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Dear John

How can I improve my chances of employment as an older performer?

Question:
As an older performer, I'm finding it progressively more difficult to find work. Is there anything I can do to increase my chances?

Answer:
Interestingly, although this is a common question, it doesn't usually come from the oldest performers. Usually, the difficulty of getting castings as one gets older is a particular concern I hear expressed by performers who may just a couple of years ago have done very well in casting for lead roles. Actors who have entered the business later in life or those who have always struggled a little tend to be more philosophical. In both cases, knowing this is a hard business tends to motivate more creativity in finding ways to stand out.

On the other hand, performers who refuse to accept that their marketability for more youthful parts is diminishing may not get any results at all. So much for the bad news. Now the good news - although this is a difficult issue and one which will inevitably affect every performer, it is a far from hopeless situation, as this week's two contributors can confirm.

Ros Liddiard

Ros Liddiard first performed on stage when she was ten. She now has more than 50 years' theatre experience. Her credits include roles in Peak Practice, Big Meg Little Meg, touring shows such as Having a Ball and Three Sisters and fringe/provincial theatre - Blue Kettle, Hour of the Lynx, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan - as well as Shakespeare musicals, film and commercial work. Ros is the founder and artistic director of Prime Theatre, which exists to create work for older actors.

"The most valuable piece of advice I've had is "if you're not getting the work you want, create it for yourself". Easier said than done? Well, yes, but actors need to stay limbered up and, if not working, there is everything to gain by taking up the challenge.

"Ours is a very youth-orientated business. Also, there are fewer good, older, particularly female, roles to be won against a bank of excellent, well-established older actors.

"I'm often in conversation with talented actors about the frustration of not getting work, often because justifiably established actors win the plum parts, or because younger TV 'names' are inappropriately cast.

"This is a common problem for theatre actors - TV recognition is a big audience pull. Worse still is the perception that older actors can't stay the course of a rigorous theatrical run.

"Prime Theatre was born out of this. A small group of like-minded people - all in their sixties - formed the company with the aim of providing work for older actors in productions which would appeal to older audiences - never alienating younger regulars!

"Our first production, Old World by Arbuzov - a beautiful play about ageing - is a two-hander.

We budgeted for a small, financially manageable team. Our tour visited ten small capacity provincial venues and ran for a month in London.

"It is essential to identify theatres that regularly promote their programmes, otherwise it's unlikely that they'll promote you. Marketing is key to success - pay for advice.

"We had great reviews and did not make a loss. Prime Theatre honoured its commitments to the company and audiences - the theatres invited us back."

Paul Beech

Although Paul entered the profession relatively late - at 32 - he has certainly made up for lost time with roles in theatre, TV and film including Shakespearean parts, appearances in Black Books, Me and My Girl and King Ralph and the lead in Mr Dickens Presents... He continues to work in a variety of fields, from touring shows to role play.

"I think as you get older having the right agent who is really looking for suitable parts helps a lot, and I am very fortunate in that regard.

"However, you also need to be out there looking yourself. One of the things I think has helped in my own case is that I am still very open to considering every kind of work that is offered to me. I've found that some performers in my age range are reluctant to take on tours or other types of work which involve being away from home or outside their comfort zone. Unfortunately it is often in precisely these kinds of projects that there are opportunities for actors with an older playing age, rather than in the more convenient West End or TV work.

"I also enjoy playing Shakespeare, which is for obvious reasons an area where there are still very meaty parts for the older performer.

"Attitude is probably the most important thing, and in that regard you are certainly only as old as you feel. In fact, in one of my favourite recent shows The Last Confession, not only was I working with a dream cast and a terrific director, I was probably one of the youngest cast members."

John sums up

Often when I speak to older performers about this, there is a certain Norma Desmond quality to the conversation: "It's not me who is getting older, it's the industry that is getting younger". But actually it's the opposite - the industry, like every other, is getting older and developing and changing as it does so. It's vital that every performer, young and old, keeps up to date with how things work in the current market. Methods of communication, the way shows are cast and funded, the increased specialisation of agents - all of these elements may be very different now from how it was when you first started, and in some cases that is true even if you only started five years ago. As Ros says, actors need to be working on creating their own work as well as focusing on casting, not least because it will give you the best chance of learning how the industry itself currently operates and be able to adapt your marketing accordingly.

* Ros Liddiard may be contacted at www.primetheatre.com or on 01962 861758.

* Paul Beech is represented by Nelson Browne Management Ltd, 020 7970 60100

* Feedback/queries are welcome to dearjohn@thestage.co.uk
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