Member Highlight: Brooke Haney
It all begins with an idea.
Brooke Haney is a passionate storyteller whose career spans acting, intimacy coordination, and writing. A company member of Only Make Believe since 2018, Brooke brings activism and artistry together to champion consent-forward storytelling. She has authored The Intimacy Coordinator’s Guidebook: Specialties for Stage and Screen and the upcoming A History of Intimacy Professionals in Entertainment (2025)
Read on to learn more about Brooke!
Full Name:
Brooke M. Haney
Nickname:
Growing up, my friends and family called me Brookie and Brooklyn Bridge. My grad school friend Peter Cortelli calls me Brookness. My volleyball team called me Runnin Reeder, because my last name was Reeder, and I ran an “extra mile” every day after practice. Yes, I was that kind of a nerd…
What do you do professionally?
I have been a member of the acting company Only Make Believe since 2018. Additionally, I am an intimacy coordinator, choreographer, director and I’ve written the books The Intimacy Coordinator’s Guidebook: Specialties for Stage and Screen (published by Routledge, April 2024) and A History of Intimacy Professionals in Entertainment: An Inside Look at a Movement (due out from Routledge in 2025)..
What do you want to do (professionally and/or personally)?
I absolutely love my professional life right now. It is exactly what I want it to be. I adore working with Only Make Believe, and it makes me so happy to have had an artistic home with them for the past six years. I am grateful that the field of staging intimacy came along during my lifetime. It is this incredible blend of activism and artistry that resonates directly with who I am. I believe strongly in consent forward theatre and film spaces and helping to build a sustainable industry. Getting to support actors and directors in their intimate storytelling is amazing. I especially love to choreograph compelling stories of authentic queer intimacy. I’ve told my agent that I want to work at least 65% in queer stories, and that seems to be working out so far. I used to teach at Marymount Manhattan College, but when I started working more in TV as an intimacy coordinator, my schedule wouldn’t allow for teaching anymore. Writing has been both something that has brought me a lot of joy and has filled the space that teaching used to fill.
My partner and I bought our first home two years ago, a one bedroom apartment in Queens. I love our life together. We’re getting married next summer, and I’m excited to celebrate with friends and family. I hope that we can someday have a home with outdoor space. Additionally, I’ve found that NYC is a sort of transitory place, so it seems that friends move away a lot. I hope that I will continue to stay in touch with friends that move away, while developing meaningful friendships here in the city.
Do you have any passion projects or ideas you want to explore?
I’m most interested in telling stories that encapsulate parts of the queer and trans experience or supporting stories that historically have been underrepresented. I am currently a producer on the short film Coming Out Polyamourous for Thanksgiving. We are in pre-production, planning to shoot in January, and I am very excited to be a part of this project conceived by Alex Alberto, adapted from their book Entwined.
Who inspires you? Why?
Kennedy Odede is a friend of mine who grew up in Kibera, Kenya. He watched the way women were abused in his community and decided to do something about it. Despite living in poverty, he worked in a factory until he saved up enough money to buy a soccer ball, which he used to begin community organizing. He then started a street theatre company where they would pretend to beat a woman. Once a crowd gathered, they would stop and ask why no one was doing anything and begin a conversation about bystander intervention. Jessica Posner, a theater student from Colorado, wrote to Kennedy and asked to intern at his theatre company. The two fell in love, married, and started Shining Hope for Communities. Their book, Find Me Unafraid, is the most inspirational book I’ve ever read. It is an example of how to turn fear, trauma and rage into effective, positive change.
Hobbies / Interests / Things that bring you joy:
I love hiking, swimming, snorkeling, hosting dinner parties, leather working, and our dog Indigo!
Greatest accomplishments:
I left an unsafe relationship, and it is honestly the thing I am most proud of in my life. (Unless we’re very close friends, don’t ask for details, I won’t share them. However, if you are in an unsafe relationship, know that it is possible to leave. I’m rooting for you.)
Additionally, I am very proud of my acting and intimacy career and The Intimacy Coordinator’s Guidebook. It is a book I really wanted to read and it didn’t exist. Now it does!
Future accomplishments:
I am training my dog, Indigo, to be a therapy dog so that she can come on set with me for projects where the actors or crew would benefit from some adorable stress relief.
What excites you about being a Creative + Member?
Community is everything. I love how Amanda has brought folks together to support and champion each other.
Best piece of advice you have ever been given:
My math teacher in high school, Eeva Reeder (no relation), had us do an equation that showed us that the younger our money is, the more valuable it is. It impressed upon me the importance of saving and investing young and continually, when I could, and even just a tiny amount. Also, the advice from the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad: it isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about how much you keep.
Who is someone you want to collaborate with? Why?
Queer theatre and filmmakers. I want to tell as many stories of queer intimacy, especially those about queer joy, as I have the time and the opportunity for in my lifetime.
Favorite quote:
“For a woman to be a lesbian in a male-supremacist, capitalist, misogynist, racist, homophobic, imperialist culture, such as that of North America, is an act of resistance.” - Cheryl Clarke
What does your best life look like?
Being out and proud, with a good balance of work, play and travel.
Last words for the Creative + Community?
Hit me up! Let’s have coffee, collaborate, whatever.
Brooke’s Socials
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