Intimacy & Fight

Three people inside a dimly lit room, 2 actors to the right of a masked woman.

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 ProductionsPhoto: Marc J ChalifouxFight Choreo: Samantha Jeffery

Dead Centre of Town, Catch the Keys Productions

Photo: Marc J Chalifoux

Fight Choreo: Sam Jeffery

Experience

Intimacy coordination & Direction

  • Carmen (Vancouver Opera) - Intimacy Director

  • Red Velvet (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director

  • Sunrise Betties (ITSAZOO Productions) - Intimacy Director

  • Elf: The Musical (Arts Club) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • Boy Trouble (Amoris Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • The Treadmill (IGNITE! Festival) - Intimacy Director

  • The Grind (Or Festival) - Intimacy Director

  • Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem S1 (Hulu) - Lead Intimacy Coordinator

  • 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

  • Shogun (FX) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • School Spirits S1 (Paramount+) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Batwoman S3 (the CW) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Scout (Screaming Mantis Films) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Prom Pact (Disney+) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Virile (Independent Short) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Balestra (Elevation Pictures) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Dangerous Game (Front Street Pictures) - Lead Intimacy Coordinator

  • Bunny (The Search Party) - Intimacy Director

  • Oil (University of British Columbia) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • I Loved Her First (dir. Braydon Langford) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • Botticelli in the Fire (ABBEDAM Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • Darker Than Night 2: Last Rite (ODP Studio, dir. Braydon Langford) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Eudaimonia (Truthful Work Films, dir. Dylan Rhys Howard) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • The Magicians, season 5 (SyFy) - Intimacy Coordinator (502-513) and Assistant Intimacy Coordinator (501)

  • To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 3 (Netflix, dir. Michael Fimognari) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Concord Floral (Scona Theatre Co.) - Intimacy Director

  • Metamorphosis (Scona Theatre Co.) - Intimacy Director

  • The Amazonomachy (Tigers’ Hearts Collective) - intimacy and fight consultant

  • Infernal (Phynyx Entertainment, dir. Alexandra Paulhus)- intimacy consultant

  • The Blue Hour (Skirtsafire) - Intimacy Director & 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

  • Titus Andronicus (University of Lethbridge Mainstage) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • My Lyric I Never Knew (1844 Studios, dir. Nauzanin Knight) - intimacy consultant

  • Roadkill Confidential (Untitled Productions) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (Theatre Prospero) - Intimacy Director

  • No Apology (Link to the Past Productions) - Intimacy Coordinator

  • Skinwalker (Stage Struck) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • Twelfth Night (Malachite Theatre) - Intimacy Director & Fight Director

  • Macbeth (Malachite Theatre) - Intimacy Director

  • fawns (New Works Festival) - Intimacy Director

  • Sin Caves (New Works Festival) - Intimacy Director

  • God’s Ear (Studio Theatre) - intimacy consultant

“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

​Fight Direction

  • Sexy Laundry (Arts Club)

  • Elf: The Musical (Arts Club)

  • Gaslight (Western Canada Theatre)

  • As You Like It (Bard on the Beach) - asst. fight director

  • Julius Caesar (Bard on the Beach) - asst. fight director

  • Henry V (Bard on the Beach) - asst. fight director

  • Boy Trouble (Amoris Productions)

  • Grease (Western Canada Theatre)

  • DNA (Templeton Secondary)

  • Flowers of the Rarest (Flowers Artists’ Collective)

  • Dooja Ghar (The Other House) (Monsoon Festival)

  • Oil (University of British Columbia)

  • Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions)

  • Botticelli in the Fire (ABBEDAM Productions)

  • The Amazonomachy (Tigers’ Hearts Collective) - fight consultant

  • Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Blarney Productions & You Are Here Theatre)

    • Sterling Award nomination for outstanding fight direction

  • The Blue Hour (Skirtsafire)

  • 5 @ 50 (Walterdale Theatre)

  • Julius Caesar (Malachite Theatre)

  • Titus Andronicus (University of Lethbridge Mainstage)

  • Skinwalker (Stage Struck)

  • Henry V (Malachite Theatre)

    • Sterling Award nomination for outstanding fight direction

  • Whiskey Business (Miranda Allen Entertainment)

  • On The Margin (Neon Pomegranate Arts)

  • Dead Centre of Town: The Haunt (Catch The Keys Productions)

  • Category E (The Maggie Tree)

“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