FREELANCERS MAKE THEATRE WORK
WEEKLY MEETING MINUTES
09:30-11:30, FRIDAY 16 October
Present: Natalie Abrahami, Kelsie Acton, Ben Arkell, Rachel Bagshaw, Bill Bankes-Jones, Siobhán Barbour, Sally Beck Wippman, Nafeesah Butt, Emma Cameron, Paule Constable, Alistair Cope, Cynthia Duberry, Anna Fleischle, Sunita Hinduja, Jack Hudson, Matt Humphrey, Susan Kempster, Peter McKintosh, Vicki Mortimer, Arran Pallan, Emma Jayne Park, Tom Piper, Beth Steel, Athena Stevens, Leo Wan, Andrew Whyment.
Guest Speaker – The Big Freelancer Report
The application for a grant from ACE to support this project has been accepted. In light of the current challenges faced by the industry, the project aims to create a single, un-ignorable report tracing the current state of affairs and plotting what needs to happen next – aimed at decision-makers, representing the whole community (without assuming consensus) and getting ahead of the conversation. The steps are to capture all of the ideas so far, gather fresh and targeted insight, and analyse all of it in a form dictated by the content to be presented to industry leaders, funding bodies and government.
The project would benefit from assistance from FMTW by platforming and sharing it as a collective and advising and helping with the process individually.
Guest Speaker – Open Hire
The Open Hire scheme aims to disrupt the network-reliant, closed shop environment of jobs in the arts. The scheme’s proposal is a ‘Bechdel test’ equivalent for standards of advertising and hiring, along three rules:
- Tell us about the job (what is it? What’s the fee? Any more requirements)
- Tell us about the process (transparency)
- Tell us who applied (publish the equal ops data of applicants)
They are asking theatres to commit to one Open Hire vacancy in the next 12 months, which several have already signed up to.
In discussing the scheme, questions were raised about the unpaid pressure of pitching for jobs, how this would impact the collaborative nature of creative teams, and if it would allow organisations to tick a box without affecting change. We will continue the conversation.
Website/social media
- Letter read by over 10,000 people (highest exposure since launch week)
- Merchandise store up and running – we will get income monthly to fund FMTW initiatives.
Emails
- We Make Events day of protests at the end of October
- Ed Davey MP contact
- Ruthless Jabiru crowdfunder
Tea Breaks
- Another successful week (~14 attendees)
- Suggestions of a bit of lingering time and a more creative way to set the rules
- We have been sent a lot of tea bags, which we could distribute in some way
- Need to determine continuation beyond October and long-term host requirements
Podcast
- Recording continuing later today, alongside conversations about structure
- Episodes currently shaping up to be around 30 minutes long (but not set in stone)
- Various suggestions for people and spaces to record in
- We will share loose prompts for anyone who wants to try and record something
- Hosting via Curtain Call and the Broadway Podcast network – cost for editing etc TBC
Newsletter
- Author selected, with focus on activity over last two weeks
- Proposal for infographic content to be shared
Spa Day
- Dates shared for future events – proposing pursuing as many as we can
- Need for regional events, payment for facilitators and access provisions expressed
- Schedule meeting to discuss
Future Labs
- Good follow up (video didn’t work), need more ADs to come
- Panellists for next two topics (technical/making and future workforces)
- Hold next dates
- Meeting Monday (10am)
- publish stuff next week
Future Guest Speakers
- Equity: Paul Fleming coming next week – coordinate discussing questions next week
- IPSE: Offered to send a representative to speak to us about coordinating activity
Recap action points
- Continue conversation about the Big Freelancer Report
- Respond to Open Hire scheme
- Meet to discuss future of Tea Break
- Meet to discuss next and future Spa Days
- Share prompts for recording podcast content
- Suggest Future Labs panellists and meet to discuss next series
- Discuss questions for Paul Fleming
Date and time of next meetings
Future Labs catch up – Monday 19 October, 10am (chair: Jack Hudson)
Tea Breaks catch up – TBC (chair: )
Spa Day catch up – TBC (chair: Rachel Bagshaw)
General catch up – Friday 23 October, 9.30am (chair: Peter McKintosh)