Welfare

For specific Welfare production team roles see Welfare Officer

Doing a show, while being a great experience, can sometimes be stressing especially during the weekend just before opening. It's not easy to juggle theatre, degree, social life and sleep for an average Cambridge student. It is very important to remember that your welfare is more important than the show.

This page serves as a platform to give some basic welfare-related information but shows, especially larger productions, should ideally have a welfare officer/representative who is a go-to for any show-related welfare queries.

Balance & Boundaries

Shows can be exciting and engaging things to be involved in but they can also seem all-consuming. It's worthwhile to set boundaries for yourself in terms of time, energy and responsibility so that your commitment to a show doesn't extend beyond what you intended to give. There are a few ways you can hold onto these boundaries:

• Timetable your hours spent working on a show and stick to them. This prevents it becoming a never-ending job.

• Make sure your producer knows any commitments you have during the get-in or show week. Make sure you stick to these unless you're certain you can skip things - it's easy for someone to tell you to skip a lecture or a social activity to work on a show but remember only you as the individual can judge if this is viable for your degree or mental health. This becomes a concern during get-ins, but provided you've warned ahead it should be fine.

• Ensure you know what you are and are not expected to do. Different shows will set up roles differently depending on peoples' experience and availability, so it's good to know where your responsibility ends. This is best done by encouraging a specific Production Team meeting to discuss the expectations of team members for each other and what the intended role of the cast in the Get-ins and Get-outs is.

Long Hours/Time Out

ADC Theatre and Corpus Playroom

During the Get-in Weekend, it is common that the technical team stays a long time inside the theatre, especially if it's an ADC Mainshow. The 16-hour rule says that no-one is allowed stay in the venues for more than 16 hours in one go without an 8 hour break. Everyone must have a break lasting at least 8 hours or longer; you cannot pop out of the theatre for a couple of hours and return to continue working. You should not be reaching 16 hours in the theatre on a regular basis and it's also important that you rest during the 8 hours outside the theatre.

It is the Producer's and Technical Representative's responsibility to ensure everyone follow the time-out rule and get enough rest. The Welfare Officer also has a responsibility to keep track of general tiredness levels etc and coordinate with the producer and technical representative to look after the cast and crew.

Overnights

Working overnight is only typically done in the ADC Theatre for ADC Mainshows in order to rig and plot lights before the get-in occurs for a main show. They will occasionally happen to finish off work for big shows (eg. to complete get-in for LTM) and in this case require permission from ADC Management. They tend to start early on a Sunday morning as soon as the previous week's main show has finished their get out, and they will go until the work (for example the lighting set-up) is done - often meeting with the start of the main get-in.

Planning an Overnight

Often, a production team will assume that the lighting designer is planning an overnight, and importantly is willing to do an overnight. This should not be assumed and should be discussed well before the get-in weekend. If you are uncomfortable doing an overnight or just don't want to have to stay up all night, that is very valid - it just means things will need to be planned and scheduled differently, especially considering the tight timeframe for a get-in.

If you decide to do an overnight, you need to have someone present as Technical Representative who has been part of an overnight before. They are responsible for running the show and all health and safety issues. Ideally you'll get a team of a few people (at least 4 in total) to be there, as things can go much quicker with more hands, and you can all get to bed.

Feel free to contact the CUADC Technicians Rep technician@cuadc.org and Technical Director td@cuadc.org if you need any advice about an overnight, or are struggling to find people to help.

Doing an Overnight

Staying in the theatre overnight is not an option that should be taken lightly, and you should ensure you are prepared. You need to make sure you're well rested rather than already being tired when you arrive, especially considering the larger risks present when working at height and with mains electricity.

Food and breaks are also an important consideration - even if you've eaten well during the day you will definitely get hungry in the early hours. Common practice is to buy some frozen pizzas and cook them in the ADC kitchen. It's also good to bring some other snacks - biscuits, fruit etc. as rigging the lighting is hard work and you'll need to keep yourselves going! Make sure to plan breaks in which you can eat these snacks, rest your weary bodies and take stock of what you're doing and what's left. The Clubroom is your rest environment at all times and overnights are no exception.

Cast

During a show week, demands on the cast can get very heavy, especially if it is a busy week in term. Whilst your producer, director and welfare rep should be looking out for you, they are not mind readers and show week can be very hectic and distracting, so make sure you are in constant communication with them - especially if you feel your welfare is being compromised for any reason. Your show should ideally have a Welfare Officer and rolling form of some kind which allows you to communicate easily with the production team but if you feel you are having issues you can speak to any member of the show team or, more indirectly, relevant representatives of [[CUADC#Current Committee| CUADC]/CUMTS etc. Here are a few tips to make show week bearable:

• Make sure you sleep enough! Get-ins and technical rehearsals can sometimes run very late, so it is important to get enough sleep for you to function properly as a human. If you feel like you are not resting enough, make sure you speak to your director or producer, and go home. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO NAP IN THE THEATRE.

• Stay hydrated, and eat enough food. It is dangerous for you to be anywhere near a stage when you are not well-fuelled. In addition, do not consume any alcohol before going to stage - if you are known to have any alcohol in your system before a performance you will not be allowed on stage. This is a universal rule for cast and crew.

• Take time for yourself. Sometimes it can be overwhelming being in such close quarters with so many people. Try to have some quiet time if you need it.

• Bring your work with you! If your supervisor is breathing down your neck and your essay is due tomorrow, it is much better to try and work in small bursts in free-time during rehearsals, than it is to pull an all-nighter. Technical rehearsals are often very stop and start for actors, and so are a great time to squeeze in a little work if you have to. Of course, in addition to this, if everything becomes a little too much, do not force yourself to work. If you have to take out an essay extension, or apologise to your supervise for some 'not great' work, don't beat yourself up about it. You should never sacrifice your health for work (or theatre, for that matter).

Directors

As a director, you are have some responsibility for the welfare of the cast as you have the most contact with them from the production team. Some possible signs that someone's welfare has been compromised are: extreme tiredness/exhaustion; increased irritability or emotional outbursts (where usually that is not in their nature); sudden or intense illness. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does give you some things to be on the look out for.

There is no prescriptive way of managing welfare, as everyone has different needs and tolerance levels. However, here are a list of things you can/should do, to help your cast survive show week as healthily and happily as possible.

• Establish rapport between you and the cast so they can approach you when they are uncomfortable. This should be done from the outset, but is particularly important in show week. Encouraging communication is so important.

• Make sure your cast take regular breaks - and by regular breaks we mean resting, relaxing, and leaving the theatre where possible - not just sitting in the club room hours.

• Schedule your time as accurately as possible so that your cast are only at the rehearsal or theatre for as long as they are needed.

• Have a safe word. It might sound silly, but sometimes a get-in or a technical rehearsal can be very overwhelming, especially for actors, and a safe-word saves them having to explain to a whole company of cast and crew why they might need a break or some fresh air. Establish one early on with your team, and then use it as a 'no questions asked' rule for when someone needs an urgent break.

• Do nice things for each other(cast and production team). Leave cute notes, make a round of tea, bring biscuits etc. Just try to be extra kind and helpful if you can - everyone will really appreciate it, and return the favour when they can!

• Try the best to avoid super long rehearsals. Give cast a reasonable amount of notice for long rehearsals or particularly gruelling schedules so they can plan their work or other aspects of lives accordingly.

Long Run

For long-running shows such as LTM and panto, welfare is obviously a concern, partly because of the time commitment of so many performances and the end-of-term timing, but also for the wear-and-tear on the voices and bodies of actors and crew.

For actors, long runs can be made easier by incorporating good vocal technique into the rehearsal process and having a set plan for checking up on general welfare at various points during the show weeks. Socials can be good for moral but make sure that this is not pressured and presented as yet another time commitment. Looking after your cast is important if you want your show to still look and sound as energised at the end as it does at the start.

For tech crew it may be useful and sensible to create a rota so that roles are shared. Long runs can also be a useful place to train up new techies and encourage them to take on more responsibility as the run progresses to lighten the load of others. Remember techies need sleep to make the show run smoothly as much as actors do.