Dr. Jessica Steinrock (She/Her/Hers) is the CEO of Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC), the leading organization for intimacy professionals across the entertainment industry. She is a certified Intimacy Coordinator for TV and Film, and a Certified Intimacy Director for Live performance based in Chicago, IL.
As a pioneer of this field, she works to promote this role as a standard for intimate content creation. She is a member of the SAG-AFTRA Working Group, whose goal is to define intimacy coordination for tv and film. Her recent Intimacy Coordination credits include CLAWS and ANIMAL KINGDOM on TNT and LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE on hulu among others.
She came to intimacy work by way of improv comedy and has developed techniques for giving and receiving consent during improvised theatre while maintaining spontaneity, teamwork, and comedic timing. Her work has since expanded to encompass film, opera, improv, devising, still photography and scripted theatre.
She holds a PhD in Theatre from the University of Illinois for her dissertation entitled, Intimacy Direction: A New Role in Contemporary Theatre Making.
RECENT PROFESSIONAL CREDITS*
Intimacy Coordination - TV and Film
Yellowjackets (Entertainment One, Showtime) | Pilot | d/Karyn Kusama
Little Fires Everywhere (hulu) | Season 1 | d/Michael Weaver, Lynn Shelton, Nzingha Stewart
Untitled Showtime Lakers Project (HBO) | Pilot | d/ Adam McKay
Cherish the Day (OWN) | Episode 102 | d/ Tanya Hamilton
Never Have I Ever (Netflix) | Episode 102 | d/Tristam Shapeero
Mrs. Fletcher (HBO) | Episode 104 (LA pickup) | d/Bill Boyd
Animal Kingdom (TNT) | Season 4 (13 episodes) | d/John Wells
Claws (TNT) | Episode 303 | d/Dale Stern
Education Leadership
UC Santa Barbara | Intimacy Residency for Faculty and Students | Santa Barbara, CA
Stella Adler Academy of Acting | Acting Violence and Intimacy (term course) | Los Angeles, CA
UC Riverside | Intimacy Direction (for Faculty + Students) | Riverside, CA
UC San Diego | Intimacy Direction for Student Actors | San Diego, CA
The University of Utah | Intimacy Direction for Faculty | Salt Lake City, UT
UNCSA | Intro to Intimacy Design for Students | Winston-Salem, NC
Purdue University | Intro to Intimacy Direction for Graduate Students and Faculty | West Lafayette, IN
Statera Arts | Intimacy Directors: Creativity & Consent - Plenary
Session | Statera Con III 2018
Comedy Sportz | Consent in Improv Comedy | Chicago, IL
The University of Illinois | Intimacy Direction for Actors | Urbana, IL
Intimacy Direction - Theatre
Shame Spiral | Wagner New Play Festival (UCSD) | San Diego, CA
The Gradient | Wagner New Play Festival (UCSD) | San Diego, CA
Monster | Wagner New Play Festival (UCSD) | San Diego, CA
Endeavor Mind | The Plagiarists | Chicago, IL
Marat/Sade | Illinois Theatre (UIUC) | Urbana, IL
Nick and Zoe | Side Project Theatre Company | Chicago, IL
Firefly Love | Something Marvelous | Chicago, IL
How I Learned to Drive | Vincennes University | Vincennes, IN
Degrees + Certifications
Certified Intimacy Director for Theatre | IDC
Certified Intimacy Coordinator for TV and FIlm | IDC
Lead Instructor | IDC
Mental Health First Aid | 8-Hour Certification
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PhD in Theatre | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
MA in Theatre | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
*The above is only a small sample of credits. Email for my full Resume/CV