What do we want from subsidised rep theatres?

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	Topic: What do we want from subsidised rep theatres?
Posted : 29/10/09 / Views : 599 / Replies : 4 /
katekavs 178 posts last on: 10/01/12 send private reply	the $64,000 dollar question! and we get to have a say to influence future negotiations, hoorah! Equity are holding meetings all over the country to find out what Members think. They can't just guess without feedback from us! And I guess this is a pretty hot topic - I'm sure everyone has an opinion on what things could be done better. Well things won't change unless you make your opinions KNOWN! So here is the link to the meetings: http://www.equity.org.uk/article.aspx?id=241 and for those who find clicking and scrolling a bit too much effort, here are the dates ;o) Monday 26th October Glasgow Ramada Hotel, 201 Ingram Street, Glasgow, G1 1DQ 7pm Wednesday 4th November Newcastle Olivier Suite at Newcastle Theatre Royal, 100 Grey Street, Newcastle NE1 6BR 4.30pm Tuesday 10th November Leeds Studio 3, Yorkshire Dance Centre, 3 St Peter's Buildings, St Peter's Square, Leeds LS9 8AH 1pm Tuesday 10th November Nottingham Ustinov Room, Nottingham Play House, Wellington Circus, Nottingham NG1 5AF 5-6.00pm Sunday 15th November Belfast The Premier Inn, 2-6 Waring Street, Belfast , BT1 2DX 2.30pm Monday 16th November Cardiff Main Hall, Transport House, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF11 9SD 7pm Wednesday 18th November Truro Rehearsal Room, Hall for Cornwall , Back Quay, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2LL 2.00pm Saturday 21st November Liverpool The Adelphi Hotel, Ranelagh Place, Liverpool, L3 5UL 11am Sunday 22nd November Manchester The Mechanics Centre, 103 Princess Street (Major Street Entrance), Manchester M1 6DD 2pm Monday 23rd November Central London The Actors Church, St. Paul's Church, Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ED 1.30pm Thursday 3rdDecember Reading South Street Theatre, South Street Arts Centre, Reading, RG1 4QU 12.15pm Wednesday 9th December Brighton Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AF 12.30pm Bristol and Birmingham have already happened I'm afraid - and very informative the meeting was too. Apparently Bristol had a great turn-out, so would be brilliant to see the same from other cities! If nothing else, it's a good chance just to catch up with others in the biz and have a good old natter about things we like, or more importantly, would like to change! Go for it guys! Equity doesn't exist or have any power without us! xxx

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	Reply #1
Posted : 23/10/09
shinything 272 posts last on: 25/01/12 send private reply	Here Here. No point whingeing about Equity, saying "they don't do anything for us". They've got to know what we want from them and psychic they aint. Do you want better rates? If you're a regional actor- do you want your theatres to audition locally as well as London? Do you want more actors working in the theatre than admin staff? All these things are bound up in Equity's fight to raise wages and standards. They want ideas and opinions so get out there and tell them what's on your mind. I did! (you may well guess what my view is...)

Reply #1

Posted : 23/10/09

shinything
272 posts
last on: 25/01/12
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Here Here.
No point whingeing about Equity, saying "they don't do anything for us".
They've got to know what we want from them and psychic they aint.
Do you want better rates? If you're a regional actor- do you want your theatres to audition locally as well as London? Do you want more actors working in the theatre than admin staff?
All these things are bound up in Equity's fight to raise wages and standards.
They want ideas and opinions so get out there and tell them what's on your mind.
I did! (you may well guess what my view is...)

	Reply #2
Posted : 24/10/09
katekavs 178 posts last on: 10/01/12 send private reply	What, only one comment?! well that does surprise me! Maybe this will surprise you - for every actor working on a stage in subsidised rep (where funding is received from the arts council - lobbied for by Equity!), there are on average between 8 and 10 FULL-TIME members of staff on a permanent salary. So why are actors - and in fact Stage Managers - on the lowest income from these theatres?? I would have thought that the mimimum necessity to put on a play would be a performer - therefore making actors the most crucial element to running a successful theatre. If we make our voices heard through Equity then maybe we can get the theatres to wake up and recognise our worth! (and unfortunately, paying a subsciption and expecting some faceless office bods to do the rest will not work - that's not how unions operate! Opinions of the members to need to be expressed, or how do we expect them to get heard!?) much love xx

Reply #2

Posted : 24/10/09

katekavs
178 posts
last on: 10/01/12
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What, only one comment?! well that does surprise me!

Maybe this will surprise you - for every actor working on a stage in subsidised rep (where funding is received from the arts council - lobbied for by Equity!), there are on average between 8 and 10 FULL-TIME members of staff on a permanent salary. So why are actors - and in fact Stage Managers - on the lowest income from these theatres??

I would have thought that the mimimum necessity to put on a play would be a performer - therefore making actors the most crucial element to running a successful theatre. If we make our voices heard through Equity then maybe we can get the theatres to wake up and recognise our worth!

(and unfortunately, paying a subsciption and expecting some faceless office bods to do the rest will not work - that's not how unions operate! Opinions of the members to need to be expressed, or how do we expect them to get heard!?)

much love
xx

	Reply #3
Posted : 26/10/09
shinything 272 posts last on: 25/01/12 send private reply	Well, everyone must be happy with their lot, Kate! Surprising really, given the rants and raves on this forum.

	Reply #4
Posted : 29/10/09
katekavs 178 posts last on: 10/01/12 send private reply	I had a message sent to me asking to clarify some of the details I mentioned about pay - whether cleaners, admin staff etc were really paid more than actors and stage managers. My information came from discussion at a recent Equity meeting, so I just had a quick trawl of the internet and couldn't find any exact statistics for theatre cleaners or box office staff, although from current job ads I can see them earning between £250 and £300 per week. On the other hand, admin jobs within theatres are regularly paying upwards of £20k, (with theatre managers in the £40-£50k bracket according to this article from almost 2 years ago: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=429134&in_page_id=2 ) If an actor were working at the Equity mimimum (non West End) wage for an entire year, they would make just over £18k. The kicker is though, how many actors work 52 weeks of the year?? Especially at Equity rates?!? The reality of the situation is that the people on permanent full time contracts at a theatre will almost certainly have a higher earning potential than any of the performers or freelancers. And apparently all the full time wages in a theatre tend to be linked in to the Stage Manager wage, meaning that whenever the rate for the SM changes, everyone else expects a pay rise too. This has led to a feeling among many theatre workers that Stage Managers musn't have a pay rise or the theatre won't be able to afford to run and will close down. Of course this is ridiculous - there is no law saying the other roles HAVE to get a pay rise when the SM does, but traditionally the wages are linked to the lowest common denominiator. Is this fair? And is it fair that the essential stage manager should be in that position of lowest common denominator?? I am no expert on figures, but I do urge you all to get along to the manifesto meetings to learn more about these surprising statistics, as I get the feeling that too many actors are unaware of these situations, and are not therefore feeling any need to involve themselves in campaigns for change. How about getting actors onto a full-time payroll at a theare and going back to the old repertory system as an expample of potential solution? Then the figures could at least be analysed in a more even way? Anyhoo, that's what these meeting are for - sticking ideas for change out there! Go for it folks! xxx

Reply #4

Posted : 29/10/09

katekavs
178 posts
last on: 10/01/12
send private reply

I had a message sent to me asking to clarify some of the details I mentioned about pay - whether cleaners, admin staff etc were really paid more than actors and stage managers. My information came from discussion at a recent Equity meeting, so I just had a quick trawl of the internet and couldn't find any exact statistics for theatre cleaners or box office staff, although from current job ads I can see them earning between £250 and £300 per week.
On the other hand, admin jobs within theatres are regularly paying upwards of £20k, (with theatre managers in the £40-£50k bracket according to this article from almost 2 years ago: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=429134&in_page_id=2 )

If an actor were working at the Equity mimimum (non West End) wage for an entire year, they would make just over £18k. The kicker is though, how many actors work 52 weeks of the year?? Especially at Equity rates?!? The reality of the situation is that the people on permanent full time contracts at a theatre will almost certainly have a higher earning potential than any of the performers or freelancers.

And apparently all the full time wages in a theatre tend to be linked in to the Stage Manager wage, meaning that whenever the rate for the SM changes, everyone else expects a pay rise too. This has led to a feeling among many theatre workers that Stage Managers musn't have a pay rise or the theatre won't be able to afford to run and will close down. Of course this is ridiculous - there is no law saying the other roles HAVE to get a pay rise when the SM does, but traditionally the wages are linked to the lowest common denominiator. Is this fair? And is it fair that the essential stage manager should be in that position of lowest common denominator??

I am no expert on figures, but I do urge you all to get along to the manifesto meetings to learn more about these surprising statistics, as I get the feeling that too many actors are unaware of these situations, and are not therefore feeling any need to involve themselves in campaigns for change.

How about getting actors onto a full-time payroll at a theare and going back to the old repertory system as an expample of potential solution? Then the figures could at least be analysed in a more even way?

Anyhoo, that's what these meeting are for - sticking ideas for change out there! Go for it folks!

xxx

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