Intimacy Direction
Carlos Wagener-Sobrero and Rolando Serrano in Desire in a Tinier House. Photo by Elias Rios.
No one should be hurt at work.
Gaby’s method of developing intimacy choreography is the same as her philosophy of fight choreography: while prioritizing safety, everything is made in service to the story, the audience, and the people telling it together. Adhering to IDC’s Pillars of Intimacy in Production and the Chicago Theatre Standards, she collaborates with all artists in the room to honor story without compromising anyone’s personal boundaries, ensuring constant and clear communication and consent throughout the process.
Gaby advocates that moments of intimacy are generated by upholding consent culture, cultivating brave spaces in which respect, vulnerability, and accountability can flourish while art is made.
Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators
Nathaniel Stampley and Chilina Kennedy in Paradise Square. Photo by Kevin Berne.
Arash Fakhrabai and Salar Ardebili in Layalina by Martif Yousif Zebari -Goodman’s New Stages 2021. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Deanna Myers and Kelli Simpkins in The Gulf by Audrey Cefaly presented by About Face Theatre. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Intimacy Coordination
After: A Love Story written by Alyssa Thordarson. Directed by Clare Cooney. Intimacy Coordinator - Gaby Labotka
Reviews and Mentions
“Carapetyan’s Lucy emanates a lifetime’s worth of artistic and gender-based frustration and delivers on a cringe-inducing sex scene that’s all about a boyfriend who treats her alternately like a cash cow and a blow-up doll. (Gaby Labotka’s intimacy direction in this production is stellar throughout.)”
Catey Sullivan, The Reader [The Writer]
“And Gaby Labotka’s intimacy work shines at highlighting both how well these women know each other, but what a large bridge in intimacy they still have to cross.”
Sarah Bowden, Theatre by Numbers [Stop Kiss]
“Casey Chapman plays the Doctor in one emotionally devastating scene that echoes the chilling American history of medical malpractice and sexual exploitation of vulnerable African-American women, and the drive towards sterilization — taking away the one thing that Hester truly owns. Fight and Intimacy Director Gaby Labotka helps to delicately navigate this brutal moment; and the production should be commended for valuing this position.”
Sheri Flanders, PerfomInk [In the Blood]
“Gaby Labotka’s fight and intimacy choreography have incredible tonal variation, jumping between a family melee, invasive check-ups, and a vicious, unbearable murder with slops of blood.”
Persephone Van Ort, NewCity [In the Blood]
“Intimacy designer Gaby Labotka ( assisted by Courtney Abbott ) creates a gorgeous and fully believable marital relationship, from the insatiable early days to the utter exhaustion of being parents coupled with desire. It's during the more intimate moments that we feel completely drawn into Richard and Sheryl's world, the ups that keep them together and the downs that may drive them apart”.
Lauren Emily Whalen, Windy City Times [Don’t Smoke in Bed]