Become a Freelancers Make Theatre Work volunteer

Lobbying

Volunteer with the Lobbying Group

Freelancers Make Theatre Work are looking for freelancers who are passionate about keeping the freelance voice heard in the conversation around post-Brexit working. 

A group of us meet two or three times a month to discuss what has been happening and changes in the situation. We thrash out ideas and try to identify where to focus our energy and our thoughts, and discuss and plan how we might help changes happen that reflect all of our needs. 

If you are concerned, are interested in joining an active conversation, and have a small amount of time to give to this group we’d love to hear from you. 

It may be that you just want to listen and take minutes or contribute to some admin tasks, or you are keen to take the conversation to the opposition or your local MP, or you want to hammer down the door of Number 10. You might have an appetite to start a social media campaign, or sift through some research and find some relevant data or articles to share with the wider freelance community. 

So far, we have created the Working in Europe section of the Freelancers Make Theatre Work website, we have presented evidence in Parliament to the DCMS Select Committee, the Post EU Trade Commission, and have had a meeting with Oliver Dowden. We have shared advice, and blogged and gathered evidence and stories from throughout the freelance community. We have helped keep the freelance voice alive in the media during this crisis, and have ensured that buildings, companies, SOLT, UK Theatre, and ACE, all understand how precarious our situation has become. 

There is so much to do to ensure that we are not forgotten. We need help in all these areas – and more. You don’t need experience, just an appetite and interest.

Wellbeing

Volunteer or give suggestions to the Wellbeing Group

Since launching in 2020, Freelancers Make Theatre Work has worked with freelancers to create free, online, peer to peer opportunities. From weekly Tea Breaks to Monday morning vocal warm ups (Dawn Chorus) to Zoom boxing sessions, we know that these spaces offer a crucial opportunity to be in community with other freelancers and have offered some practitioners a space to try out new ideas or explore their practice.

Freelancers Make Theatre Work are eager to continue offering workshops, sessions or social spaces for UK freelancers. We want to build a programme of no cost activity to support the wellbeing of the UK freelance theatre community and we need your help!

Do you have an idea for a session or a meeting that you would like to deliver at no cost to the freelance community through our platform? Whether it is a weekly mindful movement class, a series of accent workshops or a one off social activity (did someone say Bingo?!).

Or do you know of great online sessions that are already happening at no cost? Please let us know so we can add them to our website!

Are you a proficient Zoom host, who could cover an online session each week to make sure the tech runs smoothly? We understand that freelancer schedules may be changeable, so we create easy to follow rotas for volunteers who cannot commit to a regular time each week.

Are you organised and interested in volunteering time to undertake some of the basic administration involved in making these events happen? This will generally mean creating volunteer rotas, making sure Zoom links are shared with hosts, collating numbers of attendees and sending Freelancers Make Theatre Work’s website manager any updates required.

Freelancers Make Theatre Work is a volunteer led organisation, this a call out for volunteers.
We ask that you only offer activities within your capacity, that will also energise you.
It is about creating ways to feel good together!

Research

Volunteer with the Research Group

Since launching in 2020, Freelancers Make Theatre Work have undertaken significant amounts of research to support lobbying efforts, campaigns and general activism that tries to ensure the freelance workforce are recognised and respected for the crucial role they play in the performing arts industry.

As our campaign work evolves to respond to the current climate, we are looking to create a research working group to focus on the following areas:

• Data Gathering
  The Big Freelancer report provided huge insight into the experiences of freelancers and provided crucial data that had not been gathered previously about the freelance work force.  We feel that it is essential to continue this work, so that we can evidence the changing experience of the workforce, and use data to drive the change we want to see.  Would you like to support this data gathering?  Do you have experience of data capture or analysis?  Are you new to data capture, but love surveys and an organised administrator? Then please get in touch!
  

• Mapping Freelancer Based Activism
  We know that since March 2020, there has been a pro-active and passionate surge in activism focussed on improving the experience of the freelance workforce.  Freelancers Make Theatre Work are eager to collaborate, platform the work of others and celebrate all successes moving us forward.  As the cultural climate shifts once again, we are eager to map the landscape and draw connections between activity.  Are you already active in different groups?  Do you have a knowledge of specific areas which are often less visible but are crucial in ensuring we genuinely build back better? Maybe you are just good at joining the dots and connecting people?  If so, please get in touch!

• Subject Based Research
  At times we have to work quickly in response to changing guidelines, at other we have to work in depth to understand complex issues such as policy making.  This all has to be underpinned by clear research, and research takes time! Are you excited about focussing on a subject and getting lost in a rabbit hole of detail?  Do you enjoy reading lots and clarifying information so you can share it with others?  Do you like to ask questions about what things actually mean?  Then, please get in touch.

If you are interested in any of these areas and could offer a couple of hours each week, we would love you to get involved! We would love to hear from people who have experience in research, but also from any one keen to offer their time and learn! Please fill out our contact form and we will be in touch shortly. 

Freelancers Make Theatre Work is a volunteer led organisation, this a call out for motivated volunteers.
We ask that you only offer time within your capacity, and to activities that energise you.

It is about creating ways to change the industry for the better, without burning ourselves out in the process.

Please note that if you start to volunteer with us and circumstances change, there is no pressure to stay involved. We expect all volunteers to uphold our values and want to work together so that we can all be more active in making the shift towards more equitable working practices for freelancers.

There will be more opportunities to volunteer with Freelancers Make Theatre Work in the coming weeks and they will be posted about right here.

Other ways to support Freelancers Make Theatre Work