Finding the Funny: Intimacy & Comedy

DATE: Saturday, September 14, 2024

START TIME: 9am PT/12pm ET/6pm CEST

CLASS DURATION: Approximately 2 hours 

LOCATION: Zoom (you will receive an email with the Zoom link immediately after you purchase a ticket)

RECORDING: A recording of this workshop will be available for one week after the class for anyone who purchases a ticket. If you cannot attend live but would like to watch the recording later then you are welcome to purchase a ticket.

TICKET PRICING: Tickets are available at three price points: $59, $69, and $79. There are a limited number of $59 and $69 tickets, so don’t wait too long to purchase yours! $45 tickets are available for BIPOC participants with financial need. If you'd like one of the $45 tickets, please email training@IPAinternational.org to request one.

CLASS OVERVIEW

“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard!” As the oft-quoted Hollywood adage suggests, scenes of intimacy often revolve around discussions of romance, passion, and drama, but comedy presents a whole different set of challenges, both in choreography and in IC protocols. 

Intimacy professionals train to understand how to create dynamic intimate scenes to convey complex storytelling with layer upon layer of nuance, ranging from scenes of seduction to scenes of simulated sexual violence. But let’s face it: sex can also be funny. How can we, as intimacy professionals, approach both our prep work and our choreography to make sex scenes involving comedy as funny as possible? And if we are not asked for choreo input, what additional protocols do we need to consider to make the environment safe for exploring the funny?

This two hour workshop will be held in a lecture-style format and will explore the following topics:

• Theories of comedy

• Punching up vs. punching down

• Scene analysis

• Additional protocols for comedy scenes

• Single-cam vs. multi-cam environments

While the workshop is geared towards intimacy professionals, other filmmakers are welcome to attend as well. This class is suitable for:

• Working or aspiring intimacy coordinators and other intimacy professionals

• Screenwriters

• Directors

• Actors

• Producers

• Anyone interested in telling funny stories

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Rebecca Johannsen is an IPA-certified intimacy coordinator whose career has largely centered around comedy. From single-cam dark comedies, to multi-camera sit-coms, she’s worked with some of the funniest actors and filmmakers in the industry. Some of her comedy credits include: Bookie (Max), Unprisoned (Hulu), Florida Man, Gentefied, Pretty Smart (Netflix), and the MTV Movie & TV Awards with Leslie Jones. You can learn more about Rebecca here.