Carousel, News | The Stage: Child performer safety is being put at “needless” risk due to inconsistent regulation of chaperones working in the entertainment industry, experts have warned.
Demands have been made for new, more rigorous regulations around those who supervise and look after child performers at work, amid warnings that the current situation is failing.
It follows a new campaign by union BECTU requesting an "urgent dialogue" with the theatre, film and television industries to make the approach around employment of chaperones more consistent.
2 comments:
I found this article particularly shocking for a number of reasons. I think many aspects of theater go unrecognized for various reasons, but I was surprised to read about the staggering nonchalance towards the safety of child actors. Because there are few regulations around who can become a chaperone for these children, frequently the people charged with caretaking neglect their jobs. When I think about child actors, I never think about the challenges they face. I think when most people see child actors, they see them as adult actors and do not take into consideration their young ages. I think it’s important to keep in mind that, even though they may be performing on Broadway, they still need people to keep an eye of them. I, personally, never realized that these actors, no matter how talented they may be, still need to be taken care of and this article did a good job of bringing to light an important and shocking issue in the theater industry.
I've been remotely aware of the fact that child actors need chaperones, but I assumed it was their parents, or someone in their family that made suer everything was okay. It is kind of shocking to know that the safety and regulation of child actors is not something that is very controlled. That basically anyone can become a chaperone and there are no real guidelines. I think people need to realize that yes, children can be very talented and act in movies and whatever, but they also are still kids. People assume that because they are successful that they also mature really quickly, and begin placing expectations and limitations on actors from a very young age. I think that chaperones should also be more present in the media because they remind people that these are kids, that they have to have someone take care of them and that they should not have the expectations and limitations of someone who is already grown up.
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