ARTICLE “Showmance”: Is performing intimacy associated with feelings of intimacy? Jennifer Saslove 1 , Aki M. Gormezano 1 , Zach C. Schudson 2 , and Sari M. van Anders 1,3,4 1 Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada 2 Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States 3 Department of Gender Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada 4 Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Many actors report, anecdotally, a phenomenon known as a “showmance,” whereby actors develop romantic and/or sexual feel- ingsforactingpartners,ofenintheprocessofportrayingromanceonstagetogether.Becauseactingpartnersspendsomuchtime together and may be engaging in several activities that facilitate emotional and physical closeness, it is possible that performing intimacymayinfuence feelingsofactualintimacy.Inthisstudy,weaimedtounderstandtheassociationbetweenthetypeofonstage relationshipthatanactorportrayswiththeiractingpartnerandthedegreeofintimacy—specifcallynurturanceanderoticism—that theyfeeltowardthispartner.Wesurveyedactors(amateurandprofessional)abouttheirpasttheatricalexperiencesperformingwith aromanticactingpartner( romantic/intimate),anon-romanticbutstillintimatepartner( non-romantic/intimate;e.g.,friendship, parent-child), and a non-romantic and non-intimate partner ( non-romantic/non-intimate; e.g., strangers, colleagues). We found that actors reported signifcantly higher levels of nurturance when recalling romantic and non-romantic/intimate onstage roles, compared to non-romantic/non-intimate roles. We also found that actors reported signifcantly higher levels of eroticism when recallingromanticonstagerolescomparedtootherroles.Finally,wefoundthatactorsreportedhavingexperiencedasignif cantly greaterproportionofromantic/sexualfeelingsacrosstheiractingcareerstowardromanticactingpartners,comparedtootheracting partners.T  efndingsofthisstudyprovideabetterunderstandingofthebidirectionalrelationshipbetweenbehaviourandaf ect,as wellasthepredictorsofintimacy,throughatheatricallens. KEYWORDS:Acting,intimacy,relationships,romance,theater,theatre What leads to intimacy? Is it possible to experience actual researchers that as actors aim for authenticity (“bringing the feelingsofintimacybysimplypretendingtoexperiencethose charactertolife”throughgenuineemotions),thelinesbetween feelings? A common phenomenon among actors known as a selfandcharactercanblur( Burgoyneetal.,1999; Pace,2020; “showmance” suggests that portraying intimacy in a perfor- Sina, 2014; Shawyer&Shively,2019).Tisextendstoperfor- mancecanleadtoincreasedintimacyofstage.Intheatreand mancesofintimacyonstage,whichmaycontributetoroman- flm,showmancesoccurwhenactorsengageinsexualrelations, ticfeelingsofstage,andinturn,thepresenceofshowmances date,and/orfallinlovewithoneanother,of enwhenthetwo (Sina,2014; Shawyer&Shively,2019).Showmances,however, actors portray romantic partners together onstage. Although haveyettobeexploredinpsychologicalresearchonintimacy extant research is limited, there is consensus among theatre andaf ect. CORRESPONDENCE concerning this article should be addressed to Sari M. van Anders, Queen’s University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. E-mail: sari.vananders@queensu.ca NOTE: Jennifer Saslove and Aki M. Gormezano are co-first authors. FUNDING: This research was undertaken thanks to funding from the Canada 150 Research Chairs program to SMvA and an Ontario Trillium Scholarship to AMG. © Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, 2022 The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 31(3), 2022, 329–341 • https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2021-0066 329 https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/cjhs.2021-0066 - Friday, December 09, 2022 10:59:55 AM - Queen's University IP Address:130.15.244.167