Burcu Emeç is a queer Kurdish artist, intimacy coordinator (film/tv), and intimacy director (live performance) based in Tkarón:to/“Toronto”. She started her career as an actor and works seamlessly across various disciplines in live performance and cinema as a creator, performer, and intimacy professional.
Burcu’s theatre and live art creation has found its place in diverse venues like theatres, galleries, and parks. Her practice focuses on narrative beyond text and uses spatial and visual dramaturgy to create immersive live performances. In her work, she frequently weaves social commentary with images, and explores the spaces between “performativity” and “non-acting”. Burcu has received support for her original works from festivals, theatre companies, and art councils across Canada, including the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), La SERRE-arts vivants, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), SummerWorks, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Public Recordings. She has received several awards including the Mécènes investis pour les arts, OFFTA Hybridity Award, and five META nominations.
Throughout her journey, Burcu has been interested in the way artists collaborate and how it impacts their work. This interest led her to work for several years at Articule, one of Canada’s oldest artist-run centres, where she played a pivotal role in spearheading anti-harassment and anti-racist advocacy initiatives.
This advocacy thread continues in Burcu's current work as an intimacy professional for stage and screen. As an intimacy coordinator (film/TV) and intimacy director (live performance), Burcu provides an artistic and safe framework to tell stories that involve nudity or intimacy. Burc is certified by SAG-AFTRA accredited IDC- Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (US) and Intimacy Coordinators Canada, and has worked for CBS, A24, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros., amongst others. She received training from leading professionals such as HBO’s Lead Intimacy Coordinator Alicia Rodis (The Deuce, Insecure, High Maintenance), the first to be hired by a major network, and Claire Warden, the first intimacy director on Broadway. Drawing from her rich experiences both on camera and onstage, Burcu brings over 15 years of diverse storytelling and a robust background in movement to support actors and directors alike. Her approach is rooted in a queer, anti-racist, and sex-positive lens, striving for an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone involved. She also has a complimentary certification as an active listener that serves as a valuable resource to productions in the filming or staging of vulnerable content.
See this page for more on what an intimacy coordinator does.
IMDB
Photo by Phanie Éthier
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