2023Three images, left to right: title text, black on a white background, from my book review published in Performance Research in February; me wearing a black shirt, holding a microphone talking during the Q&A of my capstone presentation for the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center's Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship; a three-photo collage from my installation at the Canal Dream Art Festival in June, showing red ropes adorning natural surroundings and myself manipulating the ropes.
Back by popular demand, in January I taught the second iteration of the one-day workshop "Intro to BDSM and Kink for IC's" through the Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA). You can view the ticket booking page here.
"Embodied Rhetoric," my review of Maggie Werner's Stripped: Reading the Erotic Body was published in Performance Research 27.2, "On Touch" in February. The month also saw me presenting twice: sharing research on queering intimacy coordination at the UCSB Department of Theatre and Dance's annual graduate recruitment conference, and delivering my UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship capstone presentation. Watch a recording of that capstone here and then read an interview with me about my IHC Fellowship internship with international charity Direct Relief. In March I wrapped up my time in Santa Barbara and at the end of the month moved to London to conduct research for and write my dissertation while taking up a position as a Visiting Postgraduate Research Associate at Queen Mary University of London beginning in April. To fund my time in the UK, I have received support from UCSB as well as fellowship funding. My thanks to the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation Fellowship and the Claudia D. Weitlanner Fellowship. In May, I again taught the one-day workshop "Intro to BDSM and Kink for IC's," its third time being offered through the Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA). I worked frequently at the British Library, and began in-person ethnographic participant observation at fetish club Torture Garden. At the very end of May and into the beginning of June, I was in France attending the IPA Summer Retreat in France. It was a lovely chance to gather with intimacy coordinators from around the world and discuss our craft. While there, I lead the a workshop introducing participants to the sensations of rope bondage. I attended the UCSB GradDiv and Summer Session’s Dissertation Write-in, spending a significant chunk of time working on my dissertation in online community with graduate peers. At the end of the month, I presented an immersive, site-specific rope-based art installation as part of the Canal Dream Art Festival. Finally, I was so pleased to be named a 2023-2024 recipient of the Steve and Barbara Mendell Graduate Fellowship in Cultural Literacy, and offer a big thank you to the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life at UCSB. July saw me begin a position as Graduate Student Assistant for the Diversity Equity Inclusion & Accessibility in Teaching and Learning Online Modules for UC Campuses Grant Project, working on pedagogy research and module creation to increase equitable educational practices across all 10 UC campuses. I attended London Trans Pride, and continued research at Torture Garden. Busy in August, I completed and handed in my final portfolio toward earning UCSB's CCUT (Certificate of College and University Teaching), visited Torture Garden for further ethnography, and attended TaPRA, the Theatre and Performance Research Association UK annual conference at the University of Leeds, where I presented research with the Audience, Experience & Popular Practices Working Group. I was able to attend in person thanks to being awarded funding by a DramaHE Postgraduate Research Support Scholarship (PRSS). September heralded more Torture Garden, a getaway to Norway, and the beginning of the academic term at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Losing no time, I set to work getting to know my peers and becoming involved in leadership for Quorum, a series of theatre and performance research seminars hosted by the QMUL Department of Drama, where academics, artists, professionals, and practitioners working in performance and related fields are invited to share and discuss their research. Starting the month with a journey, I traveled to Warwick at the beginning of October to present research at the Sex in Contemporary Media Conference. I later returned digitally to Warwick, offering "Introduction to Intimacy Coordination" to film and television students at the university in an online talk at the end of the month. November was another month of travel, as I journeyed to the US for ASTR, the American Society for Theatre Research annual conference in Providence, Rhode Island. In the Beyond Possession: Reimagining Methods in Performance Studies Research Working Group, I presented research from my dissertation in progress. Upon returning to the UK, I immediately began interviews for my Torture Garden research. Closing out the month, I presented research at QMUL Drama Research Colloquium, benefitting from great feedback from peers. Wrapping up a very busy 2023, December was full of events, beginning with a talk at Goldsmiths University of London's Performance Research Forum entitled ‘Yes, no, I don’t know: Beyond consent’s binary’ and, the next day, a workshop at QMUL's Subtexts with Mary Tooley titled ‘Rehearsing Feminist/Refusal.' I saw some great kinky performance, friends visited, and I traveled to Gran Canaria to end the year exploring somewhere new. 2022
Three images, left to right: a sepia toned promotional image for Center Theatre Group's production of Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play; a dark blue UC Santa Barbara logo and text for the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation European Studies Fellowship; a black, white, and fuchsia graphic advertising my Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA) workshop "Intro to BDSM and Kink for IC's."
In January I began my qualifying examinations. Throughout February and into March, I worked on completing the five parts of these exams (designing syllabi, written exams, oral exams defense, dissertation prospectus, and oral prospectus defense.) I successfully passed and went ABD (All But Dissertation) on March 16th! During these months, I also traveled to Los Angeles several times to see the Center Theatre Group's production of Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris for dissertation research.
April's main focus was self-care and completing fellowship applications. I am thrilled to have received awards from four funding sources: the 2022-23 Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation European Studies Fellowship for Dissertation Research, the Claudia D. Weitlanner Fellowship, the UC Santa Barbara Academic Senate Travel Grant, and the UC Santa Barbara Graduate Student Association Travel Grant. In May, I began work on what will eventually become the third chapter of my dissertation, which I focused on developing into a conference paper. In June, I presented this paper, entitled "Can Theatre Help People Have Better Sex?" at the International Federation of Theatre Research's annual conference in Reykjavík, Iceland. July, August, and early September were spent in London, undertaking research at the Bishopsgate Institute's UK Leather and Fetish Archives, attending kink events, and visiting my lovely partner. Arriving in the US in mid-September, I engaged in intensive training and began teaching through the UCSB Writing Program as the fall quarter kicked off. Back by popular demand, in October I co-hosted the workshop "Let's Talk About Kink!" through UCSB's Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. I continued with dissertation research and writing, and prepared to teach November's one-day workshop "Intro to BDSM and Kink for IC's" through the Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA). Though November saw the start of the 48,000-worker strong UAW 2865 labor dispute, I strove to keep spirits up and stay dedicated to my academic and teaching commitments. Through a December vexed with the ongoing University of California Graduate Workers' strike, I continued dissertation research and writing in London for the winter holidays. 2021
Three images, left to right: a flier for the UCSB Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity event Let's Talk About Kink with black lettering on a levendar background and cute graphics of kink toys; Northwestern University's Queertopia 2021 conference logo showing a black fist wrapped in colorful ribbons; the lead image for my article "Gender Equality in Sports Shouldn't Hinge on a Binary," showing a finger balancing a tennis ball on a net, bisected by pink and blue tints.
January through March saw me sheltering in place, working through a winter quarter full of seminars and teaching. I completed coursework for the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center's Public Humanities Graduate Fellows Program, and published my article "Gender Equality in Sports Shouldn't Hinge on a Binary," on the Fellows Blog.
In mid-April I co-hosted a panel discussion entitled "Let's Talk About Kink" through UCSB's Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. At the end of the month, I co-presented on "Quotidian Queer Activism in the Academy" at Northwestern University's Queertopia 2021 conference. Presenting again at the beginning of May, I delivered a paper entitled "Queer BDSM Intimacies in the time of Covid" at UCLA's QGrad conference. This paper drew on the research I completed with funding from the Multidisciplinary Research on COVID-19 and its Impacts (MRCI) grant program last summer. In June I taught Introduction to Acting as Instructor of Record for UCSB's Summer Session. In addition to teaching, I spent July all the way through December building sample syllabi and reading wonderful texts on kink, performance, affect, gender, and critical race theory in preparation for my Qualifying Exams, which I sat in early 2022. 2020
Three images, left to right: a flier for the UCSB Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity's IdentiTEA: Kink event with white lettering on a blue background; a picture of ItsPlay with red and golden hair wearing a gray sweater holding a blue strap teaching "Kink 101;" a flier for the class " Connective Rope 101" with black text on a white background and a gray image of a piece of rope.
2020 was a year of change.
Working with the University of California Santa Barbara's Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (RCSGD), I created and taught content for the RCSGD's Kink Series. In January, I co-facilitated IdentiTEA: Kink, a discussion group for kinky identified LGBTQI+ folx, and January and February I taught two courses, Kink 101 and Connective Rope 101. RCSGD staff and I put together an online Kink and Consent Panel in April., featuring Professor Constance Penley from the Department of Film and Media Studies, PhD candidate Cierra Sorin from Sociology, and myself, speaking on the importance of consent within kink and the adult industry. Impact Play 101 was slated for May but is on hold indefinitely due to Covid-19! In June I completed the first year of my PhD with straight As. The International Federation of Theatre Research (IFTR) postponed its annual conference, at which I was slated to present a paper with the Queer Futures Working Group. However, I continued working on BDSM and alternative sexualities over the summer, receiving a minigrant for Multidisciplinary Research on COVID-19 and its Impacts (MRCI). This enabled me to spend July and August examining the effects of the pandemic on BDSM communities, conducting online interviews with 11 kinky-identifying people in 10 countries. August saw me finish Intimacy Coordination training and receive my certification from the Intimacy Professionals Association. Intimacy Coordinators (for film and television) and Intimacy Directors (for theatre) help enable the performance of simulated sex and nudity while supporting a safe and consensual working environment for actors and crew. Check out my website for Intimacy Coordination, Intimacy Direction, and consulting! In September I began the second year of my doctorate, pursuing all coursework remotely due to the pandemic. Jumping into teaching responsibilities, I instructed two groups of undergraduates in Introduction to Acting. Meanwhile, I was accepted into the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center's Public Humanities Graduate Fellows Program and began coursework for that learning stream. By December I had successfully completed another academic quarter, maintaining a 4.0 and solidifying my dissertation committee. 2019
Three images, left to right: a Spanish-language call for papers for the journal Corpo-Grafías featuring black text on a white background with pink and turquoise mandalas on the left side; a picture of many books swirling into a pit; IFTR's 2019 Shanghai conference announcement featuring fuchsia-colored Chinese characters over the words "Shanghai Theatre Academy."
In February, my co-authored article on rope bondage, rhizomes, and affect, with abstract available in English, Spanish and (somewhat mangled) Portuguese, was published in Corpo-Grafias (Revista Corpo-grafías, Estudios críticos de y desde los cuerpos). Read "Rope Bondage and Affective Embodiments: A rhizomatic analysis" here. (Rope Bondage and Affective Embodiments: A rhizomatic analysis. Revista Corpo-grafías: Estudios críticos de y desde los cuerpos, 6(6), 64-77 / ISSN 2390-0288.)
As of March, I received nine offers of admission to undertake my proposed PhD in Performance Studies, focusing on BDSM and affective embodiments. In April, after a difficult selection process, I elected to begin my doctorate in the fall at The University of California Santa Barbara. In May I traveled to the Netherlands for two weeks to undertake field research, and in June I returned to Hong Kong and Taiwan to network with members of the BDSM community. July saw me travel to Shanghai, China, to present research at the International Federation of Theatre Research's 2019 Conference on Theatre, Performance, and Urbanism. I was awarded a bursary to cover travel and conference registration expenses. For the remainder of the summer I made preparations for my relocation to California, and in September I began my doctoral work in Santa Barbara. 2018Four images, left to right: a map of Taiwan; a multicolor geometric needlepoint of two people on a background of hexagons; a black graduation cap on a white background; the announcement for Bodies-Re-formed at Durham University featuring a muscular body inside clinging white fabric, a painting of Queen Elizabeth, and a partially-dressed figure hanging upside down in rope bondage.
July to December: co-authored journal article affect, rhizomes, and the materiality of rope bondage for publication in the journal Corpo-Grafías with Iris Ordean
Created art installation and delivered lecture "Rope Bondage, Rhizomes, and Affective Embodiments" At the Bodies Re-formed Conference, 3 November 2018 Academic Conference organized by the Durham University Centre for Visual Arts and Culture's Durham, England Delivered performance provocation and lecture "Tied Up In Research: Breaking the Scholar-Practitioner Binary" At the STR NRN's Fifth Annual Symposium, 8 July 2018 Academic Conference organized by the Society for Theatre Research New Researchers' Network London, England Graduation, 22 June, 2018 Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Graduated with Distinction and CEU Academic Achievement Award Thesis Defense, 18 June, 2018 Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Completed and handed in MA Thesis, "Reframing Exclusionary Identities Through Affective Affinities: A comparative study of BDSM community formation in Budapest and London" Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, 11 June, 2018 Ongoing research for MA thesis continues, January - June 2018. London, England; Budapest, Hungary Undertaking fieldwork covering participant observation and semi-structured ethnographic interviews. Delivered lecture "Gender in BDSM - A Creative Practice" At "Creative Bodies—Creative Minds," 26 March 2018 Academic Conference organized by the University of Graz, Austria Tour Manager for Kristina Marlen's Asia Tour, 1 - 7 January, 2018 Taipei, Tainan, and Taichung, Taiwan 2017
Three images, left to right: the Hun Con II badge featuring a triskelion symbol superimposed on a red, white, and green Hungarian flaf with with presenters' national flags from the US, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, and the Netherlands; an airplane emoji on a grey background; the cover of the journal Ritual and Cultural Performance.
Hun Con organizing team member, Budapest, Hungary, 10-12 Nov 2017
Eastern Europe's only BDSM conference Peer-reviewed journal article published, Oct 2017 "Kinbaku: the Liminal and The Liminoid in Ritual Performance." Performance of the Real E-journal, 1 (1): 42-51. Began research for MA thesis, September - December 2017. London, England; Budapest, Hungary Teaching, Community Networking, and Travel: DECEMBER: As Tour Manager for Kristina Marlen, kicking off her first ever Asia Tour, 29-31 December, Taipei, Taiwan OCTOBER-DECEMBER: Visiting and networking with kink community, Budapest, Hungary and London, England SEPTEMBER: Visiting and networking with kink community, September 2017, Budapest, Hungary AUGUST: Visiting and networking with kink community, late August 2017, Berlin, Germany Visiting and networking with kink community, early August 2017, Helsinki, Finland JULY: Visiting and networking with kink community, 3-31 July 2017, Tokyo and various locations, Japan Attended play party and participated in rope play, MK Studio, 9 July 2017, Tokyo, Japan JUNE: Taught private connective rope lesson. 4 June 2017, Taipei, Taiwan Presented lecture "WIIWD - Why we must think about What It Is We Do." 4 June 2017, Taipei, Taiwan Taught 繩課「以繩連結」 Connective Rope Workshop with ItsPlay, 3 June 2017, Taipei, Taiwan MAY: Visited and networked with kink community leader and gender studies lecturers, 15-25 May 2017, Taichung and Tainan, Taiwan Taught 繩課「以繩連結」 Connective Rope Workshop with ItsPlay, 5 May 2017, Taipei, Taiwan APRIL: Taught connective rope workshop, 22 April 2017, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Taught SLAP (Singapore Learn and Play) Connective Rope Workshop, 15 April 2017, Singapore Visited and networked with kink community, 1-12 April 2017, Bali, Indonesia MARCH: Taught connective rope workshop, 4 March 2017, Manila, Philippines 2016
Three images, left to right: the red, black, and gray Hong Kong Kink Con 2016 organiser badge; ItsPlay with pink and blue hair, wearing a white shirt, tying Nikkari Aoi wearing a dark blue and white track suit; the Performance of the Real conference flier.
Hong Kong Kink Con organizing team member, Hong Kong, 11-13 Nov 2016
Asia's only general BDSM conference Photoshoot rigger, Hong Kong, 23 May 2016 "Nikkari Aoi is in trouble" Delivered lecture "Kinbaku: Liminality, Ritual Practise, and Performativity" At "Ritual and Cultural Performance Hui and Symposium," 14 April 2016 Academic Conference organized by University of Otago, New Zealand 2015
Four images, left to right: the red and black Hong Kong Kink Con 2015 presenter badge; a flier for the Les Peches Halloween party featuring a white skinned face with red lips and red eye makeup; a person tied to a bench in a blue-lit industrial space; dancers raising their arms in a dance class inside a dance studio.
Delivered a lecture at Asia Kink Con, Hong Kong, 15 Nov 2015
"Kinky Directions: Past, Present, and Future" Performed at Les Peches, Hong Kong, 31 Oct 2015 kinbaku set at HK's only LBGTQQA club night Performed at noise=noise, Hong Kong, 7 Aug 2015 2x kinbaku sets with live DJ noise music Attended Y-Space research workshop, Hong Kong, 24 May 2015 Tamalpa Life/Art Process 2014
Outspoken Kinky Hong Kong community member, rope practitioner. Attended munches, parties, rope socials, practiced rope privately with friends and partners throughout 2014
2013
Presented untitled performance intervention/installation
At "Falling About," London, England, 15 December 2013 Scholar Practitioner research lab organized by University of Roehampton Dance and Performance Research Journal Delivered lecture "Kinbaku: Freedom Through Restraint?" At "Generative Constraints," London, England 16 November 2013 Academic conference organized by Royal Holloway University's practise research unit Completed and handed in MA Thesis, "Toward a Non-Binary Understanding of BDSM and Rope Bondage" Goldsmiths University, London, England, 8 September, 2013 Delivered lecture "Internet Kinbaku: Reducing a Complex Art Form to Traditional Gender Binaries?" At "Performing Porn (after the computer became boring)," London, England, 12 July 2013 Academic conference organized by Dani Ploeger at Brunel University and ]performance space[ 2012
Began MA Performance and Culture
Goldsmiths University, London, England, September Took part in Burning Man Festival, Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA, 27 August - 2 September 2012 Researched kinbaku and alternative subcultures Attended first kink class! "Kink 101" taught by Phoenix at The Stockroom, Los Angeles, USA. 15 September 2012 2011
It's a mystery what I was up to in 2011, but it probably wasn't that kinky. 😢
2010
Visited first BDSM club night, Club Hell, Los Angeles, USA. 18 July 2010
Wow, thanks for scrolling all the way down. Sadly, that's all folx. I wasn't kinky before 2010... Just kidding! If you want to know more about that part of my journey, please reach out using the contact page!
© 2024 by Heath Pennington. All Rights Reserved.
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