TI Ames (They/Them)

Richmond, VA

Ti Ames (they/them/theirs) is an educator, director, singer, and theater maker from Charlottesville, VA. They’re a lifelong volunteer at Live Arts, even working on staff as Education Director from 2022 to 2024. Ti is currently pursuing an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. A burgeoning intimacy coordinator, Ti began their journey with theater intimacy as the Education Director at Live Arts Theater in Charlottesville in 2022, where they implemented the Actor’s Toolbox model for the education program. Actors as young as four years old learned about the importance of consent and boundaries, major tools in their acting toolbox, along with other essential skills such as ensemble building, empathy, and the courage to try (and fail). After joining TIE in 2024, Ti has worked as an intimacy coordinator and choreographer in various settings, including community theater, higher education, and acting and vocal coaching. 

As a Black and queer person, their approach to education aims to engage and uplift marginalized communities through ritual and consent-based practices. Their current research focuses on creating a ritualized, diasporic approach to intimacy coordination for Black theater makers. This approach is heavily informed by the epigenetic history and trauma of American enslavement that is often still held in Black bodies, giving intimacy coordinators the information and tools they need to work with Black actors, regardless of their race or background. 

Recent IC credits: Fireflies, Matilda Jr. (Live Arts); Recent directing credits: Young Frankenstein, Fireflies, You Don't Know Jacksh*t About The Mothman, Crumbs From The Table Of Joy, RENT(Live Arts); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, BLACK MAC (CPG); The Brothers Size (Oberlin College).