don’t put your daughter on the stage mrs worthington; or
TRANSCRIPT
Don’tputyourdaughteronthestageMrsWorthington;or,
PrecarityandthePerformingArts.
StevenSparlingLondonCollegeofMusic
Precarity
• Term used by sociologists to refer to the spread of contingent work and insecure employment within the labour market.
• The term is also used to refer to the subjective condition of those who experience insecure work.
Oxford Reference Dictionary
AdamSmith,wriBngin1776commentsthatthe'exorbitantrewardsofplayers,opera-singers,opera-dancers,etc.arefoundeduponthosetwoprinciples;therarityandbeautyofthetalents,andthediscreditofemployingtheminthismanner...Shouldthepublicopinionofprejudiceeveralterwithregardtosuchoccupa;ons,theirpecuniaryrecompensewouldquicklydiminish.Morepeoplewouldapplytothem,andthecompe;;onwouldquicklyreducethepriceoftheirlabour.Suchtalents,thoughfarfrombeingcommon,arebynomeanssorareasitisimagined.ManypeoplepossessthemingreatperfecBon,whodisdaintomakethisuseofthem;andmanymorearecapableofacquiringthem,ifanythingcouldbemadehonourablybythem.(WealthofNaBons,bk1,pt1,ch.x:124).
Datatellsusthenumberofar;stsisgrowingrapidly.USCensusdatafound386,000arBstsin1940,whichrisesfive-foldto1,931,000by2000(AlperandWassal,2006).Between1982and1999therewasa98%growthrateofarBstsinFrance(Menger,2006).
Workpreferencemodels(Throsby,2007;Alper&Wassal,2006;Menger,2006)suggestthatactorsprioriBsethepsychicincomethatcomesfrompracBcingtheirartoveracapitalis;cpursuitofwealth.Whilethismaybetrue,therehasbeenlessresearchintothedifficulBesandhardshipsfacedbyactorsasaresultofthisprioriBsaBonandhowthismightimpactontheirongoingabilitytopursueacBngwork.Ifcareerlongevityisdeterminedbyhowlongtheactorisableto‘stayinthegame’thenanawarenessoftheimplicaBonsofprioriBsingpsychicincomemustbeunderstood.
h`p://studiousguy.1ygkv60km.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Maslows_Hierarchy_of_Needs.jpg[accessed23/06/17]
Maslow’sHierarchyofNeeds
ResearchQuesBons
• Whatpricedoactorspaytobe‘inthegame?’• IntheulBmate‘marketeconomy,’withanever-changingA-List/B-Listofactors(Caves2000),wheresupplygreatlyoutstripsdemand,andmanyactorsonlyworkafewweeksperyear,whatimpactdoesthishaveonmentalhealthandoverallsaBsfacBon?
• Howdowepreparestudentsfortherollercoasterrideofa‘Winner-Takes-AllEconomy’(Caves,2000)whereafewachievesuccessandmostdonot?
AReviewof(someofthe)QuanBtaBvedataaboutthe
EmploymentMarketforActors
nothing,11.20%
under£5K,37.70%
£5-10K,18.30%
£10-20K,19.10%
£20-50K,11.40%
£50-100K,1.50%over£100K,0.70%
Equity2013MembershipSurveyn=3804
AnnualIncomefromAcBng
48.9%earnunder£5kLondonLivingWage£19K/annum86.3%earnunder£20K
Equity2013MembershipSurveyn=3804
WeeksProfessionalEmploymentinprevious12months
65.5%workfewerthan20weeks/annum
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
morethan40weeks
30-40weeks
20-30weeks
10-20weeks
lessthan10weeks
none noanswer
Percentage
OtherDataonEmployment• HESADesBnaBonofLeaversfromHigherEducaBonSurvey
2013/14(UK)[lookingatgraduatesofhighereducaBonintheirfirstyearoutofeducaBon]
• n=9665• OfgraduatesofPerformingArtsdegreesfrom2013/14,
29.9%employedinjobsinarts,designandmedia
No-pay/Low-pay
• (Equity,2013)46%hadworkedfornomoneyinpreviousyear
• (CasBngCallPro,2013)70%hadfiveno-pay/low-payjobsinthepreviousyear
• (Spotlight,2013n=50,000)66%ofmembersdoworkforno-pay/low-pay,orwoulddoso.87%ofcas;ngprofessionalsthoughttherewasaplaceintheindustryforno-pay/low-paywork
Inequality
• Gender:(DramaUK,2014)atNaBonalTheatre63%ofroleswenttomen,37%towomen.InUKfilm68%ofroleswenttomen,32%towomen.
• Age:(Ibid)NaBonalTheatre,51%ofroleswenttoactorsunder34yearsofage,whileonly19%toover54.InMusicalTheatre,91%ofroleswenttoactorsunder34.
Class
• DatafromSu`onTrust(Kirby,2016)– 67%ofBriBshAcademyAward(Oscar)winnersand42%ofBaqawinnerswereprivatelyeducated.
• [7%ofthegeneralpopulaBonisprivatelyeducated]
BullyingandHarassment• FederaBonofEntertainmentUnions(Equity,BECTU,Musicians’Union,NaBonalUnionofJournalists,andWriters’GuildofGreatBritain)(n=4104)– 56%oftheatreworkersdirectlyexperiencedbullying,harassmentordiscriminaBon
– 68%ofthoseworkinginfilmwerebullied,harassedordiscriminatedagainst(only28%reportedit)
– 2/3’sthoughtthatindustryastudestorespectatworkwerepoororverypoor
– 1/10witnessedsexualharassment(includinginappropriatesexualcommentsandgroping)
‘ThecreaBveindustriesareseenasglamorousandthereisgreatcompeBBontogetinandgeton.Buttherealityismostworkersarefreelanceorworkonshort-termcontractsandhavefewstatutoryrights.Thereisthefearthatthereisalwayssomeoneelsehungrytotakeyourplaceifyoucomplain.Thesurveyshowedthattherewasalmostanacceptanceoftheprevailingcultureofbullying;anastudeof‘ifyoucan’tstandtheheatthengetoutofthekitchen.’Onerespondentsaidyouwereexpectedtoputupwithit“toearnyourstripesandanythingelsewasseenasaweakness.”’(FEU,2013,p.1).
MentalHealth
• StudybyArtsandMinds(Hemley,2015)inpartnershipwithEquity,SpotlightandTheStage(n=5000):– 46%idenBfytheirmentalhealthaspoororaverage
– 40%describephysicalhealthaspoororaverage– 20%hadacBvelysoughthelpformentalhealthissues
“DothemanypoorandfailedarBstssuffer?AsfarasIknow,li`leresearchexistsinthisarea;itisnotrewardingtodoresearchonthedarksideofthearts.GenerallypeoplewhoarepoorforalongBmetendtobecomesociallyisolated,andarBstsareperhapsnoexcepBon.IntheircasetheshameofbeingpoormaywellbesupplementedbytheshameofhavingfailedasanarBst.”(Abbing,2011,p.345)
PilotStudy
Ninesemi-structuredinterviewswith‘mid-career’actors(definedas10+
yearsintocareer).
“Ithinkalsowhenyou'reastudentyouhavethatmentalitythatyouhaven'tgotverymuchmoney.AndIdon'tthinkthatI'veeverreallygotoutofthatmentality.Justrecently[husband]hasbeendoinglotsoftellyandearningalotmoremoneyandwe'reactuallyquitebadatspendingthemoneybecausewe'rethinking,‘yeah,butnextyearwemightnotearnanything’.Andyougetyourselfintothatmentalityandyouthink,wellIdon'treallyknow.Icannotrelyonthisjobtosupportmeforevernecessarily.”
ParBcipantE
“MyfinalquesBonisdoyouconsideracBngacareer?IsacBngacalling,orisitavocaBon?Howdoyouviewthejobofanactor?PARTICIPANTE:It'sahobby.INTERVIEWER:Okay.PARTICIPANTE:No,that'snotfair.I'mbeingflippant.Ithinkforavery,veryselectfewitisacareer.Andtomostofusitisacalling.Imean,youwouldn'tgothroughthisunlessyoureally,reallywantedtodoit.IfIcouldfindsomethingelsethatIwantedtodoasmuch,Iwoulddothat.ButIhaven'tfoundathingthatisasrewardingandthatIloveasmuch.”
"thecontemptofriskandthepresumptuoushopeofsuccessareinnoperiodoflifemoreacBvethanattheageatwhichyoungpeoplechoosetheirprofessions."(Smith,1776,126).