FST are delighted to join the UK’s leading performing arts companies in supporting campaign group Parents in Performing Arts as they create a new company that will aim to tackle the inequalities faced by parents and carers in maintaining successful careers across the sector.
PIPA started life as a campaign in 2016, with support from 18 leading performing arts organisations led by The Old Vic. PIPA’s campaign has called for change across the industry, including job sharing and improved rehearsal scheduling. A year into the consortium, co-founders Anna Ehnold-Danailov and Cassie Raine have turned the PIPA campaign into a limited company, in order to address the scale of change that’s needed, and to ensure that work is ongoing and monitored.
PIPA’s interim report identified that 8 out of 10 self-employed theatre workers had to turn down work due to caring responsibilities. The need for a long term presence in the performance arts sector was revealed through the work with UK theatres in exploring new approaches to supporting people with caring responsibilities. PIPA’s focus has already expanded to include the music and dance industries to build a wider picture of current practices across all performance arts.
The Federation of Scottish Theatre has agreed to come on board alongside other new partners including Musicians Union, National Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe, SOLT, Stage Directors UK and UK Music to support the former consortium members at this stage of growth for the campaign.
To find out more about Parents in Performing Arts visit their website.