EquityUK Magazine issue 01 - Spring 2018

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MAGAZINE

Equity’s solutions for the sexual harassment crisis Why circus is thriving in its 250th year Making the case for local casting

CELEBRATE LGBT HISTORY MONTH

SPRING 2018

SURVIVING STAGE FRIGHT

Stephanie Cole is fighting to end the stigma of stage fright

SUPPORTING ARTISTS OVERSEAS

SARA PASCOE’S EQUITY LECTURE SPRING 2018 equity 1

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IN THIS ISSUE

Exclusive Professional Property Cover for Equity members

4 NEWS

Solutions to sexual harassment, negotiations in theatre and the new Sheffield branch

7 UPFRONT

Christine Payne, General Secretary

UK/Europe or Worldwide cameras and ancillary equipment, PA, sound ,lighting, and mechanical effects equipment, portable computer equipment, rigging equipment, tools, props, sets and costumes, musical instruments, make up and prosthetics.

8 MEET THE MEMBERSHIP

Dan Edge actor, wrestler, aerialist and part of Equity’s Deaf and Disabled members Committee

10 SUCCESS STORIES

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Members visit Parliament to lobby MPs, ERA launch event, student deputy network

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16 FIGHTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Maureen Beattie reveals the union’s response

20 LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH

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Discussing the major stage stars who founded Equity that were gay, lesbian or bisexual

22 CELEBRATING CIRCUS

The attraction of circus in its 250th year

28 STEPHANIE COLE

Supporting those suffering stage fright

32 IN APPRECIATION

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Peter Plouviez and Anthony Booth

34 CAMPAIGNS

Local casting, White Ribbon, Harker’s Studio

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36 LETTERS

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Member offers Equity staff profile: Ian Manborde, equalities and diversity organiser Branch notes Explore the London region

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38 YOUR EQUITY

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FRONT OF HOUSE

THE SOLUTIONS TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT

IN BRIEF Ethical Pensions

Maureen Beattie reveals the union’s interim report on solving the sexual harassment crisis EQUITY HAS RELEASED ITS INTERIM FINDINGS into the sexual

harassment crisis and they focus on the key areas of employers, workplaces, agents, casting, education and the law.

The complete report and the list of actions will be released later in February, but the union’s interim ‘agenda for change’ covers the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements, outlines that castings should be held in appropriate and recognised work spaces and should never involve only an actor and casting director/director but should include at least one third party.

It challenges drama schools to have their own robust codes of conduct regarding harassment, as well as preparing students for the world of work including teaching them how to deal with conflict and harassment in the entertainment industry.

Employers should identify a properly trained ‘go to’ person with whom problems can be raised. Boards, too, should do everything appropriate to support workers, including recognising the importance of gender balance in improving organisational culture.

Equity itself has committed to rolling out an awareness campaign including advice, training and a dedicated Equity Helpline.

Maureen Beattie, Equity’s vice president, who led the union’s working group on sexual harassment said: “Sexual harassment has been in the marrow of our industry, but we are going to make it so utterly unacceptable that even the most hardline harassers will refrain from moving in on someone.

“There has been a culture of fear in our business that has been holding people back from getting support.

Members need to be reassured that the union is here for them and we will fight tooth and nail to make changes in the workplace.”

Read more about the interim report on page 16.

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Sheffield General Branch launches A NEW EQUITY GENERAL BRANCH for Sheffield-based members has been created due to popular demand.

Frustrated that the branch representing Sheffield residents always held meetings in Leeds, actor Liam Gerrard spoke with the union about setting up a new branch for his city’s members. He brought a petition to Equity council, who granted his request.

Liam said: “There used to be a Sheffield branch many years ago and now there is renewed demand from a lot of younger members and performers basing themselves here.

“It’s not hard to see why. It’s the fourth largest city in the country, it has a huge producing theatre, there is so much live performance being made here at a grass roots level and there are two universities with excellent drama courses.

“The interest in our own branch is huge,” he continued. “We already have plans for several meetings including talks on dealing with tax and national insurance, film screenings and guest Q&As with visiting casting directors and other industry professionals. The future looks good for the Steel City!”

Members who wish to discuss the creation of the branch and its future events can get in touch with Liam directly at mail@liamgerrard.co.uk.

For more information about Equity’s branches, see page 40.

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Following members’ calls for a “low carbon fund” that will divert Equity Pension pot away from fossil fuel investments, the union has agreed to speak to Aviva about ethical pension provisions.

Equity would like to remind members that they can indicate which of the more than 270 investment funds they wish to invest in, including Ethical and Sustainable Future funds. For more information contact Andrew Barker at andrew.barker@firstact.co.uk

Popularis appointed

The Council has appointed Popularis Ltd as Scrutineers to oversee the 2018 round of elections for the Equity Council, the President, the Appeals Committee and the Standing Orders Committee.

Notice of AGMs

Included with this magazine is an insert with information about your local Equity Annual General Meeting, for a full list go to: www.equity.org.uk/AGM2018

FEU funding renewed

Equity have successfully secured enough from the government’s Union Learning Fund to enable the FEU training programme to continue until March 2019.

ARC Observers

If you wish to apply to be an observer at Equity’s annual representative conference, please fill in the form on page 15.

East Midlands Branch presents charity cheque

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of both their branch’s foundation and the unification of Variety Artistes’ Federation and the Actors’ Equity Association, the Equity East Midlands Variety Branch hosted a fundraising Variety Show. £500 was raised on the night, which was donated to the East Midlands and Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire Air Ambulance Charity.

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UNION CELEBRATES YOUNG WORKERS’ MONTH In celebration of the Trade Union Congress’s annual Young Workers’ Month, Equity’s Young Members Committee (YMC) filled November with events and social media giveaways.

There were training workshops in London and Manchester, and the committee colloborated with the West and South West London Branch to host an industry panel featuring Game of Throne’s actor Gethin Anthony.

NEW DEAL FOR CHARITY POKER TOURNAMENT FOLLOWING LAST YEAR’S SUCCESS, the second Equity charity Poker Tournament will be held on 8 April, at the London Irish Centre. Organised by Equity member Keith Bartlett, the event raises money for Mary’s Meals, who provide school meals to poor children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. You can register your place at the tournament for £20 by going to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/equitypokertournament

VIEWS NEEDED ON THEATRE PAY DEAL THE UNION WILL SHORTLY commence negotiations with Commercial and Subsidised Theatre employers. In advance of this, Equity asks members to share their experiences and provide their input by filling out a survey.

Following the successful surveying of artistes currently working in the West End, performers and stage managers employed by Commercial and Subsidised Theatre productions are urged to provide the information which will enable the union secure the best possible agreements for its members. Their responses are a vital tool for the negotiation process.

The survey will be emailed out in February to all members working in these areas.

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FRONT OF HOUSE

UPFRONT

CREATIVES BAND TOGETHER FOR POST-BREXIT MOBILITY EQUITY, as part of the

Equity members joined creative workers from other sectors and MPs to demand visafree travel

Performers’ Alliance All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) joined nine other APPGs to ask MPs and Peers to campaign for ease of movement post-Brexit.

The ten groups, which span across the breadth of the UK’s creative sector and include representatives for industries including Dance, Textiles & Fashion, Music Education and Video Games, were united by concerns over the future of creative workers’ mobility.

They explained how limited mobility would negatively affect both travelling freelancers, and British creative industries relying on overseas migrants to fill skill gaps.

There were speeches from MPs

A moment of change There has been great work in response to the sexual harassment crisis, but Equity is the only organisation that encompasses the entire entertainment industry and can make lasting change

and industry figures, including Labour Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union Paul Blomfield MP. Equity members working in TV commercials, theatre, TV and film, stage management and video games across the EU attended the event to speak to politicians on behalf of their peers.

A letter has been circulated amongst MPs and Peers, calling on them to commit — if the UK replaces the current system of freedom of movement within the European Economic Area — to a future visa/immigration system that allows access to EU talent and skills, to enable UK creative workers to continue to work abroad and provide them with reciprocal, visa-free travel to continue to tour and perform work and easily.

This is a moment of change.

The raft of allegations in our industry has shone a spotlight on sexual harassment – behaviour that was never acceptable and should never have been tolerated.

It is now incumbent on all of us to create a culture shift that makes lasting change in the whole of the entertainment industry.

Equity has always championed the rights of our members and is in a unique position to reflect your concerns. There is no other organisation that encompasses the entire entertainment industry.

There has been great work in response to the recent scandals, with the Royal Court putting forward a plan for theatre, and

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Manifesto, and I was really pleased to congratulate them on a job well done. Members concerns about the casting process have been heard and the union has been using the Manifesto to inform employers what a clearer, fairer, and more inclusive casting

All those who influence the working lives of our members must stand together

Christine Payne General Secretary

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many campaign groups, such as Women in TV & Film, making excellent contributions. However, it is only Equity who represents workers across the industry such as actors, variety, light entertainment, circus, club and cabaret performers, stage management, directors and assistant directors, dancers and choreographers, stunt performers and co-ordinators, fight directors, singers, models and designers.

Our members range from first-year students to some of the most highprofile people on the planet. Their union membership guarantees that their concerns will be heard and that appropriate action will – in discussion with them – be taken.

Maureen Beattie, the union’s vice president and chair of Equity’s sexual harassment working group, outlines the interim report on our solutions to this crisis on page 16. The full report and our demands for action will be released in February. I am part of the working group and what has been highlighted to me is the need for all those who influence the working lives of our members to stand together to create the cultural change required to put an end to harassment of all kinds in our industry.

The three main pillars of many of our members working lives are the agent, the casting director and, of course, Equity. The union has never worked better with casting organisations than when we discussed our Manifesto for Casting with them. I recently attended the final meeting of the Casting Working Party, which created the

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process looks like. The Casting Directors’ Guild (CDG), one of our partners during the writing of the Manifesto, agrees with us and its recently released Code of Conduct proves this. Membership of the CDG is conditional upon an applicant accepting the Code.

I warmly welcome the Code’s conditions such as encouraging employers to think diversely about their choices, ensuring access to audition spaces and letting performers know when they have not got a role. It is clear that the casting process can also be an environment where harassment occurs, so it is also important that the Code acknowledges a duty of care to performers and says: ‘CDG members should refrain from facilitating and actively discourage one-to-one meetings in private non-professional environments’.

The agents’ association, the PMA, has also recognised its duty of care to performers and I look forward to working with both organisations when we promote our action points to tackle sexual harassment to the employers.

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Meet the membership

DAN EDGE

PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED SUPER HEROES SHOULD BE PLAYED

BY PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED PERFORMERS

The actor is receiving plaudits for his recent Paddy Power advert, but he deserves great praise for his work fighting for the rights of Equity’s deaf and disabled members

Q You’re an actor, model, wrestler and aerialist.

How often do these specialties feed into each other?

The disciplines cross all the time. I joke that I could be the first disabled action hero, because the pro wrestling has given me the combat skills (I can throw a punch, make contact in the correct way, etc), the aerial training gives me the physicality and the acting skills the character building.

Q Are you a superhero fan?

I’m a huge superhero fan. I grew up reading Marvel comics. At the time the X-Men had a cartoon series on TV, and I saw people similar to me – the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier, is a wheelchair user! They were all a bit different, but they were cool.

Photography: Phil AdamsInterviews: Laura Gilbert

Q Do you think it’s time for a physically impaired superhero?

The thing is, there are already physically impaired superheroes.

What I’d like to see – especially with all their cinematic universes, both DC and Marvel – is for those physically impaired superheroes to be played by physically impaired performers.

I love Patrick Stewart as much as the next man, I like James McAvoy’s work, but these guys are not wheelchair users, and this is what my work with the Deaf and Disabled Committee’s all about. The one film I wish I could go back and change is Avatar – the only time you see the main character out of the wheelchair is when he’s a giant blue creature that is computer generated anyway! It could have been a disabled performer and that would have changed the course of the industry immeasurably.

Q Why aren’t deaf and disabled performers hired for deaf and disabled roles?

It comes from a place of fear. There’s a list of default arguments such as: “it’s too expensive because they’re going to need all these adaptions” or “there’s no disabled performers with name value to carry the project”. Ok, create one! Because Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t Benedict Cumberbatch until someone took a chance on him. At least employ a disabled performer to play the character role, and you’ve can still have ‘a name’ for the production. Let a disabled performer learn from those mainstay

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Q You’re a member of Equity’s Deaf & Disabled Members Committee. What is it currently working on?

Many things! We’re working with Spotlight to make both its website and its building more accessible. We’re discussing the way its casting website works, so it can be made easier for both casting directors and producers to find disabled talent, but also for disabled talent to market themselves and be seen for more castings. We’re also putting together a list of accessible casting spaces, so we can get rid of a situation where deaf and disabled members have to audition in car parks because the casting suite isn’t accessible.

actors and let the mainstay actors learn from the disabled performer. Other performers will then learn what it’s like to be a disabled performer and how it’s much easier to make the set accessible than people realise. Adjustments are, rightly, already made for performers with sight, hearing or memory issues — so why can’t they do it for the rest of the disabled performing community?

Dan and the union’s Deaf and Disabled Committee are working with Spotlight to make both its website and building more accessible

Q What was it like working on Paddy Power’s Best Seat in the House advert?

It was an amazing example of good practice. The audition was accessible.

I went into the room, sang the now famous song that gets shouted to me at train stations. What made that job so refreshing was the fact that the director wanted my input. He said “We were thinking of having you in an electric chair, would you use a power chair?”

And I went “no”, and he responded with: “Great, you’re not using a power chair.”

He asked: “Would you push in the gloves you are wearing?”, I said: “Yeah, cause there’s crap all over the floor” and he replied: “Great, wear the gloves.” It was collaborative, as opposed to saying: “Do this”. By the way, I am deliberately singing out of tune – that’s what they wanted! I think the advert answers that attitude that “people don’t want to see disabled people on screen”. People don’t care! I’ve never had anyone say: “Oh no, you’re that really annoying guy in a wheelchair off TV”, I’ve just had “Can I take a selfie?”

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Q How can members get more involved?

If you are able to access social media, we are on Facebook, we are on Twitter (@Equity_DDMC). There’s also the deaf and disabled members’ register. This is vital for us as the committee and for the union as a whole. It is completely voluntary – you do not have to be on it, but, if you can, it is a brilliant thing to be on. Occasionally, there are jobs that get fired through, and it’s the only way we have of knowing how many deaf and disabled members we have, which gives us more points of leverage when we’re going to people like BAFTA and PACT. Q What advice would you give to deaf and disabled performers who want to diversify their skills and pursue physically challenging practices?

Don’t be scared, put yourself forward because, trust me, this is an industry where people say no anyway. You’d be amazed, because you have that different skill on your CV, the things you’ll get called in for. I’ve got called in for jobs because of aerial work. I just did an advertising campaign for Invacare where I was wrestling. So if you’ve got a diverse skill, if you can stand on your head and say the alphabet backwards, don’t be scared to list it on your CV. Contact the disabilitycommittee@equity.org.uk

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UNIONS PROVIDE BAME HAIR AND MAKE-UP TRAINING

Equity joined sister unions to speak with MPs about the challenges of Brexit

HIGH- PROFILE EQUITY MEMBERS AND STAFF gathered together on 6 December at the Performers’ Alliance All Party Parliamentary Group Christmas Party to discuss issues facing the entertainment industry.

Joining representatives from the Musicians’ Union and the Writers’ Guild, activists spoke to politicians about the challenges facing performers and creatives in a post-Brexit Britain.

These include concerns that arts funding, future employment rights, and ease of movement across Europe will be under threat.

The union used the event to lobby for workers’ representation on the Creative Industries Council, to ensure members’ needs would be represented in Brexit discussions.

There were speeches from the Chair of the Performers’ Alliance Alison McGovern MP; Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select committee Damian Collins MP; deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson; general secretary of the Musicians’ Union Horace Trubridge and Equity Screen and New Media Committee member Tanya Franks.

Speaking about creative workers, Tanya explained: “We contribute a quarter of a billion pounds a day – that’s approximately £10.5 million per hour – to the economy. We are on the main stage of the world’s creative economy, and we cannot afford to lose that position.

“The challenges facing us from Brexit are many,” she continued. “But fortunately creative workers are dynamic and we are problem solvers, and the Confederation of British Industry is listening to us and is engaging. So please, please, talk to us and we can help you to find solutions that work for us all.”

EQUITY AND BECTU have successfully launched the pilot of their Black Asian Minority Ethnic Hair & Makeup for Film & TV workshop course.

The idea to offer this training came from Equity member and actor PeggyAnn Fraser, who wanted to address the “substandard” backstage treatment of performers of colour. “There were so many times that I had arrived in hair and make-up to find that either they didn’t have the right shade of foundation, or they didn’t know how to deal with my Afro hair.”

New Equity deal with TAC and S4C for 2018

The challenges facing Brexit are many. But fortunately, creative workers are dynamic.”

CASTING DIRECTORS EMBRACE MANIFESTO DEMANDS Equity has welcomed the new code of conduct produced by the Casting Directors’ Guild (CDG) and its reflection of key points from the union’s Manifesto for Casting. These include provisions on diversity, access, local casting and informing performers when they have not got a role.

Christine Payne, Equity General Secretary, said: “Equity warmly welcomes the Casting Directors’ Guild new Code of Conduct.

Equity built on its good relationship with the Guild during the creation of the union’s Manifesto for Casting last year. It is clear that the Guild has listened to the concerns of our members about the casting process and has reflected that in this Code. I congratulate the CDG for this positive approach and urge employers to support the CDG in making casting clearer, fairer, less stressful and more inclusive for everyone.”

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Equity’s equality and diversities organiser Ian Manborde said he was “very pleased to see 16 of our members formally involved in the initiative, which attracted artists keen to develop their knowledge and skills when working with performers from ethnic minority backgrounds. This initiative was a positive example of cross-union collaboration to ensure that ethnic minority performers are not discriminated against and disadvantaged when being prepared for filming/performance.”

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EQUITY’S RECENT NEGOTIATIONS with Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC), who represent the production companies that create most of S4C’s content, have secured increased pay and employer pension contributions.

From 1 January, minimum rates have risen 3% on the Walk-On Agreement, and 2% on the main agreement raising its weekly minimum to £642.60.

There has also been an increase in the maximum pension contribution from the employer and improvements on the ‘No Call’ provision.

Alhough S4C’s funding has recently not increased, the new agreement has still improved workers’ conditions, and Equity will be sitting down again with S4C and TAC once the exact provisions of the Westminster government S4C review are announced.

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The Black Asian Minority Ethnic Hair & Makeup for Film & TV workshop was a great example of cross-union collaboration

Jess Hurd/Unionlearn

THE FIGHT FOR A CREATIVE VOICE

General Secretary Christine Payne, left, and Tanya Franks, right, were among the Equity group that met with MPs in Parliament

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SARA PASCOE IS EQUITY’S GUEST

PROGRESS FOR PARITY PRINCIPLE Equity supports ERA’s call for equal representation and the Neropa casting tool

EQUITY IS BACKING THE LAUNCH of ERA and a new casting

tool aimed at addressing gender imbalance.

The union’s Women’s Committee’s organised the NEROPA: Changing the Narrative event, which was held at the BFI on 18 January.

This featured a presentation by German actress and independent researcher Belinde Ruth Stieve, who created NEROPA. The casting tool highlights the “neutral” characters within a film (i.e. those whose gender is not significant to the plot), and splits these evenly between male and female performers. Belinde explained how this method can help address gender imbalance within casts and improve TV and film productions.

There were also talks from BFI South Bank’s Head of Inclusion Jennifer Smith and Stephen McNochie, who spoke about the

The union is supporting recent initiatives that aim to address the industry’s gender imbalance

BFI Filmography data project. This uses a bulk gender inference methodology, which is then used develop an understanding of careers for women and men across the timeline of British feature film production. This in turns informs the BFI’s activities to promote inclusiveness and diversity within the British film industry.

The union has also provided financial backing for the launch of Equal Representation for Actresses (ERA 50:50), a campaign group of influential actresses and actors who are fighting for on-stage and on-screen gender parity.

The event will be held on 28 February, and ERA will be asking all major broadcasters, theatres, film and TV companies to commit to having a “50:50 gender balance across their yearly programming and content by 2020.”

The union’s fourth I Say discussion at Leicester Comedy Festival will be held on 16 February and feature special guest Sara Pascoe.

The Equity Comedians’ Network founder and multi award-winner will be in conversation with Festival Director Geoff Rowe, discussing her career, her views on comedy and the wider industry.

This will be followed by a Q & A and refreshments.

To book tickets, visit: bit.ly/2DC2wcg To find out more about the Comedians’ Network, see: www.equity.org.uk/comedians

Young members’ councillor Abiola Ogunbiyi, top left, spoke at the event aimed at involving students in the union

UNION LAUNCHES STUDENT DEPUTY NETWORK EQUITY OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

its new Student Deputies’ Network on 30 November, 2017.

Prospective student deputies gathered together for games, pizza, and information about the union and how to get involved in student activism.

Young members’ councillor Abiola Ogunbiyi gave a speech, as did recently appointed student deputy Abby Dunlavy. Abby, an acting student at Mountview Academy, described this initiative as “a chance to seize the day within the field we have chosen to study and to be a part of. To have a say within our wider community on the way in which we intend to be a part of

Payment victory for staged readings at the Globe EQUITY HAS SECURED PAYMENT for actors performing in the Globe’s Read not Dead events.

For more than 20 years, the Globe Education department has presented staged readings of so-called forgotten plays. Actors would be given a script on a Sunday morning, and then perform the piece in front of a paying audience the same afternoon.

It was brought to the union’s attention that neither the actors not directors involved in these productions were being paid.

Equity subsequently entered into discussions with the Director of Globe Education Patrick Spottiswoode. It was agreed that from January 2018 Read not Dead directors and performers will receive £75, with the exception of students and first year graduates with less than 30 lines, and cameo actors, who will be given £40.

Equity urges members in similar unpaid roles to come forward and speak to the union.

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it. And we actually get to choose how this works,” she continued. “We are completely empowered within this role and, wow, is that rare and fantastic.”

Student scheme and events coordinator Amy Dawson was “thrilled” by the energy at the launch.

She explained: “Many of the issues our professional members face are the same ones occurring in drama schools.

By involving members in Equity’s work at the start of their careers, and equipping them with knowledge of their rights, we can effect real change in training institutions, and help create the next generation of (graduate) activists.”

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INTERNATIONAL

The Evelyn Norris Trust Was established in 1968 to provide financial support for members of the theatrical and concert professions who are in need of rest, recovery or a recuperative holiday.

If you’ve recently suffered an illness, or needed medical treatment and think a short convalescent break would aid recovery, or if you’ve been suffering from ill health and need to ‘recharge your batteries’ then you should apply for funding.

GIVING YOUNG PEOPLE A VOICE

For information on how to apply you can either contact info@equitycharitabletrust.org.uk. ring us on 0207 831 1926 or visit our website www.equitycharitabletrust.org.uk where you can follow the link to the Evelyn Norris Trust and download an application.

www.equitycharitabletrust.org.uk

The International Performers’ Aid Trust is an Equity-backed charity that provides relief to performers overseas, and which supports Music for Hope’s work in El Salvador

Photograph: Mark Thomas

T

he International Performers’ Aid Trust (IPAT) recently welcomed representatives from their beneficiary Music for Hope, a charity that works in Salvadorian communities to provide children and young people the opportunity to take part in an empowering music project.

Katherine Rogers, the organisation’s founder, and Jose Antonio Benitez Luna (pictured), a one-time participant who is now actively involved in the charity’s organisation, known to all as Tony, gave a presentation about their work to IPAT and members of Equity’s International Committee for Artists’ Freedom at Equity’s Guild House office.

In a country gripped by violence and fear, Music for Hope provides an alternative to gang violence through their activities and concerts. “I have seen how people have been taken away from being in gangs through Music for Hope, because now they are part of one of our projects,” explained Tony. “I can say that we have been saving lives through music in El Salvador.”

“We are passing right now a very hard moment as a country with the violence,” he continued, “and in the communities there are a lot of people dead. The people are scared to go out in the street. But with a Music for Hope concert or activity, we give space to the people – for the moment, they are there.”

“Our young people are exposed to violence regularly,” Katherine added, “and they see things that they shouldn’t be

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seeing at their age. We create a safe space for them, and the chance for them to be normal kids as well, normal young people.”

In addition to this, the pair spoke about how the projects help build skills and confidence, encourage team work, the creation of community, and provide students with “a voice”. “When they are practicing music, they express themselves through the music,” Tony stated. “At the same time they want to educate people. We have some groups that said ‘we want to talk about how to save the environment through music’, and they do. Music is not just entertainment. Music is a tool to prevent the violence.”

Tony’s high-profile work with the charity unfortunately made him a target for paramilitary groups, placing him in a very precarious situation and forcing him to flee the country, along with thousands of other young people escaping escalating violence in El Salvador. He has been granted refugee status in the UK, but continues to work for Music for Hope’s El Salvador projects from Liverpool. “My family is there,” he said, “and I want to do something Music for Hope combats the to change things.” violence young To find out more about the work people are exposed Music for Hope does, see their website: to in El Salvador by creating safe, www.musicforhope.org.uk and Facebook creative spaces Group: @musicforhopeuk

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R

The

oyal

Theatrical Fund

The RTF helps people from ALL areas of the entertainment industry – not just actors and singers – but dancers, stage management, directors, front of house and backstage staff.

If you have worked professionally for a reasonable period of time and are experiencing financial hardship due to sickness or injury, we may be able to help.

Contact us on 020 7836 3322 All applications for help are treated in the strictest confidence.

11 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9AR Email: admin@trtf.com www.trtf.com Reg Charity No. 222080

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Annual Representative Conference 2018 Observers Equity’s 2018 Annual Representative Conference (ARC) will take place on May 20-21 in London.

The ARC brings together your elected representatives from across Equity’s branches, committees and Council to review the union’s progress and to make policy. Any member, including student members, can attend as an Observer but, due to venue constraints, space is limited.

If you would like to be an Observer (no voting or speaking rights or expenses) please complete the form below and return it to Equity.

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and we only accept applications made on this coupon. Thank you.

Equity Name Equity No Address Email I have been selected by my branch as their official Observer

Yes/No

My branch

Please mark your envelope “ARC OBSERVER” and return by 20 APRIL 2018 to: Louise Grainger, Equity, FREEPOST RTKS-BRUB-LYJR, Guild House, Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EG

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HARASSMENT

We need to seize this moment to end harassment Equity’s vice President Maureen Beattie has led the union’s working group on sexual harassment, whose initial findings are revealed here WORDS PHIL PEMBERTON PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL STUART

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exual harassment has been in the marrow of our industry, but we are going to make it so utterly unacceptable that even the most hardline harassers will refrain from moving in on someone,” says Maureen.

“As revelation after revelation came out over the past months it has made me so angry. There has been a culture of fear in our business that has been holding people back from getting support.

Members need to be reassured that the union is here for them and we will fight tooth and nail to make changes in the workplace.”

Maureen argues that this fear of speaking out can begin as early as drama school and is unique to the entertainment profession. “Of course, as we have seen with recent revelations about Parliament or charity events run by City millionaires, sexual harassment is endemic in

Maureen’s anger at the scandals breaking across the news caused her to put a proposal to the Equity Council in November to change the culture of fear in the entertainment industry

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our culture,” she says. “But it is the precarious nature of this business and the inherent vulnerability in performing that makes it so vital that our workplaces are safe environments.”

“Like so many in the entertainment industry, I have had my own experiences of harassment,” she continues. “At drama school a person in authority suggested I needed to lose my virginity to become a good actor and that, and the inference that he should be the one to ‘help me out’ with this, stayed with me for a long time. I also was a bystander when a young stage manager showed me a truly disgusting note she had received from a member of the cast. I tried to help but I did not really know what to do. I don’t want anybody to feel like that again. I feel guilty and angry about that to this day.”

Maureen’s anger at the scandals that continue to break across the news caused her to write a motion to the Equity Council in November last year. It asked the union’s ruling body to create a

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HARASSMENT

The agenda for change Equity’s working group on sexual harassment has released its initial findings below, a full report and list of actions will be released in February THE UNION

WORKPLACES

The union is planning an awareness campaign including advice, training and a dedicated Equity Helpline.

We will also review our own procedures. All members of the union will be encouraged to tackle or report instances of bullying, harassment or sexual harassment whether they experience it or observe it. The union will work with other bodies to affect changes to practice and the workplace culture that allows harassment to take place.

Venues which hire their space to visiting companies should make it a condition of hiring that the company demonstrates that it has its own policies on bullying, harassment and sexual harassment or that the company agrees to comply with the venues’ policies.

Venues which engage individual performers or acts should recognise it can be audiences who are the perpetrators of bullying or harassing language and behaviour and should have robust policies that are made clear to the public.

All venues should do everything possible to provide changing facilities which respect privacy.

AGENTS All agents should acknowledge their duty of care to their clients and should have a code of practice which will include dealing with allegations of sexual harassment brought to them by their clients.

We will work with them to ensure that agreements with employers governing nudity and simulated sex are adhered to. working group to seek solutions to the sexual harassment crisis.

It said: “We now have an opportunity – an opportunity which may not come our way again for many years – to harness the energy released by the recent scandals, and rethink the way we deal with sexual harassment both within the structures of our union and in the wider world of our industry.”

The working group is chaired by Maureen and consists of senior union staff, including General Secretary Christine Payne, Equity Councillors and members of the union’s Equalities committees. Its interim findings are detailed overleaf, with the full document and list of actions to be published in February. One of the first acts of the group was to remind members that the union has always dealt with sexual harassment issues and it will listen to any concerns a member has. It also asked all members for three suggestions they felt could make a difference.

“We wanted the views of members from the workplace,” says Maureen. “From the theatres, the film and TV sets, the voice studios, the clubs - from all across the industry. That is what is unique about Equity. We are the only organisation that covers the breadth of the business and we are in the best position to deliver effective changes in all workplaces.”

More than 340 members put forward their ideas and the next stage was a series of meetings with relevant industry bodies.

This included representatives from Directors UK, Stage Directors’ UK, the Stage Management Association, Equal

Representation for Actresses, Women in Film and TV, the Federation of Drama Schools, One Dance UK, the Personal Managers Association, the Casting Directors’ Guild, UK Theatre/ SOLT, ITC (Independent Theatre Council), the ISM (Incorporated Society of Musicians), the British Film Institute and the Old Vic. “Members of the working group also met individually with Equity members who wanted to remain anonymous but whose insights have been really invaluable,” adds Maureen.

Through the process she has found many recurring strands, but one of the most persistent has been the lack of respect among employers for the work Equity members do.

“Perhaps they think it’s easy because we make it look that way,” she says. “But the skill, training, talent and experience of performers are so often undervalued. The competitive nature of the business, and the emotional and economic insecurity that can bring, is exploited by many employers. This makes members reluctant and, in some cases, afraid to speak out.”

“The working party has got through a massive amount of work in a remarkably short period of time,” Maureen continues. “We are almost ready to release the complete actions we believe will change the culture of fear in this industry.”

The skill, training, talent and experience of performers are so often undervalued

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Full details of the sexual harassment’s working party report will be released in February, please see opposite for its interim findings.

www.equity.org.uk

CASTING/AUDITIONS Equity is delighted to support The Casting Directors’ Guild’s recently launched new code of conduct for its members, which is based largely on Equity’s own Manifesto for Casting.

Auditions/castings should be conducted professionally and held in appropriate and recognised work spaces.

They should never involve only an actor and casting director/director but should include at least one third party. We believe all casting directors should have appropriate codes.

EMPLOYERS & BOARDS The legal responsibility of employers/engagers should be reflected in clear policies and procedures which stress that bullying, harassment and sexual harassment will not be tolerated from anyone, regardless of status.

The employers’/engagers’ policies must be attached to all contracts and signed when the contract is signed.

Employers should identify a properly trained ‘go to’ person with whom problems can be raised. Boards, too, should do everything appropriate to support workers, including recognising the importance of gender balance in improving organisational culture.

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EDUCATION & TRAINING PROVIDERS The confidence and empowerment of the future generation of performers, stage managers and the creative team starts in drama schools and training establishments. Schools should have their own robust codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment, as well as preparing students for the world of work including how to deal with conflict and harassment in our industry.

Equity will continue to develop a network of student deputies who will be encouraged to report on the operation of bullying and harassment policies in their schools.

THE LAW Equity will explore whether the rights of selfemployed workers can be strengthened, and will also investigate the different types of Non-Disclosure Agreements and other release forms which are increasingly a part of the contracts our members are asked to sign, by way of ascertaining which of these are protecting our members and which are potentially protecting perpetrators of harassment.

We will work with the Incorporated Society of Musicians to examine legislative changes that could benefit performers, including ensuring that third party harassment claims are included as an employer’s responsibility and updating the Equality Act 2010 to include all self-employment.

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LGBT HISTORY MONTH

REVEALING A HIDDEN HISTORY Rose Collis is inviting members to discover the queer history of the founding members of Equity as part of LGBT History Month WORDS LAURA GILBERT PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL ADAMS

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quity LGBT+ Committee member Rose Collis is a performer, writer and historian, who has written books and plays about historical gay, lesbian and bisexual figures.

This LGBT History Month, she will give a presentation that celebrates the queer performers who founded Equity – and their friends.

“The idea for this all started when came from when I came to a new members’ training day here, and I saw the original signed document with the people who set up Equity,” Rose explains. “I was looking at it and thinking ‘oh, they were! And they were! And there’s another one!’”

Rose realised that many of the major stage stars who founded Equity were gay, lesbian or bisexual. “People such as Ivor Novello and Beatrix Lehmann. As it happens, they were all people that I know quite a bit about. With my historian’s hat on, it struck me that they were part of a much wider lesbian and gay theatrical network, many of whom are also commemorated in St Paul’s Covent Garden, the ‘actors’ church’, including Noel Coward. And, joining the dots even further, I noticed that they were all linked to one remarkable woman who presided over the ‘Tavistock Set’, just round the corner from Equity’s office and the church: the eccentric writer and artist Clemence Dane, subject of my solo play, Wanting The Moon.”

Rose decided to use her research and performance skills to create an illustrated talk that would serve as an “all-inclusive, allenveloping event to link LGBT History Month and LGBT history with Equity’s past”, which will be held 28 February. She encourages members and non-members to “come along, and have a laugh, and find out a bit more about Equity’s LGBT history. It’s theatre,” she points out, “there are going to be a lot of good stories.”

Her presentation will be introduced by Amy Lamé: writer, performer and London night czar. “I’m delighted that Amy will be introducing the event,” says Rose, “as she is a former Committee member and I know she shares a passion for our community’s history”. Rose understands how celebrating LGBT

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history can help us reach out to people in diverse communities.

“If you live in multicultural, diverse areas such as London, Brighton, Manchester or Liverpool, it’s very easy to forget what is going on in the rest of the UK. You have to remember that there are people living in little towns and villages who still don’t see themselves represented, celebrated or supported. And LGBT History Month is one particularly good way of doing that.”

She also comments on the importance of explaining “where we come from” to young people. “We’ve come a long way in the 40 years since I came out – these are the struggles, and these are the triumphs, and these are the tragedies, and what we’re enjoying now was hard fought for. I think people love hearing stories about how the community evolved – if you tell younger people about Section 28, they go ‘I’m sorry, what? You have to be kidding me’ and about the horrific prejudice that was peddled in the tabloids when AIDS came along – which, as many of us know, particularly affected the creative arts in a huge way.

“So we want to remember, we want to learn, we want to celebrate, and we want to see where we are and to look forward and write the next chapter.”

Beyond her talk, Rose is excited for the important diversity and equalities work ahead. She explains that Equity’s LGBT+ Committee is “Going to be a lot more visible and proactive, not just in London, but around the country. We’re already talking about doing stuff at different Prides. Please get in touch with any suggestions.”

Reach the committee at: lgbtcommittee@equity.org.uk

“LGBT HISTORY DETAILS THE TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES, AND HIGHLIGHTS THAT WHAT WE ARE ENJOYING NOW WAS HARD FOUGHT FOR”

Player Kings and Queens ALL ARE INVITED to attend Rose’s talk Player Kings and Queens: Equity Founder and Friends in LGBT History, which will be introduced by London night czar Amy Lamé. and held on 28 February, at 6.30pm. Free tickets to the event can be booked at: http://bit.ly/2rEdpoB

www.equity.org.uk

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CIRCUS 250

Circle of life A voguing hula-hooper; a ringmaster; a juggler-clown and an equestrian show-woman: Equity speaks to its members to explore the many facets of circus in its 250th year MAIN PHOTOGRAPH PHIL ADAMS

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quity has designated 2018 as the Year of the Circus.

This is in recognition of Circus 250, the national celebration of the art form’s 250th anniversary.

It is said that the foundation of circus was laid by Philip Astley, when he set up a ring for an equestrian show in London’s Waterloo area in 1768.

Soon all sorts of acts were presented within his circle, including jugglers, acrobats, clowns, strong men and bareback riders.

Equity’s Variety, Circus and Entertainers Committee will be receiving Circus 250’s key organisers at their first 2018 meeting, and Equity’s Circus Network and Equity branches will be involved in events throughout the year. These will be concentrated around the six designated cities of London, Bristol, Blackpool, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Belfast and Derry.

To mark the occasion, the union spoke with four of its members — from the founder of the touring Gifford’s Circus, to an independent performer who works in cabaret, clubs and corporate settings — about what they do, what drew them to the circus, and what circus means to them in 2018.

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CIRCUS 250

Symoné Hula hoop artist

Doug Francisco and Darryl Carrington Invisible Circus Ringmaster and Circus Performer

What drew you to the circus?

I originally started hooping to learn a new skill, to keep myself peaceful and to just gain confidence in myself. This was when I was just finishing up high school. I was very uncertain about what I was going to do next – I came across it, was completely mesmerised. Everything fell into place because within that first year I auditioned to be part of a hoop troupe, Marawa’s Majorettes.

What drew you to the circus?

Doug: It was when I started travelling that I got more into performing arts, and it became a means of continuing that journey. I went away for a couple of weeks, and then travelled around for eight or ten years! I suppose it was a lifestyle choice, world travel and adventure over the rat race of London life.

Darryl: I was lost and struggling with addiction problems. At a festival, my girlfriend at the time taught me how to juggle one afternoon. After a couple of months I’d mastered her tricks, and learned five balls. For the first time in my life I was able to actually concentrate. I found out just recently that I’ve got ADHD and, looking back, that hyper focus you need to have to learn to juggle enabled me to actually be able to concentrate on other parts of my life. In a strange way that idea of people escaping from

Can you tell me about your world record?

That was with the Marawa’s Majorettes in 2013.

All ten of us had a stack of 20 hoops and we had to go for 20 seconds. If one person dropped a hoop we had to restart, and we had three chances. I think we got it on the third one.

That was really epic.

Could you describe some of your acts?

I have a convict character: I come out and with hoops and I use them like guns, to the sounds of the gun in the audio. I lip-synch to a recording of myself; I’m just sort of yelling. The inspiration for that was the bank robbery scene from the movie They Live, where he comes in and says “I’m all out of gum.” This is an act I do in cabaret settings, such as Duckie, not in more corporate settings, because it’s quite aggressive and tense.

I also have a roller-skating act I created with a director. I’m lip synching to this song called Bilingual, where this woman is talking about her lover.

The inspiration for the act is taking back the word “slut” and showing it in the light of empowerment rather than the negative light that it’s usually used in.

Interviews: Laura Gilbert

“I THINK CIRCUS IS PURE CREATIVITY, FUN, ENTERTAINMENT, EXPRESSIVENESS”

Could you describe the evolution of your personal style?

I started in Marawa’s Majorettes Troupe, and that was very much circus-style hooping: multiples, very much about being straight arms, body, using multiples on the body and what I’ve realised is I’m not a supertechnical circus hooper. I’ve always known I love dancing, so integrating those two together feels like I’m being me.

I didn’t go to dance school, but I’ve been to lots of dance classes and workshops, and I teach myself at

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something with the circus was the reverse for me, the circus gave me a lot of grounding and the ability to learn in a way that I hadn’t before.

What do you think circus means in 2018?

Doug: There’s quite a divide between what traditional circus is and was and what new circus is and was.

I suppose what it is for me is it is a platform for storytelling and there is something about using physicality to tell a story and people coming together in free association to share experiences.

Darryl: What it has always been for me is ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We see these incredible things, like CGI on TV, but when you see someone doing backflips or handstands in front of you, then you go “oh, it is possible”. It inspires people.

Circus is where the light bulb was first shown, where exotic animals were seen before they started doing tricks, it’s this place for people to discover. We use it as a political tool, and a tool for social inclusion.

Doug: Currently it’s a sort of renaissance of live experience. I think people are getting tired of the digital entertainment era, of the constant media

Doug Francisco, below, is the Invisible Circus Ringmaster and believes there is currently a “renaissance of live experience”

“CIRCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ORDINARY PEOPLE DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS”

home. When I saw voguing, I self-taught and I went to some voguing balls. I fell in love with that world, and realised that was just another aspect I wanted to involve in my performing.

What does circus mean in 2018?

I think pure creativity, fun, entertainment, expressiveness.

Symoné began in Marawa’s Majorettes Troupe and her style now combines the skills of a circus hooper with dance

Why is it important for circus performers to be unionised?

It is so distressing to think that there are issues that in a ‘normal’ job you would not have to deal with, but in circus you have to be a little bit stricter because people do not get that this is your job.

To have the protection and support from Equity is just such a relief. I feel the fact that Equity is there is a statement to the world saying circus is not just play, people genuinely do this on a day-to-day basis, to keep themselves, to pay their rent. It’s a real job.

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Nell Gifford Gifford’s Circus Founder What drew you to the circus?

I just loved the fact that it’s so diverse, it’s like a complete universe. It is not like a show that goes into a theatre where the venue isn’t necessarily anything to do with the show, but the whole thing is just one complete world in it’s own right. I went to the circus when I was 18 and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

What does Gifford’s Circus take from the circus tradition?

I believe that circus is basically comedy and horses, and for me the horses are so integral and I would find it really difficult to approach making a show without them as an element.

Can you tell me about why the horses are so important to Gifford’s circus?

To me horses are an adventure. They are highly sensitive animals, you can’t go to your work with a horse with anger or a hangover or impatience: it’s dangerous and you won’t get any results.

You have to moderate your whole body to work with the horse. You have to consciously slow your heart beat down, for example, working with difficult horses and young horses. It’s a relationship, and it’s about trust, mutual respect and leadership. I feel horses carry an atmosphere and they make the circus atmosphere.

Darryl Carrington says that going to work and knowing that there’s union rates makes him feel safe

bombardment. Social media actually makes people less social. So for me it’s about bringing people together in that live environment for a human spectacle and a shared experience.

@outersitepictures

How can a circus be political?

Doug: Well by its actions, by doing what’s seemingly impossible, by taking risks: the hope is that you’ll inspire others to think they can do it too. To be braver, bolder, to challenge stereotypes and question authority.

Darryl: I do a lot of clowning buffoon work. The jester’s been around for millennia, and has always shown the satirical side of the people in power.

Doug: Being a ringmaster has given me a platform to talk about the things I’m passionate about, from the environment to culture in general. Private ownership is increasing, which could lead one to believe the world belongs to someone else. But I’m a firm believer that the world belongs to everyone.

Why do you think it’s important for circus workers to be unionised?

Darryl: Going to work for a production and knowing that there’s union rates makes you feel safe, and you can do your art. So does knowing that you’re covered by Public Liability Insurance, or fire insurance if you are doing a fire gig. The union helps you meet other artists and to speak to producers and directors. In a time where it’s getting harder and harder to be a performing artist, it feels good to be part of a larger body. And for a very reasonable price as well!

What does circus mean in 2018?

I think the circus is a great example of human endeavour. To me it’s beauty and it’s euphoria.

Everything that I love is in the circus.

“CIRCUS IS BEAUTY AND EUPHORIA. EVERYTHING THAT I LOVE IS IN THE CIRCUS”

How has being a union member influenced the way you run your circus?

Doug: I’ve always been a great believer in unions and cooperation so that’s definitely influenced all of our shows and everything we are about.

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Showoman Nell Gifford is the founder of Gifford’s Circus

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Is it a challenge running a circus when you have young children?

It can be, but they are getting more involved. They really like it themselves, and they’re a part of it.

My seven-year-old daughter can have a perfectly sensible grown-up conversation with our director Cal McCrystal about the show.

For me the circus is a lot about hospitality, to the public but also to the performers, and the whole company, and I feel that when the performers and the company arrive for the season I feel like we’re their hosts, and the children have really got that idea.

They’re out making sure people are OK, if there are children in the company they go out and take their toys to them.

Join Equity’s circus network, email: circusnetwork@equity.org.uk

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STAGE FRIGHT

WILL IT BE ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT?

EVERYTHING WAS FINE, BUT SUDDENLY, FOR NO REASON, MY MIND WENT BLANK

Performance anxiety can strike at any point in a career and Stephanie Cole believes it is time that it was simply accepted as part of a professional life WORDS PHIL PEMBERTON PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL ADAMS

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tephanie Cole wants to end the stigma surrounding stage fright. “Anxiety about performance can destroy a career,” she says. “It is something performers should talk about more because it does not simply affect people at a particular point in their working life, such as when starting out or when getting older, it can happen at any time.”

She was prompted to discuss the issue after hearing Juliet Stevenson talking on radio about the reasons she took on the challenge of playing Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days.

Juliet described the role as “an actor’s nightmare” but conquering her stage fright, which had got so bad she wasn’t sure she would go back on stage again, made her take the job. “If I say no, I’ll never get on stage again,” Juliet said. “So I haven’t really got a choice because that’s an unbearable prospect. I have to say yes, and in saying yes I have to tackle this issue.”

Stephanie also suffers from it. The anxiety has affected her in the past few years of her career and is focused on her fear of letting her fellow

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Stephanie argues that performance anxiety is not limited to the stage and can happen when recording television and even film

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STAGE FRIGHT

I HAVE FOUND THERAPY VERY USEFUL – THERE WILL BE AN APPROACH AND A PERSON THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU

performers, and those working on a production, down.

“Performance anxiety affects people in different ways,” she explains. “The ‘symptoms’ are often similar, such as a dry mouth, forgetting lines, fear of going on to set or stage etc, but the reasons a performer has these feelings can vary greatly. In my case, it is because I do not want to let my fellow actors down or the hard-working crew. That is at the core of my anxiety.”

She recalls drying on stage earlier in her career, but she accepted this as part of the performing life and, perhaps because it was in a one woman show and it did not have any effect on other actors, it did not unduly concern her.

Stephanie gives the example of when she was on stage playing Doris in A Cream Cracker under the Settee from Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads. This was the role originally played

by Thora Hird in the TV version - Stephanie played Muriel in Soldiering On as part of the same series.

“Everything was fine, but suddenly, for no reason, my mind went blank,” says Stephanie. “I sat there and, staying in character, said: ‘I really don’t know what’s next’ hoping that the DSM on the book would give me the line, but there was complete silence and I could feel the audience getting nervous.

“I tried again and said ‘What is coming next?’ in the exasperated tone of the character,” Stephanie continues. “But I got no help so I had to apologise to the audience and shout to the DSM to give me the line and I carried on.”

Stephanie argues that is not simply a stage problem, but anxiety can strike when recording TV and even film.

“Making TV shows is intense, particularly sitcoms when using a live studio audience,” she argues. “You will have a long day of filming ending in a large number of scenes before an audience, which is a completely different environment.

Some actors need the boards to help them with the lines and I do not see any problem with this at all – and nobody else should either.”

Comedy is particularly difficult if you are suffering from anxiety, Stephanie argues.

“If you have not got the precise rhythm, if you are not pausing at the right time, it can be the difference between a huge laugh or complete silence,” she says. “There is that apocryphal story about the playwright Molière who was approached on his deathbed by a friend who said ‘All this must be so difficult for

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you’, Molière replied: ‘Not as difficult as comedy’.”

She believes having greater preparation time, particular in TV, can help with anxiety and the work. She recalls filming a recent scene for Still Open All Hours with David Jason.

“For some technical reason we had an unexpected extra 20 minutes before we began shooting,” Stephanie says. “It really helped us to bring something extra to that scene. But we have to be realistic; we are not going to get the amount of time actors would like for preparation in the TV world, which has speeded up greatly since I filmed the original Open All Hours. But what we do need is the understanding of producers and directors

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when support is needed. So when performers require the extra help of boards or ear pieces it is simply accepted as a normal part of the process.”

Another important support is therapy. Stephanie works with a therapist to deal with her performance anxiety and highly recommends it as a successful way of overcoming fear.

“I have found it very useful, I have a series of exercises that I practise that help keep me calm and clear my mind,” she says.

“It’s important to give therapy a chance, it may be that you will not connect to the first therapist you work with, but there will be an approach and a person that will work for you.”

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Support for performance anxiety ArtsMinds is a website aimed at supporting entertainment professionals facing mental health issues and is a collaboration between the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), Equity, The Stage and Spotlight: www.artsminds.co.uk You can also contact BAPAM direct to ask for suggested therapists at: www.bapam.org.uk

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IN APPRECIATION

PETER PLOUVIEZ

ANTHONY BOOTH

Equity’s General Secretary who served the union for 31 years is remembered by Ian McGarry, former General Secretary, and Peter Finch, former assistant general secretary

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major internal re-organisation, additional research and legal resources, which resulted in the freeing up of the General and Assistant General Secretaries to concentrate on major negotiations.

Controversy in Equity’s internal affairs was well established before Peter took office but even he must have been surprised by the extent to which divisions escalated during his period of office. During some of the most tumultuous years in the union’s history, arguments raged between those members who wanted Equity to become a more strident and overtly political union and those who wished to limit its role to that of a strictly professional organisation. These differences erupted at Annual and Special General Meetings resulting in referendums, hotly contested elections for the Equity Council and even recourse to legal proceedings. The pressures on Peter as General Secretary during this period were immense but his formidable intellect, powers of persuasion , strict adherence to the rules and his ability to conjure consensus in apparently unreconcilable situations enabled him to prevent these divisions weakening the union.

In work seldom witnessed by the majority of Equity members, Peter was a widely respected advocate of performers’ interests. In meetings with Government Ministers, Parliamentary Select Committees , Funding bodies

“PETER UNDOUBTEDLY ENHANCED THE STANDING OF EQUITY AND ITS MEMBERS”

and employers he was brilliantly effective. He certainly deployed wit and charm in abundance but that was always underpinned by a steely determination to advance the interests of members.

From the start of his time as General Secretary Peter helped shape Equity’s concern about oppression overseas, particularly the fate of fellow-performers and he played a major role in the work of the International Federation of Actors. He carried through further internal reorganisation and then followed a ‘Pay for Today’ campaign in

regional theatre, changes to tax and social security legislation and a number of imposed ‘pay policies’. The Performers’ Alliance was created, as were the Councils for Drama and Dance Training, Equity’s Committee for Artists’ Freedom and lobbying led to the Employment Agencies Act. In 1980, Peter organised celebrations of Equity’s 50th anniversary and went on to develop international exchanges of artists, campaigned against funding cuts and VAT increases, saw the advent of Channel Four and a dispute over TV commercials, all against an internal financial crisis.

There were major changes to the control of entry policies and casting agreements and the formation of the National Campaign for the Arts and the Entertainment Charities Fund, for which Peter acted as Treasurer. In 1989, under new legislation, the post of General Secretary had to be voted for by the membership, instead of the Council and this resulted in a ballot that saw Peter overwhelmingly elected for a five-year term.

Peter finally retired on 30th July 1991, his 60th birthday, having completed a total of 31 years work for Equity and 16 as General Secretary.

Peter’s extraordinary combination of talents, his powers of persuasion coupled with his unique humour undoubtedly enhanced the standing of Equity and its members.

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ollowing the example of his father who was a founder member of the Civil Service Union, Peter became an active trade unionist in his 20s after demob from the army, working at the head office of the Prudential, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Guild of Insurance Officers. He noted that “I did more work for the union than for the Insurance Company”, which led at the age of 23 to a full-time job with the National Union of Bank Employees, staying for five years.

Peter joined Equity in 1960 as Assistant Secretary, primarily in charge of administration; the General Secretary was Gerald Croasdell and there were 9,676 members. In 1964 Assistant General Secretary Hugh Jenkins was elected as Labour MP for Putney and Peter was promoted to that post, succeeding Gerald Croasdell as General Secretary in 1973. The union then having 20,823 members.

Those early years had seen a major dispute with the ITV companies, debates about control of entry and casting agreements, strengthening of anti-colour bar measures, with a concern about the situation in South Africa and support for “integrated casting”, the first steps to improve and regulate drama schools, the prospect of joining the Common Market, new industrial relations legislation and a ‘wage freeze’.

There had been a successful amalgamation with the Variety Artistes’ Federation and a

‘Tony’ Booth served on the Equity Council from 1994-2000, he had a successful career on stage and screen and was known for his activism and strong views nthony ‘Tony’ Booth got his taste for acting as a national serviceman.

However, he was an activist long before then, having canvassed for his local Labour candidate when he was only 14 years old, and joined the party aged 15.

Having seen his father’s pay docked after a shipyard injury which left the man unable to work for three weeks, Tony never wavered from his socialist principles.

It could be said that these twin passions for performance and politics defined Tony, the staunch left-wing actor who served as an Equity councillor and rallied against policies and changes he disagreed with – both within his union, and within the Parliament run by son-in-law Tony Blair.

Born in Liverpool on 9 October 1931, Tony became an actor with no formal training and took to the stage in the 1950s, where he performed in the West End production of No Time for Sergeants and spent years working in repertory theatre.

He soon was seen on the small screen, and in the early 1960s he appeared in films and TV series, and played the role of Malcolm Wilkinson in three episodes of Coronation Street.

In 1966, he took the role he became best known for: left-wing “Scouse git” Mike Rawlins, the son-in-

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law of reactionary bigot Alf Garnett in Till Death Do Us Part. Tony convinced writer Johnny Speight to change the part from a cockney to a Liverpudlian.

Although Speight originally had Michael Caine in mind for the part, Tony’s performance helped fuel the sit com’s popularity.

He spent eight years on the TV show, then went on to star in the five movies of the sex comedy series Confessions… where he inhabited the role of Sidney Nogett, described by Robert Chalmers as a “priapic Liverpudlian in a van.”

His other 1970s cinematic ventures included Branigan and Spike Miligan’s Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall.

Even while enjoying great success portraying Mike Rawlins, he did not forget the stage.

He appeared naked in Kenneth Tynan’s Oh! Calcutta! in 1970, and played the White Rabbit in Felicity Douglas’ Alice in Wonderland in 1972. His daughter Lauren Booth noted that her father ‘spoke the songs’ of the latter production ‘really well!’

Tony returned to the small screen later in life, playing Barry Hurst in Family Affairs, Frank Palmer in Extremely Dangerous, Bernie Oulton in Mersey Beat, and performing in other shows including Holby City, The Bill, and

Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On, where he played his final on-screen role, Robbie.

A proud union member, Tony served as an Equity Councillor from 1994-2000, and is noted – as The Stage’s Michael Quin puts it – for “playing a prominent part in the campaign against reform of the union.”

Despite his passion for politics, Tony was never tempted to give up acting as he explained: “I was offered the chance of standing in a Parliamentary seat once,

“IN 1966, HE TOOK THE ROLE OF THE LEFT WING ‘SCOUSE GIT’ IN TILL DEATH DO US PART”

but I thought I would end up being a pain in the backside from the backbenches – and I can do that without becoming an MP.” Tony Booth was married four times, and is survived by his fourth wife Steph and his eight daughters including Cherie Blair.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s’ in 2004, suffered a stroke in 2010, and was troubled by heart problems.

His ex-wife Gale called him “a great character” and compared him to Marmite, saying “but you either like him or hate him.”

When Tony, unabashed critic of his son-in-law, convinced his daughter to ask Tony Blair “What will you do for pensioners like my daddy?” the Prime Minister allegedly responded “For your father, euthanasia. For the rest, we’ll do the best we can.”

Resolute and unafraid to speak his mind, Tony leaves behind his memoirs.

These include Stroll On; A Labour of Love and What’s Left?, which included the insight he gained from being part of the country’s New Labour first political family.

His daughter Lauren paid tribute to her father, describing his “love for Shakespeare and equal rights” an “inspiration to us all”, and calling him the man “who taught me to read and to write and to above all: to fight for what I believe in.”

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C A M PA I G N S

PRESIDENTIAL OPINIONS

HELP SAVE HARKERS STUDIO

Equity says: “Cast It Here!”

Union calls on producers, government and employers to recognise the local talent from where a production is made 2018 WILL SEE the launch of Equity’s “Cast It Here!” campaign, which seeks to create local opportunities for members.

The union will urge producers to audition within the region or country there productions are being made, and remind casting directors of the breadth of member talent across the UK. Equity will also be working in Scotland to influence the Scottish Government’s development of their National Culture Strategy, and has already engaged with the BBC over plans to launch a new television channel for this country.

In January, a union delegation (pictured), comprimsied of members and organisers met with Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Andy Street. They discussed the City of Culture 2021 being awarded to Coventry; Birmingham being awarded the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and

the Cultural Festival; the social media campaign to persuade Channel 4 to relocate to Birmingham; the re-location of BBC Three to Birmingham and the development of a studio complex on land near to the Birmingham International Airport.

“Cast It Here!” will be co-ordinated by the union’s communications team, alongside the national committees and staff in Equity’s Glasgow, Cardiff and Manchester offices.

Equity encourages its members to join the fight to save the century-old scene-painting institution Harkers Studio.

For 110 years Walworth’s Harkers Studio has served the theatrical industry, but the future of this historical institution is threatened as Southwark Council has granted planning permission to turn the Grade-II listed building into six flats and an office, as it has deemed that it is not “viable” for the building to continue to be used as a scene-painting workshop. Theatre professionals disagree with this verdict.

The campaign to protect the studio is being led by designer, scenic artist and prop maker Sadeysa Greenaway–Bailey, scenic artist and scene painting teacher Grit Eckert and actress and freelance conservation professional Louise Calf. It has already garnered support from Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dame Judi Dench, Simon Callow and Tom Stoppard, as well as arts institutions including The Tate, The Royal Court and Nimax Theatres. To find out more about the fight to save Harkers Studio, see: www.southwarkcan.org/harkers

Making experience count Following the succesful launch of the Manifesto for Casting, we will soon be promoting our solutions to the sexual harassment crisis. Through our experience and agreements we will make lasting change

Malcolm Sinclair Equity President

Equity, through members’ support, will always be here, continuing the work and providing the help been the most concentrated working group the union has organised, certainly during my time as an activist.

It has built on our Manifesto for Casting, which we launched last year, has consulted with a great many of the tremendous campaigns that suddenly grew out of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, has used the expertise of our Equality Committees, talked with and had great input from our fellow unions all over the world, and is, we hope, going to be a very big deal, and make a huge contribution in changing the zeitgeist so that the days of inappropriate and ugly behaviour become a thing of the past.

Some may say that the union seems to have got its a policy in place rather later than other campaigns have managed to do, and there is some truth in that. But we need make no apology: many campaigns established by small groups out of social media have few people to consult, and can state their

UNION MEN JOIN WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN

Equity staff and members including Bertie Carvel and Cyril Nri wearing their white ribbons

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equity SPRING 2018

EQUITY EMBRACED THE WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN, as members and staff donned white ribbons to show support for the cause in the run up to the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women.

The White Ribbon charity was founded in Canada in 1991, and recruits men and boys to join their mission to end male violence against women and girls.

Male and female union members also ran a White Ribbon stall at the South Bank Centre’s Being a Man festival. Here, they spoke to the public about the campaign’s important work.

To find out more about the charity, see: www.whiteribbon.org.uk

www.equity.org.uk

As I write we are finalising our detailed policy to sexual harassment, which so many of our members have had to face over the years during their working lives. As some of you will already know, we set up a working group under the leadership of VP Maureen Beattie and Christine Payne towards the end of last year; it has

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views, coordinated by very few. This is no bad thing, as it can produce terrific energy and thinking ‘outside the box’, both of which are vital. A trade union, on the other hand, is a large democratic organisation, with structures involving wide discussion, votes, and such like to give authority for the work to proceed.

A disadvantage in some senses perhaps, but the trade union is, through the support of members, always there, doing the continuing work, providing the long term support, while some of the social media campaigns can flourish and die as the participants move on. Equity has another advantage: our staff have been involved in this work for years; work which has necessarily been confidential and under the radar.

So we have our own expertise to call on. I really hope members will feel that our response, when they see it, is commensurate with the vast work we need to change the many ugly practices committed in the past As a postscript... at the recent FIA Conference in Zagreb in October, sexual harassment was at the top of the agenda as you would expect. All the unions reported on their plans.

Zoe Angus, who runs the Australian union, relayed that in addition to problems of sexual harassment, there had arisen a growing problem with the bullying of senior actors; this could involve a lack of patience with line learning, energy levels, deference to an all-powerful director, and so on. Is this a problem here too, I am wondering?

Could you let us know if you have witnessed anything that could be classed as such? I think we need to know, don’t you?

Onward.

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COMMENT

Have your say Peter Plouviez I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of [former General Secretary] Peter Plouviez. In the 1970s and 80s I had the honour to serve on the Equity Council working with Peter and others on numerous contractual agreements and policy development issues both here and through the International Federation of Actors. Peter’s supreme skills as a negotiator, leader and visionary trade

unionist were outstanding. More than anything, it was his sense of humour and relaxed good common sense that brought potentially divisionary and heated negotiations to a successful conclusion. Despite 100% unionisation in that period, those were difficult and challenging times in the face of an extremely hostile government and the development of new mechanical media, amongst other issues. The generosity of spirit

Have you got something to say about your experience of Equity or the contents of the magazine? We want to hear from you.

Please email or write to the editor via the contact information below: The Editor, Guild House. Upper St Martin’s Lane London WC2H 9EG Email: editorial@equity.org.uk Web: www.equity.org.uk @EquityUK

and personal dignity with which he lead the union were examples that served as a model for me through the rest of my life since. He was an outstanding servant of Equity and will be much missed.

John Locke

Help for migraine charity It’s not just a headache! At its worst migraine is tantamount to the entire

SOCIAL COMMENT Year of the dance Just seen in @EquityUK diary #MarthaGraham quote: “Dance is the hidden language of the soul” - yeah baby! Here’s to much more dancing: round the kitchen, in the street, on stage, wherever, in 2018 @KariAscoe

Thanks for gig advice Today FB reminded me of a gig 7yrs ago that I left abruptly as it was terrible & then needed @EquityUK to help get pay that was owed I’m talking to them about another job & its issues-glad I have them 4 support, if your not a member why not? #actor @nicbucky

One-sided flexibility Brilliant discussion with @EquityUK @UsdawUnion members & others, along with @TracyBrabin & @MariaMillerUK about how we better support working parents. More I hear about one-sided ‘flexibility’, madder I get! #betterjobs @nowak_paul

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equity SPRING 2018

Best way to get involved i often get asked how one can get more involved with @EquityUK. best place to start is your local branch. if you live in North or East London, stand for the @equitynelondon committee. it’not bureaucratic at all and you can choose what to focus on. message me to find out more. @giovannibienne

Comedian network The Equity Comedians Network is keen to try and help improve things on this (and other industry problems).

I would urge any comics who are @EquityUK members to contact them (in confidence) with allegations or concerns. @mattgreencomedy

That feeling Stagey tweet : That warm sense of reassurance that comes as you’re signing an actual @EquityUK contract.

That. @JosephMcGann

IN MEMORIAM

GET IN TOUCH

#KnowYourRights LOTS of producers out there trying to scare actors into not contacting @ EquityUK this is desperate and wrong, you have every right to get support from your union, in confidence, whenever you like #KnowYourRights #StrongerTogether @EquityLPNP

Panto parent Thank you @QueensTheatreH for making Panto possible with a toddler!

Even has his own dressing room <3 @PIPAinfo @EquityUK #theatreparents @Sarah_Lotus

Equality ace Remember that actors are covered by the Equality Act 2010 so a discriminatory refusal at an audition is covered and “artistic licence” isn’t a Defence @LDaviesEJ

www.equity.org.uk

body shutting down, it is unpleasant and very debilitating and is in the World Health Organisation’s top 20 most debilitating conditions. The National Migraine Centre is a charity that supports those with difficult to treat migraines and headaches. Our specialist doctors diagnose and treat hundreds of people, often at the end of their tether, recently one patient when asked how many NHS clinical appointments she had attended for her migraines responded, ‘easily seventy’. 1 in 7 of the population suffer from migraines; around 6000 Equity members probably suffer, women more than men. Sadly it is almost inevitable that many talented artists fall by the wayside because of the condition. And a great many people are loath to admit they suffer because they fear the consequences from a job perspective. Few people have heard of us and we feel that additional support, particularly from high profile Equity members, would increase our reach tremendously. We are keen to find people who will act as patrons and are prepared to stand up on behalf of those suffering from migraine. If you are interested in this role, please contact David Bloomfield, CEO of the National Migraine Centre, at david. bloomfield@nationalmigrainecentre. org.uk David Bloomfield

Guy Standeven I’m researching the life and career of Guy Standeven. He was born in Scarborough in 1928 and died in Hammersmith in 1998. For the last twenty years of his life he lived in Hampton Wick. In his 50-year career he was probably in excess of 1000

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different productions in everything from TV and Film to theatre and radio. Despite doing a lot of extra work, he was a professional actor and indeed he had speaking, credited parts in many productions over the years. I’m struggling to find out any details about the ‘man’ himself. Any information or help would be greatly appreciated from anyone who knew or worked with him. Contact me at marcusheslop@mail.com Marcus Heslop

Robert Nield The Merseyside Variety Branch wishes to pay tribute to our loyal friend, Robert Nield who passed away last year aged 91. Born John Robert Nield in April 1926 in Merseyside, he was the youngest of seven and never married. At a young age, Robert got the ‘acting bug’. During his long and active life, he appeared on film, television, radio and theatre. Robert was a very dedicated life member of Equity.

A long standing member of our branch including numerous years serving on the committee. At various events including branch social evenings, Robert would perform monologues from the works of Dickens and Shakespeare, at which he was always word perfect. Robert was a gentleman and a gentle man.

Thanks to his close friend, Ronnie Povey, Robert was still able to attend the branch meetings up until early this year, when it appeared obvious that his health was failing. He was a credit to our branch and to Equity itself. In our thoughts. In our hearts.

Goodnight John Robert. Take a bow.

The Merseyside Variety Branch

With regret it is recorded that since the publication of the last edition of Equity magazine we have learned of the deaths of the following members: Avril A, Norman Adams, Freda Barratt, Keith Barron, Terence Beesley, Rodney Bewes, Graham Binmore, Roger Bizley, Barbara Bolton, Boyd, Beth Boyd, Bobby Bragg, John Brigham, Louis Browne, Rod Burnett, Trevor Byfield, Bill Cashmore, David Cassidy, Nicolas Chagrin, Michael Chattin, Keith Chegwin, Tony Chestnut, Michael Coghlan, Ronne Coyles, Eunice Crowther, Alfie Curtis, Adam Darius, Danielle Darrieux, John David, George Davies, John Dean, Fats Domino, Karin Dor, Roy Dotrice, Andrew Downs, Raymund Dring, Suzan Farmer, Joy Francois, Scott Fredericks, Anne Godley, Iola Gregory, Robert Guillaume, Johnny Hallyday, John Harding (1), Pamela Hewes, John Hillerman, Frank Holder, Alex Hood, Sean Hughes, Robert Hutchison, Inigo Jackson, Derry Jones, Shashi Kapoor, Doreen Keogh, Rosemary Leach, Suzanne Leigh, Bunty Lyne, Trevor Martin, Bryan Matheson, Carol Neblett, Sandy Neilson, Michael O’Hagan, Sheila O’Neill, Jean Peet, Michael Povey, Jimmy Reddington, Christopher Robert, John Rogan, Lorraine Rowan, Paddy Russell, Eric Sampson, Stephanie Scott, Sheri Shepstone, Suzanne Skey, Geraldine Stephenson, Anthony Stott, C C Taynton, Colin Thomas, Joy Tinniswood, David Vaughan, Palma Webber, David WheldonWilliams, Pamela Wickington, Jeremy Wilkin In some cases it may be possible that another member may have used the same or a similar name subsequent to the passing of the above members

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YOUR EQUITY

SPECIAL

OFFER

Membership offers

MEET THE EQUITY TEAM

Equity membership entitles you to a wide variety of discounts, from photos to the Phoenix club; see below for a selection.

Go online for a full list: www.equity.org.uk/discounts Alexander Technique

Ping pong

Individual lessons at Gilbert Street, near Bond St, London. 30% discount to members.

Thirty years of teaching performers; supporting improved poise and confidence, preventing backache and vocal strain.

For info phone Kate Kelly 0845 3479389 www.alexandertec.net

Ping Pong is offering Equity members eating at their dim sum restaurants 15% off their total bill. www.pingpongdimsum.com

Cinema tickets Discounted tickets when showing Equity card: Queens FilmTheatre Belfast, Pictureville Bradford, Watershed Bristol, Cinema 3 Canterbury, Chichester Cinema at New Park, Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre Dumfries, Edinburgh Filmhouse, Hull Screen, Adam Smith Theatre Kirkcaldy, Showroom Sheffield, NFT.

Pineapple dance studios Equity members get £75 off annual membership to Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Garden, London (usually costs £200). Additional benefits of membership include 25% off all full-price clothing at the Pineapple store opposite the studio in Covent Garden. Members can visit the studios at any time for classes or to meet friends and colleagues. Two photographs are required. Claim in person with your Equity card at Pineapple Dance Studios, 7 Langley Street, London WC2H 9JA. Tel 020 7836 4004. www.pineapple.uk.com

Hair removal Pulsar-permanent hair removal and skin treatments. Pigmentation, spots, photorejuvenation and more. IPL-intense pulsed light therapy. More advanced than laser: never shave again. For men and women – all skin and hair types. 10-20% discount for Equity members. Minimum fee applies to house visits. Contact Dr Succar on 020 8848 8288 or www.natura.org.uk

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equity SPRING 2018

Photography HCK Photography is offering Equity members headshots/publicity shots for £95, a saving of £155. For more information contact Kit at: 020 7112 8499. www.hckphotography.co.uk/equityoffer Scotland-based photographer Aly Wight is offering a 10% discount off headshots and location shots to members, see www.alywight.com

Phoenix artist club Equity members save 50% on annual membership at this award-winning, private members’ club and licensed bar for professionals in the entertainment industry and their guests, open Mon-Sat 10am2.30am (last entry 1am). Dinner served in the Brasserie until 9.30pm. Sunday open 12 noon-1.30am. “London’s best kept secret” (The Independent). Annual membership is £200 reduced to £100 for paid-up Equity members. Phone the club during the day to join. Located beneath the Phoenix Theatre, 1 Phoenix Street, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 8BU. Tel 020 7836 1077 www.phoenixartistclub.com

Rex restaurants Chris Corbin and Jeremy King are keen supporters of the theatre and they have arranged for all members to receive 10% off any bill at their London restaurants. These are: The Wolseley, The Delaunay, The Counter at The Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel and Colbert.

See the Rex Restaurant website: www.rexra. com. for details of the different eateries. The offer is for an Equity member and up to five guests (i.e. six people in total). You need to show a valid Equity card as proof when you arrive at the restaurant.

Rivals Bar, Cafe and Restaurant

Equity members can get 20% off at the Rivals Bar, Cafe and Restaurant and the Royal Manchester Exchange. Only applicable for tables of four or less when dining. www.royalexchange.co.uk/the-rivalsbar-restaurant

Stage newspaper Equity members can have 10% off any subscription to The Stage. This is available on print, digital and web-only editions. Go to the website: subscriptions.thestage.co.uk and select the version you require.

Remember to include the code EQUI in the Promotional Code box.

Ian Manborde JOB TITLE: Equalities and diversity organiser STARTED AT EQUITY: 2017 OUTSIDE OF WORK: Family holidays, the occasional whisky and jazz – particularly Miles Davis CONTACT: imanborde@equity.org.uk

Travel lodge Travelodge offer 5% discount on bookings through their Business Account Service. To register set up an account, go to www.travelodge.co.uk Click on the Login/ Sign up button on the top right of the menu.

Choose Business and then follow the Sign Up steps quoting Equity as the Business name.

Q What were you doing before working for Equity?

I worked for a variety of different unions, from the Bakers’ Union to the Professional Footballers’ Association. Just before working for Equity I ran a Master’s degree for trade union activists and officials at Ruskin College in Oxford.

The MA was about whether trade unions can survive given rapid change in the political economy — in terms of increasing degrees of precarious work, and the changing nature of the workforce.

It posed questions such as: can trade unions overcome those challenges at a local and global level (for example, around use of global supply chains of production) and reformulate themselves?

Q Can you describe your current role?

The principle role is to support the work of Equity’s four Equalities Committees: to ensure that they have developed an action plan for the next two years, and help them in achieving those aims. On top of that, we’ve got to make sure that the Equalities Committees collaborate and function fully as advisory committees. A very good example of each committee focusing on something of importance to them is current work around casting venues. The

Deaf and Disabled Members Committee are concerned about accessibility; the Women’s Committee are concerned about safety. So, one of the common ideas is to create a database of venues that Equity approves of and that meet the standards of the Manifesto for Casting.

I also advise colleagues on equalities issues when they are renegotiating agreements with bodies such as PACT and SOLT, work with organisers on individual equalities cases that they have, and equalities cases come directly to me. At the moment a key focus is the increased sexual harassment cases that are coming through to the union. My role is to be there at the end of a phone or an email, plus people walk in with a concern about an equalities matter. It makes the job very dynamic because of its breadth and the need to be very responsive to members.

Q Why did you want to join Equity?

Equity is where many unions in the UK would want to be right now: organising young workers and organising precarious workers. Trade unions are grappling with the ‘gig’ economy, which is on the increase in the UK and worldwide. Equity represents a great example for how trade unions can work with this economic model.

Q-park Equity and Q-Park have teamed up to provide Equity members with discounted parking in London and other major cities.The rates represent a 15% discount across the day with a special flat rate of £6.00 for London parking from 6pm to 2am. To take advantage of the Equity discount you need to pre-book your parking. Follow this link to do this: www.equity.org.uk/parking

Please note: Equity does not endorse the third-party services provided in these membership offers. They are made available on the request of the vendors.

www.equity.org.uk

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BRANCH FOCUS

SCOTLAND

Oxfordshire General

Gtr Manchester & Region

Date of next meeting: TBC Contact: Linda Rifkind, l.rifkind@btinternet.com

Date of next meeting: 15 Mar, 7.30pm.

Friends Meeting House, 42 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW Contact: equityoxfordshire@gmail.com

Next meeting: TBC. Contact: David Cockayne, 07951 093745, davidcockayne@hotmail.com

NORTH EAST

Liverpool & District General

Scottish Variety East of Scotland General

Date of next meeting: AGM 8 Feb, 7pm.

Festival Theatre, Founders Room, 13 - 29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9FT Contact: Catriona Joss, eastofscotlandequity@gmail.com

WALES

South Wales Variety

North East Variety

Next meeting: Second Sunday of the month, 8pm. The Canary Club, Thorpe Road, Norwich Contact: Peachy Mead, peachymead@f2s.com

Date of meeting: Last Tuesday of the Month (excl. Dec), 7pm. The Alberta Social Club, Railway Street, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear Contact: Steve McGuire, 0120 723 8258, sirstephen2001us@yahoo.co.uk

Date of next meeting: AGM 10 Feb, 11am.

Trinity Methodist Church, Chelmsford CM1 2XB Contact: Danny Worthington, 07743 034445, essexequitysec@gmail.com

N.IRELAND

Date of next meeting: Every third Monday, 7.30pm. George IV Pub, Birkenshaw BD11 2AH Contact: Valerie Jean Mann, val@mrstipsy. co.uk, 0113 285 3848

Date of next meeting: Second Saturday of the month, 10.30am. Friends Meeting House, Ship St, Brighton Contact: Chris Webb, 07973 465154

Date of next meeting: TBC Contact: Vicky Blades, equitynibranch@gmail.com

Next meeting: TBC Contact: chuffinells@hotmail.com

Date of next meeting: 3 Mar 11am. The Alexander Centre, 15-17 Preston Street Faversham ME13 8NY Contact: Marie Kelly, 07703 207878, kellygreenproductions@hotmail.co.uk

Cardiff & S. Wales General

FOCUS ON

LONDON REGION The capital is home to many creatives, and over a third of Equity’s members live in London alone. The General and Variety branches that serve the union’s artistes are as lively as their home city THE LONDON BRANCHES recently came together to launch their Local Manifesto Pledges campaign. In the run up to local elections, this initiative aims to persuade the main political parties in all of the capital’s boroughs to sign up to five policies that will benefit the city’s live entertainment industry.

The individual branches have also been busy organising events. In November, the West & South West London Branch hosted a ‘Make Your

Way’ Panel to celebrate Trade Union Congress’s Young Workers’ Month, and they are planning a Welcome Event later this year for industry professinals to meet the branch’s Rehearsed Readings team, led by Cliff Chapman.

The North & East Branch will be offering members the chance to get involved with their monthly Script Readers events and the Thames Variety Branch upcoming speakers include puppeteer Reverend Simon Buckley.

Date of next meeting: Second Monday of the month, 7pm. The Blue Posts, 81 Newman Street W1T 3ET Contact: Nick Putz, 020 8808 3802, nickputz@gmail.com

North & East London General Next meeting: 10 March, 10:30am. The Park Theatre, Finsbury Park Contact: Karen Singer, nel.equity@gmail.com

North West London General Date of next meeting: First Sat of the month, 10.30 am. Central School of Speech and Drama, Eton Avenue NW3 Contact: Elise Harris, elise@eliseharris.com

South & SE London General Next meeting: 5 Mar, 7pm. Upstairs at the Young Vic. Contact: Paul Valentine, equitysselondon@gmail.com

equity SPRING 2018

Northern Ireland Branch

MIDLANDS

Birmingham Variety Date of next meeting: 28 Feb, 7.30pm. The Austin Sports and Social Club, 30 Tessall Lane, Longbridge, Birmingham B31 2SF Contact: Alec Powell, 07831 115448

East Midlands Variety

Date of next meeting: First Tuesday of the month (excl August), 8pm. The Headstocks NG6 8SF Contact: Clive Bumstead, 07815 951798, clivebumstead@yahoo.com

Central England General

West & SW London General Next meeting: 14 Feb, 7.00pm.

Seven Dials Club, 42 Earlham St, Covent Garden WC2H 9LA.Contact: Larner, secretary. equity.wswlon@gmail.com

Date of next meeting: 19 Feb. Location TBC. Contact: Sheila Payne, sheila.rodgers@btinternet.com

Coventry & Leicester Variety

Home Counties West General

Date of next meeting: TBC, usually 7:30pm at South Hill Park Arts Centre RG12 7PA Contact: branch_sec_hcw@btinternet.com

and influence the direction of the union. Find your local branch at www.equity.org.uk/branches

40

Date of next meeting: Third Thursday of month (excl. Aug), 7pm. The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff CF24 4YE Contact: Louisa, stbbrown_morgan@hotmail.co.uk

Date of next meeting: 12 Feb, 7.30pm. The Wellington Real Ale House, Birmingham.

Contact: David Edgar, davidedgar@gmx.co.uk

EQUITY BRANCHES are your local meeting place to discuss the industry, share insights

www.equity.org.uk

SOUTH EAST

Date of meeting: 5 March, 2pm. Location TBC. Contact: Ben Addis, 07775 726868, equity. leeds@gmail.com

Next Meeting: TBC Contact: wales@equity.org.uk

The West & South West General London Branch at their AGM, top left, and Simon Russel Beale talks to the branch at their December meeting, above

Next meeting: 7 March, 6.30pm.

Liverpool Everyman Contact: Edwina Lea, equityliverpool@gmail.com

East Anglia Variety

North Wales General

Thames Variety

Date of next meeting: 5 Mar, 7.30pm.

Henry Vernone Court, Pier Street, Hull HU1 1UZ Contact: Christie Clifford, equityvbn4@msn.com

Date of next meeting: TBC. The Archibald Knox, Onchan Contact: colyn@colyn.co.uk

Leeds & Region General

Date of next meeting: First Tuesday of month (excl. August), 7.30pm. Tyn-y-Twr Tavern, Baglan SA12 8AU Contact: Shelli Dawn, 01685 812779

LONDON

Humberside Variety

Isle of Man General

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N&W Yorkshire Variety

South Yorkshire Variety

North Lancs & Cumbria General Next meeting: 20 Mar, 7pm. The Reading Room, The Storey, Meeting House Lane Lancaster LA1 1TH. Contact: Chris Harlow, chris_upfront@yahoo.co.uk

Essex General

Brighton & Sussex General

Kent General

SOUTH WEST

NE of England General

West of England Variety

Date of next meeting: TBC Contact: Steve McGuire, sirstephen2001us@yahoo.co.uk

Date of meeting: Second Monday of every month (excl. bank holidays, June, July, Aug and Dec), 7.45pm. Inn on the Green, 2 Filton Road, Horfield, Bristol BS7 0PA Contact: Mary Lane, 07900 848003 cllrmlane@equity.org.uk

NORTH WEST

Blackpool Variety Date of next meeting: First Tuesday of the month, 1pm. Blackpool Cricket Club, Stanley Park FY3 9EQ Contact: Denis Askham, denisaskham@yahoo.com

Manchester & District Variety Date of next meeting: AGM 20 Feb, 7.30pm.

Monroe’s Hotel, Manchester M1 2PF Contact: Yvonne Joseph, vonniegerry@btinternet.com

Devon & Cornwall General

Next meeting: AGM, 11 Feb 2pm. Ashtorre Rock Community Centre, Saltash PL12 4GT Contact: Jeremy Friday, equitydevonandcornwall@gmail.com

Bristol & West General

Merseyside Variety

Date of next meeting: Check branch website for meeting dates and venues. Contact: equity.bristolwestgen@googlemail.com

Date of next meeting: Second Monday of each month, 7pm. Adelphi Hotel, Ranelagh St, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 5UL Contact: Chris Dale (Chair), 07703 301621

Next meeting: 15 Feb, 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

Wessex FM Studios, Dorchester.

Contact: chris-gallarus@hotmail.co.uk

Dorset General

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CONTACT EQUITY

Subscription Enquiries 020 7670 0207 HARASSMENT & BULLYING REPORTING LINE 020 7670 0268 ADVICE AND RIGHTS HELPLINE 020 7670 0223 EQUITY DISTRIBUTION TEAM distributions@equity.org.uk

Head Office:

Guild house, Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EG Tel: 020 7379 6000 Email: info@equity.org.uk Web: www.equity.org.uk

EQUITY OFFICERS: Malcolm Sinclair: President Ian Barritt: Vice President Maureen Beattie: Vice President Bryn Evans: Honorary Treasurer Trustees: Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Penelope Wilton, Johnny Worthy, Roy Hudd, Timothy West Equity Staff Telephone: To call a member of Equity’s head office dial 020 7379 6000 and at the prompt press the asterix and dial the three figure extension in brackets after the relevant name below.

South East office Jamie Briers South East Organiser Equity, Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9EG TEL: 020 7670 0229 EMAIL: southeastengland@equity.org.uk

Email: To email a member of Equity’s head office type the initial and surname in lower case with no spaces followed by @equity.org.uk

Scotland and Northern Ireland office Lorne Boswell Scotland and Northern Ireland Adam Adnyana Organisers Equity, 114 Union Street, Glasgow G1 3QQ TEL: 0141 248 2472 EMAIL: scotland@equity.org.uk northernireland@equity.org.uk

General Secretary’s Dept Christine Payne General Secretary (155) Louise McMullan Department head, Policy Development Officer

& Assistant to General Secretary (160) Duncan Smith Head of Finance (130) Ian Manborde Equalities & Diversity Organiser (173) Stephen Spence

Deputy for the General Secretary, Industrial and Organising (133)

Live Performance Hilary Hadley Mike Day Virginia Wilde Paul Fleming Emmanuel de Lange

Department head, Opera & Dance Organiser (136) Variety Organiser (135) West End Organiser (139) Industrial Organiser, Theatre (138) Independent theatre/Low Pay No Pay Organiser (137)

Recorded Media John Barclay Department head & PACT TV Organiser (146) Claire Hood TV Organiser (152) Laura Messenger Films & Contract Enforcement Organiser (149) Cathy Sweet BBC & Radio Organiser (153) Tim Gale TV Commercials Organiser (145) Communications & Members Support Matt Hood Assistant General Secretary (168) Phil Pemberton Head of Communications, Department head (111) Louise Grainger Marketing and Training Officer (114) Alan Lean Tax and Welfare Rights Officer (157) Emma Cotton Tax & Welfare Rights Organiser (151) Martin Kenny Legal Officer (125)

North West 0ffice: Max Beckmann North West Organiser Express Networks, 1 George Leigh Street, Manchester M4 5DL TEL: 0161 244 5995 EMAIL: mbeckmann@equity.org.uk North East office: Express Networks, 1 George Leigh Street, Manchester M4 5DL TEL: 0161 244 5995 EMAIL: northeastengland@equity.org.uk

We can provide grants for: • Childcare • SEN Assessment & Therapy

Wales and South West office Simon Curtis Wales & South West Organiser Equity, Transport House, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9SD TEL: 029 2039 7971 EMAIL: wales@equity.org.uk southwestengland@equity.org.uk Midlands office: Ian Bayes Midlands Organiser Equity, Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9EG TEL: 020 7670 0232 EMAIL: midlands@equity.org.uk Equity Magazine Editorial Phil Pemberton TEL: 020 7670 0211 EMAIL: ppemberton@equity.org.uk

Supporting the children of actors from birth to graduation Our children are our future and their well-being is of the greatest concern to us.

Actors pursuing their chosen profession face many difficulties but, when they are parents, those problems can multiply...

Juliet Stevenson, ACT Ambassador

Equity Magazine Printing Jeremy Littlestone at TUInk TEL: 07810 825970 EMAIL: jeremy@tuink.co.uk

Some parents seek one-off help. Some families are in touch with ACT for many years.

• Uniform & Kit • School Trips • Clubs & Activities • Times of Crisis • Sixth Form • Apprenticeship • University Please do get in touch actorschildren.org robert@actorschildren.org 020 7636 7868

Publication of an advertisement does not imply any form of recommendation. Organisations offering financial services or insurance are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and problems with such services should be taken up with the appropriate body. Equity cannot accept any liability for the quality of goods or services offered in advertisements.

ACT Equity Half Ad 180x116.indd 1

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04/12/2017 11:36

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break a leg?

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Not only will you enjoy efficient and friendly service, but unlike other solicitors who may keep up to 40% of your compensation, with us you will get every penny for yourself.

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MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE • CONVEYANCING • WILLS AND PROBATE • FAMILY MATTERS www.morrishsolicitors.com

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