Directing Desire

Kari Barclay (they/them or he/him) is an award-winning writer, director, and researcher who serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater at Oberlin College, USA. Kari's research interests include gender and sexuality studies, theater directing, consent theory, and asexuality studies. They have created productions regionally and in New York at venues including Art Nova, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, MirrorBox Theater, and Manbites Dog. Their original play CAN I HOLD YOU? was the first full-length piece about asexuality performed in the U.S. and enjoyed a sold-out run in San Francisco and workshop in New York. Their newest play STONEWALLIN' was the winner of the 2021 Southern Queer Playwriting Festival and opened at Richmond Triangle Players in February 2022.

Chapter 1. Introduction Boundary Practice.- Chapter 2. Erotic Repetitions: A Brief History of Intimacy Choreography.- Chapter 3. Sexual Script Analysis: Sex Positivity and Authorship in Intimate Scenes.- Chapter 4. "Intermediate" Pornography: Mediating Presence with the Intimacy Kit.- Chapter 5. Playing with Trauma: Race, Consent, and Culturally Responsive Intimacy.- Chapter 6. Immersive Intimacy: Violation and Transformative Justice in Immersive Performance.- Chapter 7. Conclusion: Keep in Touch.