Is it fair to ask people to work for free? 

Convener(s):    Kelly Lovelady 

Participants:      Rebecca Manson Jones, Conor Short. Tom Mansfield, Sarah Corbett, Emma Adams, Gabrielle Beasley, Louie Whitemore, Alex Brown, Deborah Paige, Jennifer Tan, Antonio Ferrara

 

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

• Unpaid work implicitly relative to career stage and nature of ensemble
• Not so much a decision as a realism and an urgent practicality
• Semantic problem exists in defining amateurs and professionals, neither finances nor quality are necessarily the differentiating factor

Industry Standards

• How must the style of direction / leadership / company structure adapt?
• Increased sharing of trust and confidence may require more directorial compromise in collaborations
• New model of intellectual property comes into play in devising and directing
• Us-and-them mentality between performers and directors requires new consideration
• Work without pay needs to be universal throughout the organizational structure

• How do we retain the same work ethos and level of commitment, can we secure contractual agreements?
• Clarify why the project’s important regardless of money
• Insist that no compromise will be made on quality
• Refer to Equity Fringe Agreement and/or various Volunteer Agreements 

• The Fringe model is broken and needs restructuring
• Small companies are not trying to emulate the West End
• Fringe theatre succeeds according to different criteria
• Organizations which began as and continue to subscribe to the spirit of student collectives can behave professionally; applying organizational structure, mission statement, and equity code and expectations within an autonomous financial setting

• Can the performing arts be considered according to the practice and principles of volunteering? Is performance a service?

Work for free, but not for nothing

• Most artists have made a life choice and are not motivated by money so elimination of this factor doesn’t have to be automatically negative 

• Exchange incentives might include
• Exposure to media and audience
• Company affiliation
• Job title or specialized role
• Ethical internships
• Corporate or further training
• Shareholder infrastructure
• Access to career moves
• Interim work and artistic engagement
• Training in professional etiquette
• Peer mentorship
• Pooling of resources
• Long-term company development
• Beer and friendship

• Companies must offer complete transparency through open access to all financial data 

• Artists might be potentially reluctant to commit to unpaid work based on past experiences
• Underling treatment
• Attraction of insecure people
• Exploitation by the pilot
• Inter|viewing needs to be a decision-making process on equal footing