers’ Hearts Collective) - intimacy and fight consultant
The Blue Hour (Skirtsafire) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Blarney/You Are Here) - Fight Director
Julius Caesar (Malachite Theatre) - Fight Director
Girl in the Machine (Bustle & Beast) - intimacy consultant
5 @ 50 (Walterdale Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Troilus and Cressida (Tiger’s Hearts Collective) - Intimacy Director
Whiskey Business (Found Festival) - Fight Director
Titus Andronicus (University of Lethbridge Mainstage) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Roadkill Confidential (Untitled Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Theatre Prospero) - Intimacy Director
Skinwalker (Stage Struck) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Twelfth Night (Malachite Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director
Macbeth (Malachite Theatre) - Intimacy Director
Henry V (Malachite Theatre) - Fight Director
fawns (New Works Festival) - Intimacy Director
Sin Caves (New Works Festival) - Intimacy Director
God’s Ear (Studio Theatre) - intimacy consultant
Dead Centre of Town: The Haunt (Catch the Keys) - Fight Director
Category E (The Maggie Tree) - Fight Director
“Sam Jeffery is an excellent intimacy coordinator. Not only did she do an excellent job of choreographing our movements and framing, but she also made us feel very comfortable. It was my first intimate scene as an actor and she put me completely at ease and ensured I felt safe and heard. Her direction ensured that the scene read as real and that we both looked good in it. I would recommend her to anyone seeking an intimacy coordinator or coach and hope to work with her again in the future.”
- Marla Renae, No Apology
Intimacy Curation and Performance Art
The Smut Zoo: The Smut Cabaret (Nextfest 2016)
The Smut Cabaret is an 18+ multidisciplinary performance party celebrating everything lewd, crude, risque, sexual and consensual.
FutureSmut: The Smut Cabaret (Nextfest 2017)
The Heavy Petting Zoo: curator, host & Zookeeper
The Heavy Petting Zoo is part installation, part performance art, part sexual exploration about explicit verbal consent. Verbal consent is a requirement for all actions within the Heavy Petting Zoo. The Zoo aims to challenge the widely-held belief that naming our desires aloud somehow makes them less sexy, providing a supervised space to explore, experiment and ask questions.
Official iterations: Smut Cabaret 2015, New Years Art Party 2016, Smut Cabaret 2016
The Edmonton Poetry Brothel: The Bedroom Ladies (2016-2018)
The Bedroom Ladies are the purring welcome party of the Edmonton Poetry Brothel, helping to guide guests through the evening.
The Edmonton Poetry Brothel: Pillow Talk (March 2018)
An exploration of written smut. Pillow Talk asks participants for a topic, a rating (14+, mature, R, explicit) and any other requirements (gender pairings, etc). Participants are then called when their smut is ready, and read a 2 minute story aloud.
"Working with Sam [on intimacy and fight] transformed one of the most daunting aspects of our production into an incredibly fun day of choreo. The instruction she gave was helpful and, most impressively, true to our vision for the show."
- Brayden O’Boyle, director of Skinwalker
“It was my first on screen intimacy scene. I was excited but nervous for the unknown. All of my questions, no matter how minute, were answered with care. Sam's presence on set, for that moment, offered a sense of calm, stability and professionalism - which allowed me to do my work with ease."
- Natasha Soper, No Apology