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Dear John

Professional guidance for performers

First published 6th November 2008

Equity and Skillset have joined forces to offer performers guidance from working actors, who have been trained to be careers advisors. Stage agony uncle John Byrne talks to members of the team

I've only met with Equity's team of career advisors for less than five minutes and already I have learned something useful.Actually, I have learned two very useful things. Firstly, Paul Cawley - who worked as a trained chef before becoming an actor - talks us through one of his favourite recipes with such enthusiasm and clarity that even a kitchen klutz like me could manage it. The second tip is that having a real conversation like this, as opposed to a 'rhubarb' one, makes for a much more natural group photograph.

This second lesson is, it must be said, mainly for the benefit of yours truly - Beverley Hills and Julie Fountain, Cawley's colleagues on the advisory team, are, like Cawley himself, highly experienced and versatile performers in their own right and no strangers to the stage or cameras.

Thanks to external funding from the Union Learning Fund, Equity and Skillset have been able to train all three performers as careers and learning advisors, a role which they have been successfully playing for several years now. From one to one sessions and workshops on CVs and other aspects of marketing, to responding to email enquiries, they have certainly been busy.

Whether a performer is returning to the industry, trying to establish themselves for the first time or are simply in that 'stuck' place, common for many people in the business - and a not infrequent theme of correspondence to my own column - Cawley, Hills and Fountain are available to offer email advice, for free, or to provide one to one sessions for which there is a charge. Equity members can currently get a 50% discount on this cost. They also lead workshops on CVs and other aspects of self-marketing in places such as Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff.

While Skillset has long been known for providing very effective guidance to people involved in the technical side of entertainment and the media, the addition of Equity's people to the roster of advisors means that those on the performance side can also now access specialised career guidance from people who have 'walked the walk' themselves. Enquiries to Skillset which are of a performance nature will automatically be routed to the Equity advisor, whose area it originates from.

Having spent a pleasant afternoon chatting to the team, I can also confirm that they are all friendly, funny and very good company, which might seem a mundane observation, but in the context of this branch of career advice, is important to point out.

One of the main topics of our conversation, based on having met so many performers one to one in our various advisory roles, was how common it seems to be for many performers who are completely at home in front of large audiences to be far less comfortable on a social basis, and particularly so when it comes to seeking help when things are not going so well.

It also seems to be a shared experience for all of us that when we started out, there was not much in the way of solid and practical career advice available, beyond simply watching what our peers and heroes did, and trying to do the same. In the current climate, within a changing industry, where even some of the things that used to work well don't any more, up to date and accurate career information and guidance is even more crucial.

Cawley certainly fits the bill here. In addition to his culinary expertise, he has worked on a number of West End shows, such as Humble Boy and Arsenic and Old Lace, as well various National Theatre productions and many corporate and commercial projects. He has also been involved for several years in an actors' co-op, which enables him to "offer enquirers a bit of an agent's view on practical aspects, CVs, photos, covering
letters, etc". He also notes that as a late starter in the industry - with those aforementioned ten years as a chef - he has a personal understanding of the issues that can arise with people re-entering the business after a break, or wondering whether or not they've left it too late to change careers.

Hills, too, has made her mark in several different arenas of the business, ranging from roles in prime-time soaps and dramas, through high-quality children's output, including the much-loved Tikkabilla, to her recent well-received theatrical outing as Shirley Valentine.

Fountain is similarly busy, as an actor, drama teacher and choreographer, whose credits include Yorkshire Television's The Royal Today, Fat Friends and Clocking Off, as well as producing a newly-written pantomime at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.

Fountain, who also facilitates casting workshops with casting directors, has travelled down from Leeds for today's meeting, which demonstrates that another strength of this advisory team is that it is not 'London-centric', as sadly many resources tend to be. Performers can receive information targeted towards their profession, but they can also, where possible, be pointed towards help and information relevant to their geographical location.

What is possibly even more inspiring than the range of experience and expertise each member of the team brings to the task, is how ready all three are to be open about the challenges they have faced and still face as working performers and are committed to creating a 'safe space' for people to seek help and share their career concerns, whatever their current situation.

Cawley recounts how Hill's first request on seeing a room where she was about to do some one to one sessions was for a box of tissues to be on hand and one can take it that, should a performer's career obstacles be on the personal rather than business side, the team is well equipped to offer a supportive and listening ear.

Having said that, the mark of any good advisor - and indeed every good performer - is to be aware of their own limitations. It is in this regard that Cawley, Fountain and Hills stress to me the particular strength of the Equity/Skillset connection. Not only have they been trained to the national matrix standard for career advice, but each is not just working from their own resources - there is ongoing access to many other relevant and useful sources of help that they can point performers towards, depending on each individual's situation.

So far, more than 400 individuals have had the benefit of their expertise - a lot of conversations and emails, by any standards - but it is clear that dealing with those numbers has made them more enthusiastic, not less, about the value of the service.

As we finish our chat, Fountain comments, and Cawley and Hills are quick to agree, that on a personal level, being able to access such a wide range of information and contacts has been an eye-opener as to the opportunities and support available to the performer.

I will return to the Equity team from time to time, both individually and collectively when appropriate Dear John enquiries arise. In the meantime, for the many performers who feel they are missing out on good career information or indeed many others who feel so swamped with ideas, options and choices that they don't know which career decision to make, an email or call to the Equity team via Skillset would be a sensible first choice indeed.

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