IDC Trauma-Informed Practice 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: After a distressing intimacy rehearsal, an actor appears withdrawn and avoids eye contact. An appropriate trauma-informed closing practice is:
- Encourage the actor to stay in character for the rest of the day
- Offer a brief de-role and grounding activity, and provide mental health resources (Correct answer)
- Ask the director to give the actor positive feedback immediately
- Schedule an additional rehearsal the next day to rebuild confidence
Correct answer: Offer a brief de-role and grounding activity, and provide mental health resources
De-roling and grounding closes the nervous system loop and ensures performers leave with access to support if needed.
Question 2: Which statement best describes the relationship between trauma and the body in somatic trauma theory?
- Trauma is primarily a cognitive narrative that the mind stores as memory
- Trauma is stored in the body's nervous system and musculature, not only as narrative memory (Correct answer)
- Trauma effects are resolved once a performer consciously understands the triggering event
- Somatic trauma theory holds that the body and mind process trauma independently
Correct answer: Trauma is stored in the body's nervous system and musculature, not only as narrative memory
Somatic theory, as articulated by Levine and van der Kolk, asserts that trauma is encoded in the body and requires body-based approaches for resolution.
Question 3: A performer invokes their safe word during filming. The legally and ethically correct response is:
- Pause only if the director agrees it is appropriate
- Stop the action immediately, no questions asked, without pressure or penalty (Correct answer)
- Finish the current take first to preserve production continuity
- Ask the performer to clarify their level of discomfort before stopping
Correct answer: Stop the action immediately, no questions asked, without pressure or penalty
Safe words are absolute — immediate cessation without negotiation or consequence is the contractual and ethical foundation of their use.
Question 4: Informed consent in trauma-informed intimacy work requires that performers understand:
- Only what physical actions are required of them
- What will happen, why it is required, all alternatives, and that refusal will not result in professional consequences (Correct answer)
- The director's artistic intention and box office expectations
- The camera angles and lighting plan for the scene
Correct answer: What will happen, why it is required, all alternatives, and that refusal will not result in professional consequences
Truly informed consent requires full information, awareness of alternatives, and freedom from coercive consequences for refusal.
Question 5: When a performer's trauma response causes them to freeze, pacing the scene faster is:
- Effective because momentum can help the performer break through hesitation
- Contraindicated — increasing pace during freeze deepens shutdown and reduces safety (Correct answer)
- Recommended only if the director specifically requests it
- Appropriate when the scene involves comedic rather than dramatic content
Correct answer: Contraindicated — increasing pace during freeze deepens shutdown and reduces safety
Freeze is a parasympathetic shutdown response; acceleration increases overwhelm rather than helping the nervous system discharge and reset.
Question 6: A trauma-informed intimacy coordinator's self-care practices are considered professionally relevant because:
- They are required by union contracts for all coordinators
- Unresolved secondary trauma in the coordinator impairs their ability to hold safe space for performers (Correct answer)
- Self-care is mandated by film commission regulations
- They reduce production insurance premiums
Correct answer: Unresolved secondary trauma in the coordinator impairs their ability to hold safe space for performers
A coordinator who is themselves dysregulated by vicarious trauma cannot reliably attune to or support performers in the way the role demands.
Question 7: Which approach best reflects trauma-informed language when negotiating an actor's boundary adjustment on set?
- 'The script requires this — can you push past your comfort zone just for today?'
- 'I hear your boundary. Let's explore together what feels workable and communicate that to the director.' (Correct answer)
- 'Other actors have done this without issue — it's standard practice.'
- 'The director needs this shot; let's figure out how to make it happen quickly.'
Correct answer: 'I hear your boundary. Let's explore together what feels workable and communicate that to the director.'
Trauma-informed language validates boundaries, invites collaboration, and empowers the performer rather than applying pressure or comparison.
IDC Trauma-Informed Practice 5
After a distressing intimacy rehearsal, an actor appears withdrawn and avoids eye contact.
An appropriate trauma-informed closing practice is: