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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/aug/13/equity-president-warns-working-class-struggle-to-get-into-acting
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| Equity president warns working class struggle to get into acting | Equity president warns working class struggle to get into acting |
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| Working class youngsters who dream of becoming actors or performers are increasingly being kept out of the profession because of the cost and failures in the education system, the new president of Equity has warned. | Working class youngsters who dream of becoming actors or performers are increasingly being kept out of the profession because of the cost and failures in the education system, the new president of Equity has warned. |
| Maureen Beattie became the union’s president last month after being elected unopposed. In her first interview she has talked of the challenges ahead, including tackling harassment and bullying, pay, the union’s profile and the particular struggle for youngsters from less well-off backgrounds. | Maureen Beattie became the union’s president last month after being elected unopposed. In her first interview she has talked of the challenges ahead, including tackling harassment and bullying, pay, the union’s profile and the particular struggle for youngsters from less well-off backgrounds. |
| “We have got a big problem in our business of it reverting to what it was like before I went to drama school,” she told the Guardian. | “We have got a big problem in our business of it reverting to what it was like before I went to drama school,” she told the Guardian. |
| “In the 60s I looked at the people graduating from the great drama schools, coming out of Rada, they all spoke with cut glass accents, mummy and daddy had money to put them through it and you thought that’s great, how marvellous and how lucky are you … we are increasingly finding that it is more and more difficult for people from working class backgrounds to get into the business. | “In the 60s I looked at the people graduating from the great drama schools, coming out of Rada, they all spoke with cut glass accents, mummy and daddy had money to put them through it and you thought that’s great, how marvellous and how lucky are you … we are increasingly finding that it is more and more difficult for people from working class backgrounds to get into the business. |
| “The mountain they have got to climb, to put themselves through, the bursaries are less and less and the grants have just disappeared. People are being cut off in the bud before they even have a bash at it.” | “The mountain they have got to climb, to put themselves through, the bursaries are less and less and the grants have just disappeared. People are being cut off in the bud before they even have a bash at it.” |
| Beattie, the daughter of the legendary Scottish comedian, entertainer and actor Johnny Beattie, trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow in the early 1970s and recalled: “My mum and dad had a bob or two but I got practically all of my fees paid.” | Beattie, the daughter of the legendary Scottish comedian, entertainer and actor Johnny Beattie, trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow in the early 1970s and recalled: “My mum and dad had a bob or two but I got practically all of my fees paid.” |
| The situation today is worse, she said, with cuts to drama teaching in schools and the government’s decision to not have a compulsory arts subject in the new English baccalaureate. | The situation today is worse, she said, with cuts to drama teaching in schools and the government’s decision to not have a compulsory arts subject in the new English baccalaureate. |
| “It is absolute madness; what kind of signal does that send out? It is not just about people not coming directly in to our business … there are doctors and CEOs of major businesses who say things like ‘I was a shy, retiring child, went in to a drama class, did improvisation and that brought me out of my shell. It is one of the things that has put me where I am’.” | “It is absolute madness; what kind of signal does that send out? It is not just about people not coming directly in to our business … there are doctors and CEOs of major businesses who say things like ‘I was a shy, retiring child, went in to a drama class, did improvisation and that brought me out of my shell. It is one of the things that has put me where I am’.” |
| There used to be money in the system for school visits to the theatre, said Beattie. “Now what’s happening, increasingly and in most places, teachers are now having to delve in to their own pockets if they are passionate enough about getting out to see these things.” | There used to be money in the system for school visits to the theatre, said Beattie. “Now what’s happening, increasingly and in most places, teachers are now having to delve in to their own pockets if they are passionate enough about getting out to see these things.” |
| As vice-president, Beattie led the union’s response to the sexual harassment scandal that resulted in its Agenda for Change report and Safe Space measures. They include a helpline, posters and a statement about being able to work in a space free of fear, bullying and harassment of any kind being read out at the start of rehearsals. | As vice-president, Beattie led the union’s response to the sexual harassment scandal that resulted in its Agenda for Change report and Safe Space measures. They include a helpline, posters and a statement about being able to work in a space free of fear, bullying and harassment of any kind being read out at the start of rehearsals. |
| The National Theatre has become the latest to adopt the Safe Spaces measures with its artistic director Rufus Norris saying he hoped “we help make this become standard practice. It’s about what is the new normal.” | The National Theatre has become the latest to adopt the Safe Spaces measures with its artistic director Rufus Norris saying he hoped “we help make this become standard practice. It’s about what is the new normal.” |
| Beattie recently appeared alongside Billie Piper on Broadway in the Young Vic’s production of Yerma, and helped launch the campaign at a rehearsal of the show. | Beattie recently appeared alongside Billie Piper on Broadway in the Young Vic’s production of Yerma, and helped launch the campaign at a rehearsal of the show. |
| She said the impact of the statement being read was remarkable. “I have to say, it is absolutely extraordinary. The power of the word … absolutely incredible. | She said the impact of the statement being read was remarkable. “I have to say, it is absolutely extraordinary. The power of the word … absolutely incredible. |
| “You can have lots of posters but what you say at the beginning … you can feel the whole atmosphere change. We want to get it in to the DNA of our business. | “You can have lots of posters but what you say at the beginning … you can feel the whole atmosphere change. We want to get it in to the DNA of our business. |
| “The thing is, these people who behave like that have not gone away, they are still there, lurking furtively as my father would say, and they are waiting for their opportunities.” | “The thing is, these people who behave like that have not gone away, they are still there, lurking furtively as my father would say, and they are waiting for their opportunities.” |
| Beattie, a familiar face who has appeared in Casualty and Doctor Who, is the 18th president of the union, founded in 1930, but only the second female one. Apart from Beatrix Lehmann after the war, the presidents had always been men including actors Nigel Davenport, John Barron, Harry Landis and Malcolm Sinclair. | Beattie, a familiar face who has appeared in Casualty and Doctor Who, is the 18th president of the union, founded in 1930, but only the second female one. Apart from Beatrix Lehmann after the war, the presidents had always been men including actors Nigel Davenport, John Barron, Harry Landis and Malcolm Sinclair. |
| The battle against low pay and non-disclosure clauses are a key challenge. Beattie said she had to sign her first one, around not discussing her pay, for the first time quite recently. | The battle against low pay and non-disclosure clauses are a key challenge. Beattie said she had to sign her first one, around not discussing her pay, for the first time quite recently. |
| Why does British theatre leave working-class actors waiting in the wings? | Why does British theatre leave working-class actors waiting in the wings? |
| “All of these things are to do with keeping us in our place. I’m not suggesting that all the managements that we work with are big bad wolves who are sitting there plotting how to get at us but … with the rise of the multinational conglomerate they have to find ways they can make money for their shareholders and they have lighted upon us. There’s a workforce that’s hungry, which is beleaguered, which is a school of people asking: ‘Am I okay, do you like me?’ and constantly being told ‘No. Next’. It is marvellous, you can offer them thruppence a week and they are just so keen to work. | “All of these things are to do with keeping us in our place. I’m not suggesting that all the managements that we work with are big bad wolves who are sitting there plotting how to get at us but … with the rise of the multinational conglomerate they have to find ways they can make money for their shareholders and they have lighted upon us. There’s a workforce that’s hungry, which is beleaguered, which is a school of people asking: ‘Am I okay, do you like me?’ and constantly being told ‘No. Next’. It is marvellous, you can offer them thruppence a week and they are just so keen to work. |
| The union, with a record 44,200 members – not just actors, Beattie said, but puppeteers, street, circus and burlesque performers – needs to start becoming more visible, more scary. | The union, with a record 44,200 members – not just actors, Beattie said, but puppeteers, street, circus and burlesque performers – needs to start becoming more visible, more scary. |
| “I think we’ve been very backwards in coming forward … we are very, very bad in publicising what we do. We need to get out there and bang our own drum. | “I think we’ve been very backwards in coming forward … we are very, very bad in publicising what we do. We need to get out there and bang our own drum. |
| “I want people to be frightened of us, to be a bit scared of Equity. I think some people are a little bit nervous, but they need to be really scared and know that when we come after you, we really are coming after you if you do wrong to our members.” | “I want people to be frightened of us, to be a bit scared of Equity. I think some people are a little bit nervous, but they need to be really scared and know that when we come after you, we really are coming after you if you do wrong to our members.” |
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