Let’s Talk About Sex (Noises), Baby
Content warning: mentions of sexual assault, sexual harrassment in the workplace
The importance of intimacy co-ordination was highlighted by the #MeToo movement, and the film and television landscape was transformed. The invisible labor carried by actors around scenes of intimacy was recognised and codified. There are now guidelines for communication, appropriate practice, and the industry moved away from “winging it” (and the risk of poor storytelling, and physical and mental harm).
My research revealed that voice was largely left out of this revolution. Intimacy co-ordinators are primarily movement practitioners, and the voice is a secondary concern in scenes of sexual intimacy. The need for intimacy co-ordination support is more established where actors are physically present with each other.
Last year, I graduated from my MFA in Voice Studies from the Central School of Speech and Drama. The capstone work of that degree was a thesis on intimate voice (vocalisations in scenes of sexual intimacy). I interviewed voice teachers, intimacy co-ordinators and voice actors about their experience working with intimate voice to get a picture of the current landscape, and the ways in which we might be able to integrate the consent and skills-based foundations of intimacy co-ordination into the voice sphere.
Why should we care about this?
Safety
Intimate scenes make enormous demands on voice (and voice actors) too. Voice over often involves asynchronous or remote recording; in voice over, even if things go wrong, one of the concerns is not physical assault. However, VO actors still have to manage sexual harassment in the workplace, setting boundaries around language and content, psychological harm, very little or no time to review scripts (particularly on projects with NDAs) and often very little direction on these scenes after they receive the script.
Storytelling
The sounds we make in erotic moments, the breath patterns, the proximity, the amplification of everything that's usually private are central to intimate storytelling. There is not a lot of actor training available around this work. The current approach involves actors approaching the work as individuals; there are no industry standards. More support with a technical approach to this work would empower more creative storytelling!
While sex scenes occur across a wide range of media, and this work applies to any context in which voice is part of an intimate scene (that is to say, almost all of them), there are contexts where voice is the only ingredient for sexual storytelling. These would include:
Audio erotica
Audiobooks (sometimes!)
Video game sex scenes (where there is no motion capture)
ADR for films
Scenes of masturbation in any medium
A sex scene that happens in a black out on stage or behind a door on-stage
Scenes like the “orgasm” in the diner of When Harry met Sally.
What are the challenges associated with performing intimate voice?
Adding breath and sound to sex scenes, in a voice-only context or otherwise, is often embarrassing for actors. There is the potential for the separation of actor and character to collapse (for both the actor and the listener). Often, when exploring open vowels and breath work, actors can be surprised by their own emotional vulnerability, or run into boundaries they didn’t know even existed, and wouldn’t have been able to articulate even if they had been asked.
Other challenges to consider:
Sexual stigma
Vocal health
Mental health
Power imbalances
Embarrassment/awkwardness
Physical limitations
Technique limitations
Few industry guidelines
No perceived need for support
When actors have a vocabulary and a technical approach (rather than being asked to improvise or rely on personal experience) it helps to remove embarrassment around intimate voicing.
What tools can I think about when I approach intimate voice work?
Actor training enables actors to make supported, clear sound, but those “clean” sounds are not always believable in situations of extreme emotion or physical activity. Here are some strategies to think about when approaching intimate voice:
Vocal Choreography/Notation
Write it down! You can use vowel symbols, notes on the script, pitch diagrams, colours - any system that makes sense to you. This helps actors create something replicable, and communicate more clearly with colleagues.
Container practices (warm-down)
Most actors are familiar with a warm up. When approaching activating content, incorporate a warm down into your practice. It takes 20 minutes for a dysregulated system to regulate. This practice can take many forms: meditation, yoga, visualising breathing he character out as a color, lighting a candle, taking a bath, vigorous dance, etc. Engage the body and calm the mind. A vocal warm down is a good idea for vocal health too! (I’ve included a link to a guided warm down here and in the resources section below).
Desexualise language
Although actors often have pesonal connection to their material, it is not best practice to share that in a rehearsal space or on an email thread with colleagues. Keep communication focused on the characters and the scene. An example of sexualised language would be something along the lines of “When I have an orgasm I want it to sound sexy.” An example of desexualised language would be, “When [character] climaxes I will use a higher pitch and volume for a sustained period of time.” If you have a director, you can train them to give you useful notes using desexualised language. Ask them how they want you to sound in terms of technique: pitch, volume, breathiness, timbre, duration, etc.
Vocal health
Several actors I interviewed spoke about the pressure this work can put on vocal health, particularly around breathiness and hyperventilation. A warm up and activating breath support is essential. Take breaks when needed. To avoid hyperventilating, change up the approach: add voice to your breath (audible breaths), consonants (particularly plosives and fricatives), cut off lines (ie. invoking a deity, a character’s name, curse words).
In the world of the romance genre in audiobooks, a deep growly voice is often favoured for male voices, and a deep, husky timbre can also be favoured for female voices. Be aware of your vocal limits across long form VO, and avoid pushing beyond a comfortable vocal register. Ask yourself; can I sustain this voice for five hours? Ten? Twenty, if it’s a series?
Mic technique
If you’re recording, you can use mic proximity to create a sense of intimacy. A mouth that is close to the mic feels close to the listener’s ear.
Explore your own boundaries
Take some time to ask yourself what work you are or are not comfortable performing before you take the audition or the job. When money is on the line, our boundaries can feel less clear. Practice asking for pauses when you need them, and practice naming boundaries when you find them so you can communicate them clearly in the moment. Familiarise yourself with the support resources available (listed below in the Resources section).
Actor training enables actors to make supported, clear sound, but those “clean” sounds are not always believable in situations of extreme emotion or physical activity.
Hey, I’m interested in this! Where can I go to find out more?
There are resources available!
Safety Protocols and Resources
NAVA Sexual Harrassment Resources: https://navavoices.org/sexual-harassment-resource-guide/#s2.1
PANA Protocols for Narration with Intimate Content:https://pronarrators.org/protocols
Container Practices
Research Library
Bijoux Indiscrets Orgasm Sound Library.
Books about Intimacy Co-ordination
Haney, B.M., ed. (2024) Intimacy Co-ordinator’s Guidebook: Specialties for Stage and Screen. London:
Routledge.
Pace, C. (2020) Staging Sex. New York: Routledge.
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Who am I?
Hi! Let me introduce myself. I’m Kat Littrell, a dialect coach and voice actor. I have an MFA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and trained in the Knight-Thompson Speechwork method of accent acquisition. When it comes to audiobooks, I am also an Audie Award-nominated audiobook narrator, including a nomination for Audiobook of the Year on Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2026). I have taught acting and accents at the conservatoire level, most recently at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). I have led dialect workshops for audiobook narrators and voice actors at the Thriving Narrators Retreat in Cincinnati, with the Teach a Narrator to Fish workshop in NYC, and with narrator.life online. I offer group dialect workshops periodically throughout the year, as well as one-on-one coaching. You can follow me on Instagram @littrelly.speaking, or book a coaching session with me via Calendly.