Today, Parents In Performing Arts (PIPA), a Consortium of 18 leading industry organisations, announces its first major piece of work, a Best Practice Action Research Project.
Funded by The Arts Council of England, Creative Scotland, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Actors’ Children’s Trust, The Family Arts Campaign and UK Theatre, the aim of the research is to identify barriers facing carers working in the performing arts, and to investigate practical ways of reducing them. The outcome will be a Best Practice Charter to be embedded in Family Arts Standards in conjunction with the Family and Childcare Trust, as well as other performing arts industry guidelines.
The research project will be led by Cassie and Anna with Dr Tom Cornford from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. 15 leading UK theatres and theatre companies will participate in the project: Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Dundee Rep Theatre, English Touring Theatre, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Hull Truck Theatre, Mercury Theatre Colchester, National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre Wales, Northern Stage, Royal Court Theatre, Stellar Quines Theatre Company, Theatre by the Lake and The Old Vic (PIPA lead organisation).
Established in 2015 by Cassie Raine (Actor), and Anna Ehnold-Danailov (Director), PIPA, a grassroots organisation that emerged as a direct result of Cassie and Anna’s respective experiences of returning to work after having children, campaigns for equal opportunities and access to work in the performing arts for those with caring responsibilities. PIPA aims to achieve sustainable change in attitudes and practices in order to attract, support and retain a more diverse and flexible workforce. A full list of PIPA’s aims and objectives can be found at here.