Following a series of exchanges of resources and knowledge among professional associations representing set, costume and lighting designers, representatives from the Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD) and the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) have formed a working group with representatives from Equity and BECTU to discuss the key issues affecting designers.
This will be the first time that all of these organisations have come together to evaluate and unpack the complex nature of current working terms and conditions for designers. In considering changes that need to be implemented for the current workforce, the aim is to work towards fair, clear and robust models of engagement. This will make a significant contribution to developing a more diverse profession, something that UK Theatre and SOLT identified as a key priority within the Theatre Workforce Review they commissioned and published last year.
As clear and transparent career paths and increasing diversity of entry into the cultural sector are also key priorities for Arts Council England (ACE), the Creative Industries Federation and some of our largest producing houses, it is important to seize the opportunity that this aligning of objectives provides.
We will be situating these concerns about fees and contracts within the wider context of fear, bullying and harassment that we are now beginning to evidence has been endemic across the whole of our industry for some time.
If a profession is perceived as one in which its members are afraid to speak out for fear of not being engaged to work again, then acting together now to do something about that is vital, both for those struggling to sustain a career as a designer now at every level of the profession, and for the diverse and resilient workforce of the future that we aspire to enable.
Ian Saunders, executive director of the ALD, commented, “For a number of years, the ALD and its members have been concerned that the Equity minimum fees for lighting designers do not reflect the modern day role of the lighting designer in the UK theatre production process. The current agreements are still predicated on the old repertory system of the chief electrician lighting a show in addition to their other duties, rather than the 21st century practice of a freelance lighting designer being much more involved in the creative process of the show balancing the artistic and technology requirements of shows that are undoubtedly more complex in every manner. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further in order to create a modern agreement that will allow established and emerging lighting designers, as well as showing those looking to enter the industry, that is possible to develop and maintain sustainable careers as a theatre lighting designer.”