We tend to believe that because our industry is so competitive, that no one wants to help us out. This is TOTALLY not the case.
There are loads of great initiatives for performers in Joburg with the central aim of growing the industry & making it more inclusive, more collaborative and more fun. There are facilities, programs and resources available to actors in Johannesburg who are trying to navigate their way. We’ve also listed some important contacts and organisations who are working hard to represent and protect actors when it comes to messy industry stuff.
We’ve made some easy sections for you below. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel and visit our FOR ACTORS Playlist that is a pick of awesome video content for actors.
- Department of Sport, Arts and Culture Relief Funds: Extended call for 2nd wave of relief funding. Read more HERE
- Waiting in the Wings : #WaitingInTheWingsSA Campaign in aid of freelance entertainers in the LIVE entertainment and events industries. This campaign is to help those individuals whose work opportunities have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely as a direct result of COVID-19. The help comes in the form of food vouchers and actors can apply directly HERE.
- Tribuo fund: a fund to provide financial support to performing artists and other relevant creative industry workers who currently don’t have any or limited income due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Visit their website HERE to donate, see eligibility or apply for funding.
- Making online work? Download our quick guide on “How to prepare yourself and your space to look super professional for an online broadcast, meeting or performance: POPArt Online Tips
- POPArt PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE : These are resources in addition to POPArt’s staging and training opportunities ands we collaborate with many of the spaces here to build a strong cohesive community. For our in-house POPArt skills and practise workshops, click HERE.
- NEW MATERIAL / OPEN STAGE NIGHT : POPArt hosts regular evenings dedicated to new and experimental material. Absolutely anyone is welcome to offer up something new so long as it follows our anti-bigotry content guidelines. Keep an eye out on our social media or sign up to our mailer to receive notice of when these happen.
- POPART IMPROV: a sacred space of play with a group of practising improvisors who keep their muscles tight together weekly. Basic improv training is mandatory as this is a practise group. We hold bi-annual auditions/ open sessions for people interested in joining the group. For those interested in learning this skill, keep an eye out for our regular beginner improv workshops.
- THE MARKET THEATRE LAB PART TIME COURSES: The Market Theatre Lab is a renowned performing arts institution that has been serving emerging artists for over 30 Years. While its pretty competitive and a huge commitment to join their 2 year course, they offer part time (12 week) courses with several intakes a year. Visit HERE for more info.
- THE WRITER’S LAB: An organization for writers to meet to discuss, refine and produce their work under the banner of The Writers Fraternity. No restrictions on form. All writers welcome from scriptwriters to screenwriters to poets to novelists to bloggers. Email the writerslabpta@gmail.com or visit the site for upcoming events.
- THE WRITER’S GUILD : As many of you know, as an actor, it’s often necessary to make your own work, rather than to wait around for someone to cast you- so many actors like to add writer to their skill set. If you’re one of these actors, the writers guild can help you in a number of ways, including their knowledge share sessions, international workshops and seminars. They will also help you with the protection of your intellectual property. Email: admin@writersguildsa.org
- THEATRE4YOUTH and ASSITEJ : Theatre 4 Youth is a really nifty little website that assists ready made productions (For Youth) in finding places to perform. It also builds relationships with schools that then use this website to book performances with relevant themes at their schools. You can become an Assitej member for an annual fee as a company or venue, and in turn list your production, your venue or yourself on the Theatre4Youth website. For more info or to see how this tool works: www.theatre4youth.co.za
- SWIFT (Sisters working in Film & Television) : SWIFT’s primary mandate is to transform the industry to a more equitable sector in terms of gender and race by advocating for safe working environments free from sexual harrassment and discrimination, equitable representation and participation of women throughout the industry value chain, pay parity and an end to the race and gender pay gap. Download their very helpful Sexual Harassment Guidelines booklet HERE.
- STAND FOUNDATION (Sustaining Theatre and Dance Foundation) : is an independent, non-profit and public benefit entity created by individuals within the sector to nurture, promote and celebrate contemporary South African dance and theatre. STAND’s activities include projects, networking sessions and skills development. For more info, visit their site HERE.
- ARTS AND CULTURE TRUST Arts and Culture trust run a number of training and development programs, as well as funding schemes to encourage the creation and development of new content in SA. They also offer once off grants, Masterclasses and 2 performing arts scholarships annually. Check out their website for more information on the current funding cycle: www.act.org.za
- BASA: BUSINESS AND ARTS SOUTH AFRICA: What BASA does is simple: they pair up corporate companies with arts initiatives. They also run mentorship programs for arts organisations, who may not have the business expertise required to make their business/ organization successful. They also assist with pitching for sponsorships. Look out for the Art Sponsorship toolkit that they are currently working on that will be available for download on their site.
www.basa.co.za - SAGA: South African Guild of Actors : So, you finally got a job! WOOO HOOO! But how do you know you’re not being exploited? How do you know your rights as an actor? How do you get your repeat broadcast fees? Did you know that, as actors, we are not considered “employees” and therefore we cannot create a union? Did you know that regular labour laws don’t apply to us? Until recently we knew a lot less about our rights… That is until SAGA was established a few years ago.With an incredible team of professionals at the helm, SAGA has grown from strength to strength and have assisted actors on a number of issues. The guild is governed democratically too… Which is pretty cool. Actors can join SAGA for a low monthly fee- it’s basically insurance for your talents. Visit: www.saguildofactors.co.za
If you would like to be added to our actor’s mailer, or if you would like to add something to this page, please let us know at popartjhb@gmail.com