What is the best way you have ever seen sex staged?

Comments

[Paul Mullin]

My good friend and long-time collaborator, William Salyers, wanted to comment here, but the tool wasn't allowing him, so I told him I'd post on his behalf. Here's what he sent me in an email:

"I'm biased, of course, but I was very pleased with the sex scene between Noh and Tangredi in your play "Goodship Manhattan." I think the fact that they remained fully clothed helped; the blocking could remain safe, yet suggestive to the point of being nearly graphic.

Assuming you're inquiring for your own dramaturgical purposes: where is the sex taking place? What is the sexual act being portrayed? Are the actors fully nude?"

[Mickey Rowe]

In "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot" by Jose Rivera

Once in the lines "We would have sex while children starved, racists ran for office, wars were . . ."

And in the stage direction: They make love. It's fast rough and raw, a little desperate-finally climaxed by silence. Gabriela lies on her back staring at the ceiling. Benito lies next to her, eyes closed. Gabriela quietly starts to cry. She doesn't want him to hear, . . .

The reality of the stage direction is so sad, real, and unsubstantial, unfulfilling juxtaposed with the poetry of how sex is talked about in the lines of the play. In Gabriella's dream world.

Mickey, www.mickeyrowe.wordpress.com

[Paul Mullin]

Billy,

They'll be going into the sex fully clothed having just kissed after having just sparred with a baseball bat and samurai sword. (Yup, it's one of those plays.)

So really, I'm looking for something probably highly conceptual. Edgar Sargent replied on Facebook "Astaire and Rogers in Swing Time?", and that's about as close as any suggestion has come so far to what I'm looking for.

The sexual act being portrayed is truly making love, but between two people who five minutes before didn't expect to be.

Also, it somehow echoes a Turing Test the two took together in Act I. Because, I'm beginning to believe, making love is the ultimate Imitation Game (which is what Turing actually called the test.)

[Bill Salyers]

It almost sounds like you want a choreographer.

[Paul Mullin]

Awesome, Mickey! Thank you for pointing me to that.

[Mickey Rowe]

Love the swing time idea! If you are thinking conceptual and sort of movement based it would be awesome to try something like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvYIDob1AQ This was my attempt to stage the un-stagable, hundred's of women jumping from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory by using movement. It would be awesome to think creatively about how to stage the un-stagable of hot steamy sex in a similar style.

[Louise Penberthy]

Did they pass the Turing Test? ;)

[Louise Penberthy]

I saw a production of Riding the Bull in which the sex scenes were played first with the actors side by side, playing out to the audience. Over the course of the play the two actors got closer and closer, and more and more facing each other. All fully clothed.