What I learnt from #thevalueofdesign open meeting with SBTD, ALD, Equity and Bectu

If you were to take one of those jazzy algorithms that scans your social media wall and tells you your most used phrases and apply it to last night you'd probably get:

What on earth is 'in perpetuity' / No I have never seen that contract before / It just feels like we're a bit f*ed right now.

                           

In truth, the theatre design industry is in crisis and the irony of how dramatic a statement that it is was not lost on any of us last night, but this wasn't a scalpels-at-dawn kind of meeting, but a balanced exploratory dialogue between members of the Society of British Theatre Designers, the Association of Lighting Designers and our unions Bectu and Equity, focussing on the areas in which the industry has changed over the years (and the areas that will change further) and how best to ensure that the contracts that need so desperately to be the safety net on which we will fall back on have the tightest weave.

The fact that the last open meeting between design professionals and union bodies was nearly 40 years ago says a lot, as does the fact that the event was fully booked in a matter of days. There's a lot of people who care a hell of a lot. The National felt like an appropriate place to start the series of conversations and their support was genuinely and warmly welcomed, it also meant that half of the design industry working away upstairs would be able to make it on time.

For those unaware, the renegotiation of UK Theatre Collective Agreement is due between October and April next year. This is a contract made between UK Theatre, Equity and Bectu. This is a union agreement and means that all theatres signed up are legally bound to issue this contract to artists. It is also what should be considered an example of a contract best placed to cover the needs of any designer in the industry. Even though the chances of working for companies or venues offering union agreements is sadly still very low among new graduates and emerging designers (and probably a lot further up too), knowing its contents and pushing for your rights is a very valuable thing to have a handle on at any professional level. The more people pushing in the same direction, the further we go. We also owe a fair bit of the industry groundswell that lead to Tuesday evening to Stage Directors UK, an organisation formed to support directors and fight for better working conditions, which led to their own conversations with Equity.

                                                   

                                                                     Photo by @weareSBTD on Twitter

A masterstroke of this meeting was to barely touch on the issue of our fees because I don't even need to finish this sentence for you to know how we all feel. Money is a huge part of this but where it might be an ending point in terms of negotiation, there are myriad factors preceding and directly affecting the number next to the pound sign on our contracts.

But before I delve into those conversations the most important thing to say is that, on this level, activism changes things. We don't need to chain ourselves to the Olivier statue to be active in our association. We need to show up, talk up, and in a very important way, pay up. The SBTD is run by volunteers save for one day a week for one admin person. The advocacy, understanding and support presented by these volunteers - not least on the Facebook group alone - is more than enough to earn my £78 a year (not to mention the Public Liability Insurance you get too!) especially considering they are also part of one of the most overworked professions in the biz. It doesn't take much brain power to work out the more people support the more they can do, which ultimately means life is less of a total crud bucket for us.

So, here are the things I learnt from the meeting (and the two break out groups I joined). Some of these have a direct relationship to the contract negotiation itself, others are some of the hot topics that keep coming up when you put more than one designer in a room. I should say that the below are some of the opinions and responses of designers from our chats and not anything directly the opinion of the SBTD/ALD.

- We can and need to be better at talking about access, diversity and representation in our industry. We recognise that there is a disparity between those attending training courses and those surviving beyond. We also recognise that the social and economic class, gender and ethnicity of people is directly related to that, and associate schemes or schemes that look to support those most likely to miss these opportunities is the best way to help.

- We could be calling on the big institutions to publish (or promoting ourselves) the stats regarding the diversity or class breakdowns of backstage workers. The recent Panic! report into Social Class, Taste and Inequalities in the Creative Industries is an excellent taster of what we're facing. 

- We could be showcasing the diverse elements of our careers that can include STEM or subject areas that are more commonly populated with students of diverse backgrounds.

- Even though education and routes in are absolutely at the core of this conversation, at a very basic level, if the entire industry is broken in the first place, we are not doing anyone any favours in encouraging them into such instability.  

- Current contracts and wordings over copyright or royalties don't cover ownership or expectations with new technology or broadcasting schemes. 

- There is no definitive resource to calculate royalties. This goes from the fringe shows made on nothing finding success and touring at the expense of creatives to the top end shows.

- Everyone can give an example of having lost further work/creative relationships because of standing up for their fees or conditions. This is industry wide.

-  Bigger jobs may earn you more money, but they can take far more time and administration so you can’t take on as much freelance work. Every branch of the tree is a bit broken right now.

- It feels like we are all still 'emerging designers'.

- Set designers often spend their own fees on their own assistants, often more than their own fees. Designers have also often been known to spend their own fees on photographs with stories coming of students being charged £50 a photo. (This post is for anyone who isn't a designer reading this, I know we all know).

- Fees/budgets almost always do not cover expenses like model boxes or studio hire. It's impossible to imagine the actors and directors paying for the rehearsal space themselves.

- The mental health impact of overwork or the instability of our careers is a massive issue in our industry.

- Creatives appear to be avoiding having children (especially female) because of industry conditions.

- There are not enough schemes designed to celebrate or support designers. There are two big ones and a few smaller ones and that's it.

We are far more likely to be screwed over by ignorance than malice. We know most of what we do is unseen and appears magical by those who don't know our jobs but decide our wage. Documenting, analysing and promoting our process as much as humanly possible is the best way to change that. The SBTD have begun #whatdesignersdo to show exactly this, get involved, you just need your phone camera.

This meeting was one hell of a start. The need for change is patently clear. The hope is that through active dialogue and representation that the change will come, but the only way to make it better is to get involved.

P.S. Please look up the #SaveStageLighting campaign from the ALD because there's a big risk to theatres nationally thanks to new legislation.