From creche facilities to flexible hours to national average pay, there's far more producers could provide to help jobbing thesps
The old maxim that you shouldn't become an actor, or indeed work in the theatre industry, if you can think of anything else you'd rather do rings particularly true as government cuts and the economic meltdown squeeze theatreland ever tighter. Yet acting has never been something you do to make money: it's a profession driven by love, passion and commitment, where ? so it's argued ? the highs of making good work cancel out the nadirs of unemployment and penury.
For the majority of performers, "resting" is a common situation. A recent survey among Equity members showed that "nearly half of the people in the UK performance industry had earned less than �6,000 from the profession in the previous year and only 6% earned more than �30,000 from acting".
As a result, actors learn to live cheaply and be resourceful, through temping, teaching, running children's parties, writing ? a whole array of jobs based on the simple common denominator that they have sympathetic bosses, offer short-term contracts and can be dropped the moment an agent rings with good news. Add to this the prospect of unpaid project work in the evenings and at weekends and the general picture is one of little money, extremely complicated diaries and huge amounts of commitment.
Everyone in the industry understands that work is hard to come by, and as unemployment grows it is also increasingly difficult to find a suitably paid and flexible day job. In a world where the director or theatre says "jump" and the actor "how high", we must be careful to protect each other. Small changes could make a world of difference. It's frighteningly common practice, for example, to be called for an audition or job interview only days ? if not the day ? before it takes place. Often, this leaves far too little notice to legitimately take time off work ? let alone rearrange meetings, sort out childcare or prepare properly. Every day you sneak away from the office or call in sick results in a lessening chance of holding on to your paid employment ? something the majority can ill afford to lose.
To escape from her job as a legal temp in order to attend auditions, an actor friend of mine has an elaborate conspiracy involving complex dental care: her teeth cause problems at the strangest times, and with very little warning. Woe betide her if she actually ever needs treatment. I have myself blamed tubes, doctors and a whole myriad of excuses that have tested even the most lenient of employers, all for auditions scheduled less than 24 hours before they are due to take place. Most productions are planned months in advance; emergencies aside, maybe casting directors, directors and producers could be more sensitive about the need of actors and young creatives to balance the day jobs with their profession.
Similarly, this sensitivity could be carried through to the process of making theatre. Most important is the creation of good work ? that's a given ? but is there more the industry could do to support it? While most theatres have worked hard over the last decade to pay Equity minimum rates, these figures are still far lower than the average weekly earnings in the UK. If the prospects of it increasing seem bleak, maybe we could think instead about more flexible rehearsal hours? Could a play rehearse over a longer time but in shorter stints, enabling freelance work in the evening? Is there a better way of developing schedules that enables actors to take lucrative voiceover work while rehearsing? Regarding actors and creatives with young families: could some of the bigger venues (the National theatre, the RSC, the Royal Opera House) think about the provision of a creche facilities ? something that would be of particular use during the long, unrelenting hours of tech week? Could box-office managers and theatre bar managers help employ resting actors by arranging shifts so they fit around rehearsal times?
One of the reasons people continue to work in the industry, despite all its shortcomings, is the huge sense of community it has. But the best communities comprise people of all ages and from all backgrounds. The combination of the recession, student-fee increases, unemployment and cuts presents the very real and worrying possibility that theatre will become, like politics, the stomping ground of the privileged few. The common practise of offering unpaid internships in arts administration is symptomatic of this worrying trend.
The theatre industry must do its utmost to be realistic about the situation of employment for actors and young creatives ? or else only those with trust funds will be able to tread the boards.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/apr/28/theatre-life-support-careers-parents
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