Читать книгу First Aid for the Artist's Soul - Christina Barandun - Страница 23

This is one of our mantras in theatre when it comes to things like implementing the craziest directorial ideas. So why shouldn’t it apply to healthier working conditions as well? In theatre, we use imagination and creative thinking on an everyday basis, and yet, in terms of outside-the-box employee development, the cultural sector is lagging at least twenty years behind the industrial sector. The art scene could become a pioneer here, not only by adopting the methods developed in industry, but also by coming up with new and unusual working practices, for instance suggesting family-friendly options for shift workers. This is vital to show that the creation of art can be a healthy occupation.

How else can a modern audience take seriously a play that deals with corrupt economic structures and human exploitation when everybody know of the pressured, exploitative working conditions backstage?

If we want to be taken seriously it is helpful to lead by example and “walk the talk”. And what could be more exciting than creating the conditions to make it the dream job it once was? You might consider basic occupational health and safety, as well as mental-health safeguarding, as you design more healthy frameworks for yourself as singer, dancer, actor or director.

There are, increasingly, legal imperatives for employers to protect employees, both mentally and physically. But, as is clear, the law alone is not enough: each and every artistic employee has a responsibility to change the prevailing way of thinking, and to act so that the provision of all-round health becomes a source of strength and power – and the basis of their own artistic future.