Charlie Baker and Xploring Gender
photo by James Murphy @Trainman Photography
Intimacy
Charlie Baker is a Chicago based intimacy director and coordinator, beginning in 2018 under the mentorship of Rachel Flesher. In 2019 Charlie attended the Intimacy Directors International intensive (now Intimacy Directors and Coordinators or IDC), and began teaching with the company in 2020 where they still instruct virtual classes.
Specializing in queer intimate storytelling and demystifying intimacy on stage and screen, Charlie has had the opportunity to work with a number of wonderful theaters, productions, and organizations across the country including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Blues Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and many others; also coordinating for television shows like The Chi as well as independent featue and short films.
Clown and Specialty Movement
The love of circus is what originally brought Charlie into the theatre. Learning mime in high school, generally clowning around, and specializing in physical and classical theatre at Oklahoma City University for their BFA led Charlie to eventually achieving their true academic dream: clown college. In 2021 Charlie completed his first year the Actors Gymnasium Pro Training Program, and returned for their second year in 2022.
Ranging from aerial rope, juggling, tumbling, and puppetry to close up magic, Charlie enjoys exploring the fantastic and spectacular elements of daily life as they can be expressed on stage. As well as directing and performing, Charlie also offers movement consulting and workshops for specialized movement from monster and animal movement to physical theater techniques, such as Draznin physical actor training.
“It was a joy to work with Charlie on UNSEEN. The play poses many thorny issues, including queer intimacy, cross-cultural relationships, and undiagnosed PTSD. Charlie’s specific perspective on how queer intimacy is staged, and his studied expertise in safe PTSD performance were very important in supporting our performers for the long run of the repertory production.”
Violence
Working to marry the principles of intimate storytelling to the violence design and direction, Charlie received a Jeff nomination for their work in West Side Story at Marriott Theatre. Charlie’s specialty lies in the absurd, abstracted, strange, and comical violence. Being a professional clown and trained circus artist, Charlie explores why and how we consume violence on stage, examining what draws us in, and what delivers the most satisfying or devastating impact.
West Side Story Marriott Theatre
Xploring Gender
Xploring Gender started in 2016, as Charlie chose to publicly share their experience coming out as a transgender adult. Social media played a key role in Charlie finding a community of people who shared their experiences, and thus they felt it was important to not only benefit from the community, but contribute to it. Documenting the journey and frustrations of auditioning and working in the performance arts as a transgender individual, as well as offering virtual and in-person workshops for both the cis and gender queer communities, Xploring Gender continues to provide education and tools for advocacy.
