Freelance report

Factors of a freelance working - practitioners and contracts

Magnetic Diaries

On Friday 7^th October, a theatre company called “Reaction Theatre Makers” came into to college to perform their show called “The Magnetic Diaries”. The show was open to the college staff, students and the general public. This was a one woman show and she was present on stage throughout the whole show. I had never seen a one woman show before so I was very excited to see a new type of theatre. The show was about a woman suffering from depression that had traveled to London for treatment and is receiving letters from her husband. Throughout the play, we hear these letters from her husband spoken aloud. We also hear from the woman’s son and doctors. Overall I really enjoyed the show, however at first I did not understand it because the play was all written in poetry. However, as the play went on, more things happened and I started to understand what was going on.

Before the show started we had a questions and answers session with the actor, Vey and the director, Tiffany where we asked them questions about their experiences within the performing arts industry. Whilst talking to them we found out that there were many different factors of working in freelance careers. The first feature that you must have for a freelance worker is that you must be flexible in the work in which you look for. This means that it is very difficult to stick to one specific job role within the performing arts industry. As Tiffany mentioned during the interview, throughout her career she has worked in many different areas of the industry with many different people such as working with children with learning difficulties and directing several different performances. This shows us that as a freelance worker you must take the opportunities that are given to you or that you find yourself. As Tiffany mentioned in the session, there are many different platforms in which jobs can be advertising. Tiffany uses a website called Casting Call Pro which is a website that you are able to advertise jobs within the industry. Here is a link to the website: http://www.castingcallpro.com/uk

Tiffany is able to advertise jobs on the website and then receives applications from many actors. The only problem that Tiffany has is that when she advertises that she has a new job available, she will receive hundreds of applications for the one job. This then leads to the next feature of a freelance worker, that you have to be able to sell yourself well in an application. If you are unable to sell yourself then it will be impossible for you to be able to find work. Your application and profile must stand out from the rest so you are shortlisted and then possibly selected. This means that this is a key feature as it is essential that you have a good application because if you do not, you will not find work and will therefore not be successful.

Another feature that a freelance worker must have is that you must always be looking into the future for jobs and opportunities. Working in freelance in the performing arts industry means that you are unsure of when your next job may appear and it might take you a while to find a job. This means that you could be out of work for a significant amount of time which means you will not have any income. As we heard from Vey in the questions and answers session, to sustain her career she works with her husband building environmentally friendly houses. She works here 2 days a week which then helps her with her income. It especially helps her when she is a lean period (a period of time which she may not be working within the industry) and therefore is gaining no money because she is not found any work within theatre.

Another feature of a freelance worker within the performing arts industry is that you must be highly motivated. As a freelance actor, you may have to attend lots of auditions where you may not necessarily get selected for the job. This means that you have got to have the energy to go to many auditions at which you may only have a very small chance of getting the job. Also, you must be prepared for any sort of audition that you go to. This also links back to keeping your options open to other job roles within the performing arts industry and this shows that this is a major feature within the world of freelance careers.

Another factor of working within the performing arts industry as a freelance worker is that you must be passionate about what you want to do and set yourself achievable targets. Tiffany studied BA honours in drama and theatre arts at Goldsmiths University. Since then, she has always worked within this industry. She is very passionate about the work that she has done in the past and the work that she is doing today. On the other hand, Vey did not study any sort of drama course at university; instead she studied graphic design. She got into acting through an adult acting class at the courtyard theatre in Hereford. She got noticed by the teacher and her career started from there. This tells us that to be a successful actor you do not have to go to drama school. I would like to go to university but I would like to study a course which will hopefully get me into teaching. However, if I change my mind when I am older and want to go into acting, Vey has demonstrated to us that this is definitely achievable. 

Freelance musician

This morning we had a Q&A session with our performing arts teacher Cara Tivey who, before she starting working at the college, was a professional musician.

Did you go to university/ If so, what course did you study?

Cara went to drama school because the courses that she wanted to study were not available to her within universities. She studied at BSSTDA (Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Arts) and although she went down the drama route, she realised that this wasn’t the route for her. This is when she decided that she would be better suited within the music industry. To start off her career as a musician, she played with many different artists around Birmingham. Most of this work was unpaid because the aim of it was to get her name out there. She made it clear that this is a key aspect for a freelancer because you have to be prepared to carry out work even if you don’t get paid for it and hope that your name will then get heard within the industry.

What happened when you stopped freelance?

Towards the end of her career as a freelance musician, Cara was doing a lot of touring and although she enjoyed touring, she had 2 young children and a husband at home and most of the time when she was away, she had to organise supervision for the children. This became progressively harder so she made the decision to start and look for a job within the local area. She came across a job vacancy here at The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC).

What was the first ‘professional’ piece you performed?

After getting her name heard around Birmingham, Cara started to get paid for local gigs in social clubs. In these social clubs she played for a band. This then enabled her to start work with bigger bands for about a year which included touring to other countries.

The first big band that Cara played for was ‘The Fine Young Cannibals’ and this was her first experience of working within television. Cara happened to hear about this job of working with a band through being at the right place at the right time and this was that a band needed a keyboard player. She applied for the audition and was given the job. Cara said that freelancers have to be prepared for an audition and these can be varied. Talking from experience, Cara said that the people running the auditions can ask you to prepare a piece before the audition or memorise a piece within the audition. She made it clear that freelancers must be prepared for any time of audition if they want to get into a job.

Cara told us that she got quite nervous before auditions as she did not know what to expect. She was offered money by the band but didn’t know what to expect as this was her first professional paid job. She earned £100 a day and she was lucky as she didn’t have to negotiate with her band. However, another quality of a freelancer is that you have to be able to do this negotiate with your manager as they may not be paying you an adequate salary.

Something that Cara learnt from her freelance career was how to behave when working with the band. This is a key quality as freelancers need to have an understanding of where they stand with the people that they are working with. Cara learnt that freelancers shouldn’t talk about their personal life when work with a band. The same advice could be applied to an actor who is being employed by a production company. You have to know your place and find out what your boundaries are when working with the company.

Another quality of someone working within freelance is that you have to be flexible as things can change very quickly. For example you can start very early one day and then not start until the afternoon on other days. You also have to be prepared to learn material very quickly and finding what works for you. This is key as a freelancers’ job can change very quickly.

How did you generate work?

There will be periods of time where you will not be working and it’s important that you budget throughout your career. Cara made this clear as it can be tough during the periods of time when you are not working. She said that you need to be able to budget accordingly otherwise there may become a time where you are struggling for money.

Cara mostly looked within a magazine ‘Melody Maker’ which included jobs within the creative industry. The first job that she found that she was interested in was looking for a 3 piece. She decided to apply for the job with her soon to be husband and friend. They then carried out an audition for which they had to learn a song prior to the audition and had to play some of their own music. One strategy of generating work is when you see a job, apply for it, attend the audition and then hopefully get the job. However, Cara also informed us that you could get an agent but these are very hard to come by and there aren’t many pop music agents nowadays. Cara did have an agent for a while but ended up finding her own work.

When playing for a band ‘Everything but the girl’, she got noticed by another singer and gave them her phone number. She wasn’t expecting to hear from the singer but they did get in contact after a while.

When her contract ran out with the band ‘Everything but the girl’, she had 6 months of unemployment. However she did work with smaller bands during this time but nothing really big that was getting her name heard.

When she toured around the world, she had 2 children and got married. Then, once she had finished touring, she decided to take a year out. After her break Cara answered another advert in the magazine and got shortlisted.

Throughout her time Cara has worked a lot with TV but not so much in recording material. However she has toured serval times with different bands to places such as Japan, Europe and the UK.

Running your business - the financial ins and outs

Register with the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) - this is so they know that you are self-employed. Once a year you will have to submit your completed tax return and then the HMRC will calculate how much tax you owe for that year. As a self-employed person you are also responsible for paying your own Class 2 national insurance contribution. If you earn less than £12000 per year you probably won’t pay any tax. It is important that you keep all of your receipts and a record of your outgoings (payments that you make) as these will be offset against your tax.

Using social media to market yourself

There are lots of different social media platforms for performers and artists to use as networking tools. I have carried out research into the following:

LinkedIn – a professional social networking site which enables people to connect with companies with the aim of finding a job. Once your connection request has been accepted your profile becomes visible to your ‘friends’.

Facebook – this social media platform enables people to connect with other people as ‘friends’. It also allows people to like pages that have been set up by companies/businesses and this keeps them up to date with any information sent out by the page that they have liked.

Twitter – this allows people to ‘follow’ others. It is short and snappy as you are only allowed 140 characters per tweet. It also allows you to connect directly with big companies and artists and you know about these because they have a blue tick next to their name meaning ‘verified’.

SoundCloud – this is a website where by musicians and artists can publicise their music. People are able to follow each other and the more followers you have, the more popular you become. You are also able to like and comment directly on the pieces of music to give the artist feedback on what they have produced. Although you are not able to sell your music on SoundCloud, you are able to advertise it so that people can then go out and buy your music. 

Dinos Aristidou

We spoke to Dinos Aristidou from UCAN productions a few questions about his career as a freelance theatre maker, education consultant and workshop leader. 

Did you go to university? If so, what course did you study?

I went to York University to study English and Related Literature. At that age I wanted to be an actor but everyone said it was too uncertain and that it was better to get a degree. I just chose the subject I loved best and at University I discovered playwriting and directing.

What made you decide to become a theatremaker and educator?

It was always a passion. Ever since I was a child I liked to live in imaginary worlds in my own head or in books. When I discovered theatre I realised I could make a career of this. I also wanted to share my passion with others and give them the keys and tools that would enable them to also become creators of or citizens of the imaginary- That’s why I was drawn to education; so that others might also have the possibility to cross the threshold into the world of the imagination

What was the first ‘professional’ i.e paid for piece you ever performed/directed?

For my writing it was as writer in residence at The Chester Gateway in 2000 where I was hired to write their millennium production, as a director it was for ‘ Ziggurat’ for the Manchester Commonwealth games. As a performer it was just after I graduated with a Theatre in Education company called Shoestring that toured schools with productions. That inspired to become a teacher which I did for 11 years before going into the professional world of theatre.

Is there a particular genre/style you prefer working in?

I’m interested in collaboration, creating with communities and young people and I used to be drawn to the epic, working with large groups but now I’ve also become interested in immersive and intimate theatre. I’m interested in the themes of memory, identity and our search for home. Also interested in creating theatre based on people’s experience.

What sort of work do you get?

I looked through ‘The Stage’ newspaper that had all the theatre related jobs in it, also ‘The Guardian’. More recently I’m subscribed to organisations and online newsletters that advertise opportunities such as ‘The Writer’s Compass’

Do you network with other directors/actors?

I’m involved with lots of organisations and so have become part of a network of artists and artist educators. I find networking quite challenging even though I enjoy meeting people. It feels different when it’s professional.

How do you generate work?

I work with some organisations regularly and have close relationships with them that I’ve built up over the years. Creating good relationships and being a good collaborator and good to work with is really key in the work I do. I also try to keep my work current so I’m always reading, learning, going to the theatre, trying to keep abreast of new innovations and movements in theatre and in education. I also apply for positions that look interesting.

Would you contact a producer or a director with a script idea?

Yes but these are usually people who I’ve worked with before and who know my work.

How does research help you with your job?

All of my theatre work involves research. I’m always researching, reading, going to the theatre, talking to people. You have to make sure your work is relevant, current and also underpinned by theory. Theory is simply the discoveries other people have made and I’m always appreciative of their insights. Research is a useful way to make sure your work is informed. I’m also very curious and research satisfies some of my curiosity. I’m currently writer-in-residence at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton and my work involves researching the history of the building and the theatre so research is a key skill in my work.

How do you manage during lean periods?

I try to work as far as possible a year in advance- so I’ve been very lucky in that I haven’t really had any lean periods. I’m willing to try my hand at different things and happy to work in a variety of fields so there’s always a lot of work- touch wood!!! Being self- employed is always slightly scary because you do worry about the work drying up. I think its worth having a mixed portfolio rather than depending on one source of income.

So currently here is my list of jobs from now until June to give you a flavour of the variety of contracts and work that a freelancer may do:

·      Lead artist on RSVP project UCAN

·      Workshop delivery at your college

·      Lead artist on ‘Art of Kindness’ project UCAN

·      Running workshops for teachers on the art of reflection

·      Writer in residence 2017 at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

·      Running young writer’s programme at Theatre Royal Brighton

·      Curriculum consultant for the International Baccalaureate

·      Running 4 week online teacher training for theatre teachers

·      Artistic Director for a youth theatre festival in Atlanta, USA on civil rights in collaboration with Civil Rights Museum in March

·      Guest artist in residence at Academy in Shanghai, China in April to create a new intimate and immersive piece of theatre

·      Running theatre teacher workshops in Singapore in April 

Action plan for a sustainable freelance career

·      Flexibility – people working in the freelance industry must be flexible because they may need to maintain a few different projects/jobs at one time. Also, it is very hard to continuously look for the same job role. This means that you need to be flexible with the job roles that you look for and apply for. They may also be asked to work different hours for each day of the week which could range from a few hours to a full day’s work.

·      Budgeting – this is very important because there will be periods of time at which the freelancer is not working and is therefore not earning any income. You need to be able to save money during the time at which you have incoming salary so that you will then have money when you are in lean periods.

·      Prepared to work without getting paid – everyone has to start somewhere and for most freelancers within theatre, they have to carry out unpaid work to get their name heard within the industry. Once they have their name out there they can start applying for jobs.

·      Presenting yourself well – as a freelancer you must be able to stand out from the crowd either in the world of work or in auditions. It may be quite difficult for you to find a job because you are not able to present yourself well and stand out from the crowd.

·      Must always be looking ahead – although it is great when a freelance worker finds a job, they don’t know how long it will last for and if they do, it is not going to last forever. This means that the worker always needs to be looking for new jobs in which they can apply for to take on after they have finished their current job.

·      Motivation – there needs to be high levels of motivation to become a successful and to remain as a successful freelancer. There may be quite a few occasions where you will go for an audition and not get the part or even shortlisted. However, you then need to put this aside and attend more auditions.

·      Resilience and self-belief – freelancers have to be thick skinned because they may attend many auditions before they get offered anything.

·      Practicalities and finance – a freelancer must make a regular class 2 national insurance payment. This will provide security for them in the future. You also need to keep your receipts for things like transport, hotels. postage and any other purchases that are business related. If you are a performer, you can claim for cosmetics, toiletries and clothing. Once a year, you need to submit a record of your income and outgoings to the HMRC (tax department). This is called a tax return.

·      CPD – this is continuous professional development. This is about maintaining a professional skill level. You may attend classes, carry out regular voice/movement warmups, research new audition materials and look at relevant sites on the internet. Also, you need to maintain a current CV.

·      Research – keep on top of new employment opportunities by looking at The Stage online and any other online journals where jobs are advertised.