Draft:Brooke M. Haney

Brooke M. Haney (they/she) is a queer, non-binary Intimacy Coordinator. They are the creator of The Actor's Warm Down, editor of The Intimacy Coordinator's Guidebook: Specialities for Stage and Screen, and one of the first 50 intimacy coordinators recognized as qualified by SAG/AFTRA. Us Weekly has said that "Brooke M. Haney has become the go-to when it comes to choreographing sexually charged scenes." They specialize in queer representation and theatre. Out Front Magazine, in a review of the film Birder, which Haney worked on as the lead intimacy coordinator, said "Queer narratives are incredibly important for visibility and representation. However, queer media often falls short in producing intimate scenes that feel real. Queer intimacy in media can feel forced, run by the male gaze, or unnatural. Haney’s specialization in queer stories can meditate on this issue and create sex scenes that feel authentic and free of stereotypes." They have worked on CBS, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO, Amazon Prime and more.

Education
Haney got their BA from the University of Washington and MFA from the University of Central Florida. They began their career as an actor and director before finding intimacy coordination. They have intimacy choreographed shows and taught workshops at Vassar College, Syracuse University, NYU, University of Central Florida, Ventura College and Marymount Manhattan College, where they also taught for 8 years.

The Actor's Warm Down
In 2016, Haney worked with students and alumni from Marymount Manhattan College to create a warm down for actors. It is aimed at allowing the actor to release from a challenging role and return to a healthy life, and to better center themselves after intense scenes. They presented their findings in an interactive workshop at Bedford Correctional Institute as part of the 2016 Crossing Borders Conference. The warm down is still used as a de-roling technique, and was part of the first pieces of Haney's journey into intimacy coordination.

=== Career/Credits ===

The Intimacy Coordinator's Guidebook
In 2024, Haney published their first book, The Intimacy Coordinator's Guidebook: Specialities for Stage and Screen. Published by Routledge, it is described as exploring "the role of the intimacy choreographer with an in-depth look at specialization that exist within the profession. With contributions by over 30 industry professionals, this book aims to bring awareness to a wide range of needs a project may have and how intimacy professionals use their cultural competency specialists in practice to create the most compelling storytelling." It " it reveals how intimacy coordinators use their cultural competencies and specialties to create the most compelling storytelling".

The book includes contributions from Chelsea Pace, Chels Morgan, Cha Ramos, Eli Lynn, Rachel Flesher, Siobhan Richardson, Amanda Edwards. Cessalee Stovall, Kim Shively, Katie Blouse, Kaja Dunn, Raja Benz, Leo Mock, Robbie Taylor Hunt, Olivia Troy, Megan Gilroy, Amy Northup, Sara Lozoff, Nicole Perry, Amanda Liz Cutting, Ann James and Laura Rikard.

The book also includes interviews with the following artists: Grace Byers, Ryan J. Haddad, Jen Ponton, Tai Leshaun, Becca Blackwell, Midori, Michael Emery, Ammon Lourie, Nate Dushku, Olivia Luccard i and Jimmy Smits.