FSC INSPIRE Offering Consent Workshops for Directors, Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has announced that its performer-led initiative FSC INSPIRE is offering two workshops on “negotiating consent on-set and during content trades,” which will be led by film and television intimacy coordinator Mia Schachter.

In its announcement, FSC said the  three-hour workshops are “specifically designed to help adult performers and directors better communicate about consent before and during production, in an effort to reduce intentional and unintentional boundary violations.” The workshops are sponsored by Brazzers and each is limited to 12 participants.

The schedule for the workshops is as follows:

Boundaries and Consent for Directors — Thursday, August 20, 10 AM-1 PM PST

Boundaries and Consent for Performers — Thursday, September 3, 10 AM-1 PM PST

“We need to ensure that performers always feel comfortable speaking up on set and during content trades, and that directors and scene partners are always willing to listen,” said Michelle L. LeBlanc, FSC Executive Director. “Over the past weeks and months, we’ve held conversations with people involved in all aspects of production and content creation. There are many factors at work in a professional sex scene, but open communication will always be central in establishing consent. We hope these workshops, and future FSC INSPIRE initiatives, will help the adult industry have more equitable, responsive sets.”

Schachter said that the three-hour classes “cover three consent frameworks.”

“We will discuss ways to mitigate the power dynamic yourself, awareness of the hierarchy and pressure on actors, and how to have conversations about sex scenes with both directors and actors,” Schachter added. “We talk about the difference between feeling uncomfortable vs unsafe. Consent and boundary knowledge can help you find ever more nuance and subtlety in your communication. It gives more options, expands structure, and can even open up space for creativity.”

To read the full announcement on the FSC website and for information on registering for the workshops, click here.