How to Break Up with An Artist
While participating in a workshop on creating disruption and change in your industry: I was asked what the issues are in my line of work that nobody talks about. Lots of wonderful ideas came up from the group about pay, opportunity, contracts: but one issue would not leave my mind. One that I think seeps its way into theatre work a lot more than it is vocalised.
The abrupt, underhand and extremely hurtful way that artists are taken off projects.
To be clear, this is not about the dismissal of artists who are harmful to the working environment. This is specifically about artists who have done their job respectfully and to a good standard. There are a number of reasons this kind of dismissal (no one calls it this, but this is what it is) may happen to an artist. Sometimes its for PR reasons if an artist with a bigger ‘name’ or tie to a venue can be involved. Sometimes its that the match between the artist and the project wasn’t quite right in the first place. Sometimes someone with more power just wants that project. But often, the communication of this termination is incredibly questionable, if not non-existent. Normally very little reason is given for an artist’s dismissal, often because the reason is an uncomfortable one that’s nothing to do with the artist’s work. More often, the onus is on the artist themselves to reach out and ask if they still have a job, often after seeing the show advertised on social media with a different artist attached.
Enough is enough. This bad practice is only allowed to keep happening because feelings of guilt and lack of clarity mean we haven’t been able to look at this problem directly in the eye. Time and focus on a code of ethics around artist dismissals are necessary to make sure freelancers are cared for and treated fairly in these circumstances. So I have drafted up my own code of conduct to start the conversation.
Like romantic breakups, advice for artist breakups is relatively similar. Be honest, be considerate, be clear.
For the Dumpers: It’s ok to break up with an artist if it’s not quite right.
Like romantic relationships, wanting to explore different collaborators is enough reason to end a working relationship on a project. Projects can change over time or a rehearsal process can reveal that something or someone is not the right fit. All of this is ok. What’s important, however, is that you communicate this with the artist before hiring someone else and are honest about how you are feeling.
This is something I have personally got wrong in the past. So I now have a rule that with any work in development, artists have to be kept in the loop about the future of that piece with regular emails.
For the Dumpees: If it is not offered, ask for an official break up meeting on your own terms.
This may be in person, over Zoom, even a phone call: but you have the right to a detailed and honest conversation. Use this meeting as an evaluation process and go over what went right and what went wrong, it will be easier to see the life of the project go on without you if you have closure.
For the Dumpers: If a new artist is attached, be clear about that and why you have gone down that path. If the reason is uncomfortable, accept that.
Sometimes in relationships you have to be selfish. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself that you have to take. Sometimes this can make you feel guilty. But it is important that guilt is expressed and confronted rather than it manifesting in ignoring the terminated freelancer or dancing around the subject. If the reasons for the break up really are a career opportunity or the chance to work with someone you admire, it is important that they know that. Leaving an artist going over the project and wondering what they did wrong can be incredibly painful, and they will most likely understand if an incredible opportunity has come up that you have to take.
For the Dumpees: Have a discussion about intellectual property and when you start work on a project.
It’s not fun to talk about a relationship ending as soon as it begins, but it is good to know if and how you will be protected. If you’re working with a larger organisation, a conversation with their HR department may be useful to work out what you are entitled to. If not, a producer should be able to give you the answers that you need. If they haven’t thought about it, explain your concerns and ask them to create their own code of conduct or policy around this issue. Have a written record of everything so you can go to a union rep if needs be.
For the Dumpers: Be clear about the future relationship you would like with the dumpee.
If this is the last time you’d like to work with this artist, it is ok to say that. But if you have enjoyed their work and want to collaborate with them again, be clear about that and make active moves to ensure they feel valued post-breakup. Invite them to meetings, see their work, recommend them to other artists. It is important you make these moves to ensure they feel secure in your working relationship. If they believe you were just being polite, there’s a chance uncertainty about where they stand could make you lose contact.
If they need time to work out if they want to work with you again, or decide to end the relationship themselves, accept that. It’s the risk you take when you decide to hire someone else.
For the Dumpees: Find ways to take as much as you can from a breakup.
Whilst you may (or may not) understand the reasons behind this breakup, be clear about the effect this has on your career and ask the artist or venue what support they can offer you to help with that. Can they provide you with rehearsal space? Can the artist set up an introduction for you to some of their network? Can the venue consider you for another project or role? If there is resistance to this idea, appeal to their better nature. They are, in essence, taking work off you. Often in circumstances that aren’t your fault. It is important they are made to sit with this rather than avoid thinking about it.
For the Dumpers: Credit, thank and name the work of the dumpee.
This credit should be specific and widespread. Rather than just including their name in a thank you list in the programme, have a section which specifies who helped this project develop and in what way. Promote their previous involvement in the project on social media. Make sure your acknowledgments are meaningful and detailed.
For Venues: If the team attached to a project is strong and works well, consider keeping the team in tact.
If a piece has been in development stages, often the wonderful ideas that make a production so brilliant have come from every single person that was in that room. Keeping that team in tact and allowing them the opportunity to make work on a bigger platform could be unbelievably beneficial to both the careers of the artists and your venue (think Pomona at the Orange Tree). Many wonderful projects will come through your doors, so if the team is right, you could be allowing something really special to blossom.
These are small changes, mainly just to structure and communication of these conversations. But the power they give freelancers is tangible and significant. Powerlessness as a freelancer often comes from lack of clarity: meetings that are actually interviews, waiting for commissions that were promised once there is funding, having to get a venue and team booked before you can apply for Arts Council Funding. Freelancers are often expected to be prepared for everything and also have nothing, and the burden of potential loss is persistently put on them despite them having the least legal protection.
This is the same with work breakups. If they happen with no notice or tangible reason, freelancers feel the loss of that work financially and creatively. The precarity of not knowing whether a work relationship is over for good can mean years of hard work can suddenly be down the drain, and it can throw the trajectory of your career into question. These suggestions are the start of ensuring freelancers are protected from this. That there is still a clear route in sight. That it’s not you, it’s them.
