Sales should be at the centre of all theatre training rather than at its conclusion.
The art of selling oneself and one’s abilities back to the industry is a very specific skill set that some theatre schools are avoiding teaching their students, and it’s undermining and hobbling many successful careers. Now, I’m not about to suggest that we all start organising awful roleplay sessions to counteract this or mind mapping new ways to make a better showreel; no, I’m suggesting that it is time to open up all of the boxes and interrogate the new ways students can have more agency over their careers and learn how to create a marketable portfolio from day one of their training. Simply put, we need to teach students about sales. Immediately.
Everyone of us who works professionally in the arts is acutely aware that we also work in sales. The performer makes every effort to promote their image in order to make money from their expertise, the stage manager makes endless contact lists to secure their next job; and the playwright knocks on each and every door on a regular basis in an effort to sell their words. Why? Because they know that being able to sell themselves is essential to them remaining in the job that they love.
Yes, despite all our artistic intentions and personal quests, we must still set out our stall every day in order to attract the customer and obtain the work that brings in the money that unlocks a long career. In fact, this is the formula for longevity in any job: make money, ensure your income, achieve personal security, and advance in your vocation.
However, due to the fact that this aspect of the arts is so underrepresented and rarely discussed, very few theatre courses teach their students about it. There may be an additional workshop at the conclusion of the third year, but most students are left to their own devices after graduation, and I believe that we are creating an ill-equipped workforce who do not know that they have to hustle. Everyday.
I have worked in the industry for the majority of my life and so feel able to state categorically that, despite the fact that more people go to the theatre than watch Premier League football 1, we are still conveying the message that working in the theatre is not a viable option for one’s life. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that some educational settings do not consider it to be worthy of attention due to this ever-persistent, impenetrable, and insidious earworm. Even more tragic is the fact that many people who want to study theatre either never do so or leave because they don’t know how to make it financially work for them. It’s a massive blind spot that needs reassessment. On the other hand, we who have remained realise that a main piece of your game is figuring out how to make a career that is attractive and then knowing how to boost it.
In theatre school, you are urged to experiment and study heritage theatre makers, and whilst this is essential, it isn’t going to bring in the dough when you graduate. Of course, knowing about the history and methods of other artists can help you figure out what you’re going to steal in the future. But what if, along with Stanislavski and Carol Churchill, we studied great theatrical entrepreneurs? In addition to our Mesiner and Stella Adler masterclasses, what if we deconstructed how Sonia Freidman runs her company—not just for the student producers, but for everyone? Or how about drafting Karl Steele into every UK drama school to unpack how he opened the Town and Gown Theatre in Cambridge without any funding? What would happen if we now flooded our industry with smart business people who can make groundbreaking live art and who know how to produce it and where to sell it in the 21st century landscape?
Augusto Boal once said, ‘Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it.’ So, theatre people, let’s build that future now by arming the next generation of artists to be a breed of creative, business-minded, and entrepreneurial individuals who will shout from the upper circle that the arts are a real and viable career option. This chant needs to be taught in our schools. Immediately.
Russell Lucas is a UK-based artist specialising in writing, devising, producing, acting and directing. His work has been seen in London, Edinburgh, the West End, on tour and Off-Broadway. He is a qualified lecturer and has written and delivered workshops at leading venues and educational institutions across the UK and internationally. His new book 300 Thoughts for Theatremakers was published this year by Nick Hern Books. and he developed the web series ‘Theatremakers’ with Digital Theatre Plus. He still tours with his one-person show around the UK and has recently lectured about the importance of theatre training updating itself on Masterclass and similar sessions at the universities of Inverness, Canterbury, Manchester, Solent, and Bath. He can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Russelucas/.
A blog from Russell on “What is a theatremaker, anyway?”, published in The Stage – https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/what-is-a-theatremaker-anyway
An excerpt from Russell’s Book – https://nickhernbooksblog.com/2022/05/27/theatre-needs-to-be-reoccupied-by-the-theatremakers-russell-lucas-on-breaking-through-industry-barriers/
Similar thoughts from Lyn Gardner – https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/lyn-gardner-can-visionary-leaders-drag-drama-schools-out-of-the-20th-century