IDC Trauma-Informed Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A production asks an intimacy coordinator to skip the pre-scene consent check because the actors 'already agreed in callbacks.' The coordinator should:
- Comply — callback agreement is sufficient consent
- Insist on in-the-moment consent confirmation before each rehearsal and shoot (Correct answer)
- Defer to the actors' union delegate to decide
- Document the skip and proceed if both actors verbally confirm once on set
Correct answer: Insist on in-the-moment consent confirmation before each rehearsal and shoot
Consent must be reaffirmed in the moment because earlier agreement does not account for changed circumstances or emotional state.
Question 2: Secondary traumatic stress (STS) in intimacy coordinators most commonly arises from:
- Handling physical props and costumes repeatedly
- Repeated exposure to performers' trauma disclosures and distressing content (Correct answer)
- Working long hours without adequate breaks
- Disagreements with directors over creative decisions
Correct answer: Repeated exposure to performers' trauma disclosures and distressing content
STS results from indirect exposure to trauma through supporting others, not from direct personal traumatic events.
Question 3: When a trauma response is activated during an intimacy scene, the body's stress hormones can impair:
- Only long-term memory storage
- Working memory, decision-making, and prefrontal cortex function needed for consent (Correct answer)
- Muscular coordination only
- Emotional range in performance
Correct answer: Working memory, decision-making, and prefrontal cortex function needed for consent
High cortisol and adrenaline levels during trauma activation suppress the prefrontal cortex, compromising reasoned decision-making and consent capacity.
Question 4: A performer says 'I'm fine' repeatedly but shows increased rigidity, shallow breathing, and breaks eye contact. The trauma-informed interpretation is:
- They are genuinely comfortable and should be trusted at face value
- Verbal report may not reflect physiological state — behavioral cues suggest activation (Correct answer)
- They are engaging in character preparation and should not be interrupted
- They dislike the coordinator and should be reassigned
Correct answer: Verbal report may not reflect physiological state — behavioral cues suggest activation
Somatic cues often contradict verbal self-reports in trauma states; coordinators must track embodied signals alongside language.
Question 5: Which practice best supports a trauma-informed environment during closed-set intimacy filming?
- Limiting the closed set to essential crew and briefing each person on trauma-sensitive conduct (Correct answer)
- Excluding the director from the set to reduce authority pressure
- Having all crew sign NDAs before the scene begins
- Playing background music to reduce ambient tension
Correct answer: Limiting the closed set to essential crew and briefing each person on trauma-sensitive conduct
A small, briefed, trauma-aware crew minimizes surveillance stress and maintains predictable, respectful conditions for performers.
Question 6: Hypervigilance in a performer on set may manifest as:
- Slow, deliberate physical movement during choreography
- Excessive scanning of the environment, startling easily, or monitoring others' reactions intensely (Correct answer)
- Forgetting lines due to lack of preparation
- Overly relaxed posture and disengagement from scene partners
Correct answer: Excessive scanning of the environment, startling easily, or monitoring others' reactions intensely
Hypervigilance is a trauma-related state of heightened alertness that appears as scanning, startle responses, and social monitoring.
Question 7: In the context of trauma-informed practice, a 'resource' refers to:
- Budget allocated for intimacy coordination services
- Any internal or external anchor that helps a performer feel grounded and safe (Correct answer)
- The script supervisor's continuity notes
- A prop or costume item used in the intimate scene
Correct answer: Any internal or external anchor that helps a performer feel grounded and safe
Resources are stabilizing anchors — memories, sensations, objects, or people — that support nervous system regulation during activating work.
IDC Trauma-Informed Practice 3
A production asks an intimacy coordinator to skip the pre-scene consent check because the actors 'already agreed in callbacks.' The coordinator should: