Britain clamps down on fringe and profit share theatre.

Fri, 3 July 2009, 09:48 am

grantwatson34 posts in thread

There's a bit of a ruckus in the UK at the moment, due to Equity campaigning to force a national minimum wage for actors onto all fringe and profit share theatre productions. They argue any companies or performance groups who can't afford the thousands of pounds per week in wages most shows would require is to (a) magically source government funding and sponsorship, or (b) become amateur companies. More info here (assuming this link works better than the last one).

Amateur and professional... a definition

Mon, 27 July 2009, 10:39 pm

Walter Plinge

"Is that the only difference between an amateur and a professional?" Technically, I believe it is. Amateurs are unpaid. Professionals are paid. Connotations concerning such things as the quality of the work, acting, staging, or the commitment of the participants have grown up around those words but I would argue that they should not be taken for granted. I have seen and participated in amateur work which would "stand up on any stage in the world..." and conversely, I shudder to remember the standard of some professional productions with which I worked. It's true that 'professional' productions may have the sort of budget which should, in theory, enable them to meet a higher standard. Hence people use the word 'professional' as an adjective to connote a certain level of... say, 'professional behaviour' but nothing stops an amateur from behaving 'professionally'. He or she is still an amateur though, merely because they are unpaid. Regards, lollipop

Thread (34 posts)

Threaded Flat

Britain clamps down on fringe and profit share theatre.— grantwatson3 July 2009

Interesting— Labrug3 July 2009
- Penny— Leon Ousby4 July 2009
Fringe in the UK— Walter Plinge3 July 2009
contracts— mike raine3 July 2009
- Expanding on a Contract— crgwllms5 July 2009
  - Well— Logos5 July 2009
    - Read the original article. — crgwllms5 July 2009
      - ···
        Voice of Reason— Labrug5 July 2009
      - ···
        Well— Logos5 July 2009
        ···
        Running the co-op— crgwllms5 July 2009
After ten years in the— Logos3 July 2009
Ah, the fringe.— Leon Ousby4 July 2009
Not fair!— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
- Agree— Leon Ousby5 July 2009
IF we're not getting— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
- Of course the problem with— grantwatson6 July 2009
  - Absolutely— Logos6 July 2009
My wife did 3 Shakespeares— Logos5 July 2009
What annoys me IS Profit— Rebecca Jo5 July 2009
No More Broken Promises — Walter Plinge5 July 2009
Rebecca (and the Michael— Na5 July 2009
Irate about rates— crgwllms8 July 2009
- Oh...— Labrug8 July 2009
Agreed— Walter Plinge9 July 2009
fringe, profit share, the grey area— Helen Brett11 July 2009
- All good points,— crgwllms12 July 2009
  - Guilt As Charged— Labrug12 July 2009
  - fringe— mike raine13 July 2009
    - Cringe— crgwllms14 July 2009
Agreement— Logos13 July 2009
Amateur and professional... a definition— Walter Plinge27 July 2009
- Yes, it is....but it's not that simple.— crgwllms28 July 2009
  - Analysis in Theatre— Labrug28 July 2009

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