In spite of the recent rescue package for arts venues, uncertainty continues to loom for those of us who are freelance
A large community of set and costume designers of all ages and career stages have been creating tape installations on theatres throughout the country.
Just how strange an occurrence that is can only truly be understood by people within the industry. We designers usually work on our own. There is usually one of us on each show – our paths rarely cross, and, as much as we know of each other, we don’t often get to know one another personally.
Going through a crisis like this brings clarity. You see what is truly important, where you might have gone wrong, where you might want to make changes. Seventy per cent of the theatre workforce is made up of freelancers. After lockdown, that workforce was sent home from across the world within a matter of days, all work was cancelled and many of us were not able to claim financial support. Even though we create the work that you see on stage, we are on the outside of the actual buildings – our journeys between them is our lonely path.
The realisation of this isolation is what led a group of designers to start talking to each other. The time we had to think, hand in hand with this newfound clarity is what drove us on, leading us to form SceneChange.
The fact that we designers – who traditionally are seen as competitors – managed to be mutually supportive and form a community that stretches around the country and even internationally within weeks of lockdown is, I think, our biggest achievement.
The wider landscape changed incredibly fast during lockdown, nearly week by week. The progression of the tape project spanning from the middle of May to now is a clear reflection of these extreme shifts.
Having formed only seven weeks ago, the tape idea first emerged at a time when we were almost innocent – the real impact of coronavirus had not sunk in. The idea of the #MissingLiveTheatre tape was inspired by the hazard tape at the National Theatre, which was put up to discourage people from gathering there, making it look like a toxic site. Our version was an inventive and playful gesture: it was a gift to the theatres, a source of encouragement, a positive image of the empty, waiting spaces inside.