Intimacy Direction Conversation

3:30 – 4:30  March 20

Join Intimacy Director Leslie McBay, Director Rebecca Ballarin and Performer Rebecca Ostroff for a discussion about the practice and importance of Intimacy Direction, and how this was approached in an online context for the festival’s presentation of Isley Lynn’s Skin a Cat. Whether you’ve worked with an Intimacy Director before or have no knowledge of this role, we welcome you to join the conversation and bring your questions! A must-attend for creators and animators of theatre.

All events require a Femme Folks Fest Pass. If you are able during these unprecedented times, we kindly suggest a donation of $50.
All Femme Folks Fest donations will be directed to local artists.

Leslie McBay is a performer, producer, and intimacy director. Favourite performer credits include Orphan Black (BBC America/Space), Mary Kills People (Global/Lifetime), Romeo and (her) Juliet (Headstrong Collective/Urban Bard), and The Two Gentlewomen of Verona (Dauntless City Theatre). Recent intimacy direction credits include All’s Well That Ends Well (Dauntless City Theatre), Above & Beyond (Toronto Fringe), assisting on Dancing Under a Blanket (Unwrap Theatre), Ill Met By Moonlight (Pointed Cap Playhouse) and Girl in the Machine (Seven Siblings Theatre). Leslie completed the Intimacy Choreography Pedagogy Intensive with Intimacy Directors International in spring 2019, and is completing her final level of certification with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (IDC). She wants you to know that “No, but” is the new “Yes, and” and that your boundaries are important. Leslie is invested in changing the culture in our rehearsal spaces by teaching workshops, advocating for actors, and building empowering choreography. Get in touch at lesliemcbay.ca.

Rebecca Ballarin is a theatre director and producer and arts administrator from Peterborough Ontario, currently based in Toronto.

Rebecca is the Artistic Producer of Pearle Harbour (a company that presents the theatrical work of Toronto-based drag queen Pearle Harbour), and Tweed & Company Theatre. She previously worked as the Network Coordinator for SPARC (Supporting Performing Arts in Rural and Remote Communities). Rebecca is passionate about collaboration, connection, and creating spaces that encourage experimentation and play. She is so excited to be completing a Metcalf Internship under Lisa’s mentorship and to be working with Laurel to bring Femme Folks Fest online this year!

Rebecca is a Toronto-based actor, playwright and producer. Recent credits include, as playwright: In Her Madim (Ergo Pink Fest, 2021), Love Multiplies (Driftwood Theatre, 2020), as writer/performer: Stella (Scripted Toronto Festival, 2019). Her newest play Camp Halo is currently in development with the support of the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Her personal essays and other writing have been published in a variety of publications, including The Globe And Mail and Niv Magazine. She is also a community organizer at Tight Lipped, a storytelling podcast and advocacy group dedicated to breaking the silence surrounding vulvovaginal and pelvic pain conditions. She is very passionate about using art to raise awareness and eliminate stigma surrounding sexual dysfunction and sexual pain, and she is thrilled to be presenting Skin A Cat as part of Femme Folks Fest!