Trigger Warning: Mentions of domestic violence, abuse and rape
Navigating the creative industry can be a tricky task. Whether you’re an actor, a runner, stage manager, director, working in sound or lighting, a writer, producer or anywhere outside and in between; getting your foot through the door and maintaining your spot in the room is an arduous feat. To keep chipping away at the old block takes time, determination, perseverance and, sometimes, good old stubbornness.
I adore this industry with everything I have. The arts have been my friend, outlet, emotional storage unit and personal punching bag, to say the least.
I feel we give so much of ourselves to story-telling, to giving audiences something they can really dive into and live in. But where is the safety net when stories cut just a little too deep?
I want to talk about mental health in the moment. How we can take a pause to check in on ourselves and the content we are dealing with when you are, say, mid audition, pitch or interview. How can we be kinder to ourselves and others in all types of spaces?
The stories we deal with are snippets of very real life. For me they can be so joyous and nurturing for the soul while others challenge perspectives where work needs to be done.
Last year I auditioned for a short film set in the Victorian era that dealt with themes of – TRIGGER WARNING – domestic violence, abuse and rape.
When the Zoom audition finally came around, the director and producer of the film were very accommodating with the content of the script, asking how I was in preparation to the audition and whether I had any thoughts. They briefed me about the structure of how they were going to run the audition and off we went.
Mid way through the session, the director wanted to take a mental health pause. She wanted to check in with me to see how I was feeling about the content of the film and whether I needed a short breather before continuing with the audition.
I don’t know why but this came as a shock to me. Somehow the consideration of my mental wellbeing in response to the sensitive subjects we were dealing with felt almost a luxury. Which it shouldn’t be but this was the first time I’d had an audition where there was active acknowledgement of sensitive content and how it may be affecting me. I personally felt okay, not needing a moment of break, and the audition continued. I came away from the call feeling it went well but, unfortunately, it didn’t go my way.
In the days after the meeting, it got me thinking. Should mental health check ins be a part of the audition/interview process? Or at least an elected part of the process. By this I mean giving creatives the option to take a pause; to check in, noting how someone is doing and how they're feeling about the content at hand, before proceeding with the rest of the session. I wondered whether this would further allow creatives the time and space to comfortably approach stories in a safe and more considered environment. But on the same token, I wondered whether this practice is already happening within our industry?
I spoke with Casting Director Nikki Meadows (Tell Me Who I Am, Lost Pirate Kingdom) on how she approaches sensitive content and whether mental health check ins could be incorporated into an audition/interview setting.
Diving straight in, Nikki detailed that when she begins a new project she will “talk in depth to the director/production team about the content” of the production. She “often asks the director to write a quick statement about how they intend to shoot [sensitive] scenes and how they wish to handle those themes and any difficult scenes”. With this information, Nikki is able to provide agents with exact details what their actors are being asked to audition for. Nikki highlights, “by the director doing this is often really useful and reassuring, as it shows a vision and their thought behind why scenes and themes are there and how they’re being dealt with - with care.”.
Nikki reflects on how she “wouldn’t work on overly intimate scenes, or nudity of any kind, as part of the casting process. We always ask the agent to check with the actor that they are comfortable before they attend the casting. We show them a script so they are really clear on what is being asked of them if there is partial nudity or themes that might be difficult – we’d always do this upfront. Often my email to the agent will ask them to let their client see the script and my notes, the director’s notes and to see how they feel before agreeing to meet for the project. We wouldn't ever spring this on an actor in a session. The actor shouldn’t ever feel under pressure that they have to agree to anything without the space to discuss it with their agent and decide if it’s for them.”
I asked Nikki about whether introducing mental health check ins during auditions/interviews would be an important addition to what can sometimes be a very stressful process. Nikki reflected that she “would always want an actor to be able to pause if they were having difficulty with anything in a session. So yes of course, we’d always be mindful of that. I think it happens generally in my sessions that I’d be checking in on that. I haven’t called it a ‘mental health check’ but I think we’re doing it instinctively as a duty of care. We’ve often asked actors to take a minute”.
I also reached out to director Stephen Lally and writer/producer Diane Taylor-Karrer about their views on this. Having recently worked with them on their up-coming LGBTQ romcom short film ‘Empress ClawScream’ and loved how they ran their set; with it being an environment where the comfort of all creatives was at the forefront, I was eager to hear their thoughts.
I asked Stephen and Diane the same question of how they would approach sensitive content for a shoot and they reflected that although they have “not really shot or directed anything with sensitive content, but my MO - modus operandi - is always to make people feel comfortable and at ease onset.” Stephen said that “this was a big part of the ClawScream shoot for instance; we wanted the experience onset to be one where people could be themselves. In keeping with the subject matter, from the outset myself and Diane wanted a cast and crew that was female and queer driven where we could so that people felt comfortable and at ease.”
Continuing my conversation with Nikki, she spoke of how she is currently working with students from the National Film and Television School and how she is headlining approaches for the students “to adopt in terms of how they treat actors auditioning for them in the future” - one of these being the yes/no response to castings for example.
Knowing that some of the next generation of film makers and creatives are having this language introduced into their practice before entering the working world, to me at least, feels like a step in the right direction. It feels to me that altering the way creatives approach the care of one another, especially in the moment, starts at the beginning. It starts with our learning. Our education. Maybe what I am trying to get at is the question of; what if we created a culture which prioritised the wellbeing of mental health in the moment, rather than treating it as a precursor or after thought and how would this cultivate our industry for the betterment of the future?
All In Actors mirror Nikki’s approach in creating a culture for which the care of their students is at the forefront of their training.
All In Actors was created by Stephen Sobal and Ami Sayers. With many years of experience in the industry, they wanted to produce a space in which actors could discover their creative potential, embracing and celebrating their student’s individuality and supporting them in whatever they hope to achieve. They share how they “discuss with each individual […] what they would like to achieve and build a plan to help them get there”. This tailored approach allows for All In Actors to offer their students guidance and support throughout their training in a way that ensures that their mental health at all times is prioritised.
In my opinion, I feel in some areas of the industry the care of mental health in the moment isn’t always considered. For example, long hours on set or understaffing in crew have put pressure on productions and ultimately the creatives involved. Like I said before, I feel that sometimes a creatives’ wellbeing can be an after-thought in the face of art. But again, I don’t feel this for all areas of the arts.
I think that in order to focus on creating an awareness, that we could use as a tool to help us navigate and take up space comfortably, we need to look at our foundations. I believe that the problems lie within our education. To me education is a fundamental part of development and growth. It enables us to nurture our curiosity of and understand the world. If we are able to take on approaches, styled by Nikki and All In Actors, to change the teachings of how we care for our and others mental health in the moment, I believe there could be a wider sense of care within the creative sphere.
How can we work with the education sector to build the new generation of creatives, armed with the tool that both help them excel within the industry but also allow them to care for their mental health in all moments? I personally don’t have these answers but what I can say is that it’s a process of discovery. Of finding out how we can comfortably take space in a room and say ‘I need a minute’ if we need it.
I hope we can explore this together and I’d love to know your thoughts on – so feel free to comment below.
See you for the next blog!
Lots of love,
Your Fairy Blog-Mother,
Jess x
We’d love to know your thoughts! Do you have a positive experience you’d like to share; what went well, what helped you and who?
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P.S.
Here’s some wholesome content to brighten your day – this is Brooke, my sprocker spaniel, bringing her collection of sticks to your blog read.
