www.thestage.co.uk: More than 50% of respondents to an Equity survey have had to take work outside of the sector to survive, with only a quarter thinking they will be working in the industry in three years’ time.
The findings are part of a survey of more than 2,100 Equity members, with general secretary Paul W Fleming saying the results highlight “a precarious workforce”.
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This is seriously worrying as someone who wants to work in this field. I’m not oblivious, I’m aware that work is at times difficult to come by and underpaying but to see the scale of those factors represented in such a bleak set of data really emphasizes to me the importance of finding additional fields that I could make supplemental income in. I already plan to take on an english minor and pursue english as a side passion but this has made me realize that it will be vital to specialize in commercially marketable english skills, instead of the more fantastical sections that I generally prefer. It is sad to me to think about the amound of financial struggle that all of the students in this program have simply accepted as a part of their future, especially with how much we pay to be here in the first place.
Yeah, I’m going to be honest, I’m worried. I just read the article about the child actor who said she still managed to go to school fulltime even though she was acting professionally and her nights were incredibly busy. I reflected on my own time as a child actor and remembered how much that affected my already stressful school life. I wonder how I will cope if this is my situation in a few years. I have finally found something I’m good at, and I still have to put it on the back burner inn favor of something else so that I can eat. Not to mention the part that talks about relocating to London – the american equivalent is certainly New York. I have been exploring how to get an apartment there as a freelancer let alone paying for it! I had a professor who said that as an artist, the art will always be your side gig. Even the people who make a good living, they might be teaching to make ends meet. Celebrities are even usually celebrities first and artists second.
Well, I am not surprised about this result at all. “48% of respondents reported that their average annual income from performance-related work was under £10,000.” I have always known theatre is not something super well paid, especially in London, since from what I have seen of the shows in the London West End, they have a much smaller budget compared to New York. I know this survey is mainly about performers, so I hope the situation is better for technical staff. I believe for some TD grads, theatre is not the only option, since some of them end up in opera or ballet. Before coming into this major I already knew this was something I would have to be mentally ready for. Honestly, for me, coming to this school is more about getting the hands-on ability to fabricate and the technical knowledge behind it. Those are exactly what I am learning right now, and although I did not come from a theatre background and am learning a lot of things at once, I am having a lot of fun!
I would be naive to say that I thought that choosing to pursue a career in this industry would be easy. The many warnings from teachers, my parents, and even others who are actively working in the industry have really driven home the passion you need to have, and also the ability to pivot. Unfortunately, this article restates the depressing reality for so many creators, that even with these attributes, finding sustainable work can be difficult. As we continue to learn how to live in a world where A.I. is continuing to become more prevalent, it is also extremely necessary for creators to stand up for themselves and their colleagues to ensure that large corporations are held accountable. Speaking of holding large corporations accountable, the un-livable wage combined with hostile work conditions where creators are not protected is disgusting, and a change needs to happen to prevent sexual harassment from going unchecked.
I think that this article is really interesting especially after attending the USITT ohio valley section conference here at cmu yesterday. I attended a workshop about adjacent theater jobs which had 2 very industry seasoned stage managers speak about how they have used their theater toolkit to branch into adjacent industries and really thrive in them because of the skills they learned from theater. this, i think is really cool, but also, shouldnt be the case. As this article highlights over %50 of equity members have another job to sustain their livelihood outside of theater. And only ¼ see themselves in the industry in 3 years. Though adjacent jobs are cool, it is so heartbreaking that people are being forced to do other jobs that they are not as passionate about to survive. In an industry that makes so much money and markets to higher class audiences, it makes no sense that the very people that are holding it up don't even have enough money to go and see their own show.
I think that any industry that has workers saying that they can only make a living by working outside of the sector needs to reevaluate their wages or lack thereof. While the title to the article is a more attention grabbing statistic, I was more taken aback by the low amount of people who think that they will still be in theater in 3 years time. I think a big part of the equation that people need to take into consideration is that theater and the entertainment industry in general is seen as a frivolity. People don’t pay as much attention to workers' ability to make a life when their jobs are done by people who are so passionate about what they do. There is a sort of cultural idea that someone who wants to be happy with their job but still make a living wage is in the wrong when I think that that is the way it is always should be.
While this number is really surprising to me, I also this is a pretty realistic for what I’ve seen from people and talking to some of my peers. What I think is important to understand is that this is specifically for theatre and discusses the problems of staying employed in theatre full time. There are plenty of ways to continue being creative in the entertainment industry that might fall just outside of what you usually look for. That being said, I think it’s still pretty concerning that we can’t pour more resources into the arts and especially theatre so people can actually make a full living doing what they want to. I am hopeful that eventually people will want more and more live performances as the internet continues to be saturated with media and AI content. I would love to see this kind of shift benefit the creatives an technicians that work in the field, so they can benefit from the hard work that they put into all these productions.
This is an issue I have often thought about while applying and thinking about theater in my future. It's somewhat disheartening to hear that so many people in theater cannot support themselves with their art. I hope that based on the foundations and connections I will create in CMU, I might have a better chance, but the realities of the industry are hard to ignore. I think that a lot of this might be due to a cut in funding from the government since there are non-profit and even for-profit companies that rely on outside funding and donations. With cuts to funding because of the content or choices of the theaters, I can see how the coming years are filled with doubt over belief in sustaining a job in the theater industry. I think that there needs to be a larger shift in our culture to appreciating and protecting the arts instead of taking it for granted because if there is not a change, theater may begin to have a wider-scale struggle that would be difficult to return from.
As someone who wants to take a job in this field, these statistics are really worrying. While I am not necessarily surprised by the statistic that people are having to take jobs outside of theatre to survive, I am shocked by the 87% who don’t think their employer is doing enough to combat sexual harassment in the workforce. This is a huge issue and an added worry for many people who are already struggling with finding a job in the first place. However, I wonder how much the statistics differ in the United States, since this survey was collected in the UK. I doubt that the results will be any better, but I have a feeling that the job market might be better in the US. The one statistic that I enjoyed seeing in this article is that 91% of people supported the introduction of personality rights. That gives me some hope for the future job market in the entertainment industry.
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