TIE CERTIFICATION MISSION
What Is
Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) Certification?
BEYOND INTIMACY
Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) Certification is a professional credential that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated proficiency in consent-based practices, ethical leadership, and the practical application of TIE's established pedagogy across the performing arts and entertainment industries.
TIE Certification prepares professionals to serve as intimacy choreographers for theatre and live performance and intimacy coordinators for film, television, and media. However, its purpose extends far beyond staging and coordinating intimate scenes.
At its heart, TIE is about developing better, more informed, ethical, and effective leaders throughout the performing arts. Its pedagogy provides tools for communication, collaboration, consent, boundary-setting, navigating power dynamics, and responsible leadership that can positively influence every aspect of a creative environment.
These skills are valuable not only when working with intimacy, nudity, or simulated sexual activity, but also in classrooms, rehearsal rooms, production meetings, backstage environments, and throughout the creative process.
Why Is TIE Certification Significant?
Theatrical Intimacy Education is one of the established training programs in theatrical intimacy. Since its inception in 2017, TIE has helped shape the practice, research, education, and communication of consent-based pedagogy.
With a team of more than 30 industry professionals, teaching artists, and researchers, TIE has developed an educational framework adopted by thousands of individuals and more than 250 organizations. Its reach extends from community theatres to Broadway stages, from film schools to streaming platforms, and from educational institutions to major motion picture studios.
Importantly, TIE did not rush to create a certification.
As the discipline of intimacy work became increasingly recognized within the entertainment industry, TIE took a deliberate, thoughtful approach to defining what professional certification should mean. Rather than immediately creating a credential, TIE invested approximately ten years in developing, refining, and evaluating its educational practices and professional standards before establishing its certification.
That decision reflects a commitment to developing certification responsibly and ethically. TIE recognizes that professional credentials carry significant weight: they communicate competency, establish expectations, and influence who is entrusted with the well-being of performers and creative teams.
Certification should represent more than completing a course or attending a workshop. It should recognize demonstrated proficiency, practical understanding, professional responsibility, and the ability to apply consent-based practices in real-world environments.
A Specialized Focus on Working with Minors
A distinguishing component of TIE's pedagogy is its specialized focus on working with minors in educational and professional performance environments.
TIE recognizes that children and young performers require additional consideration, age-appropriate approaches, and thoughtful safeguards when navigating consent, boundaries, physical interaction, and sensitive material.
Its pedagogy addresses the unique responsibilities of working with young performers, including developmentally appropriate communication, safeguarding, power dynamics, parental and guardian considerations, and the ethical obligations of educators, directors, choreographers, and production professionals.
This specialized focus reinforces TIE's broader commitment to creating environments where every individual, regardless of age or experience, is treated with dignity, respect, and care.
TIE recognizes that working with minors requires specialized knowledge, heightened awareness, and an understanding of the additional professional and ethical responsibilities involved in serving young performers.
What Does TIE Certification Recognize?
TIE Certification recognizes professionals who have demonstrated the ability to:
Lead ethically: Create environments rooted in respect, accountability, collaboration, and informed consent.
Communicate effectively: Establish clear expectations, navigate boundaries, and facilitate difficult conversations.
Apply consent-based practices: Utilize TIE Best Practices in classrooms, rehearsal halls, onstage, and on camera.
Support creative collaboration: Help performers, directors, educators, and production teams work together responsibly.
Choreograph and coordinate intimacy: Apply specialized skills to intimate scenes in theatre, live performance, film, television, and media.
Work responsibly with minors: Understand the additional considerations, securities, and ethical responsibilities involved in working with children and young performers.
Strengthen the industry: Bring thoughtful leadership, ethical decision-making, and responsible practices into every creative environment they enter.
The Bigger Picture: Beyond Intimacy
TIE Certification is about more than recognizing intimacy professionals. It helps shape the future of the performing arts by cultivating professionals who understand that good leadership requires more than artistic vision or technical expertise.
It requires the ability to listen, communicate, establish trust, respect boundaries, navigate power dynamics, recognize vulnerability, and create conditions in which people can do their best creative work.
The principles of consent-based practice are not limited to intimate scenes. They are applicable to the broader culture of theatre, film, television, education, and live performance. They help create healthier working relationships, more collaborative creative processes, and stronger professional leadership.
Ultimately, TIE Certification represents a commitment to raising the standard of professional practice and leadership across the performing arts.
It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated proficiency in a well-established consent-based pedagogy and are prepared to bring those principles into their professional work, whether they are choreographing intimacy, coordinating an on-camera scene, teaching students, directing a production, or leading a creative team.
TIE Certification is not simply a credential in intimacy work. It recognizes specialized professional preparation, demonstrated competency, ethical responsibility, and a commitment to making the performing arts more collaborative and respectful for everyone.
