Happy Thursday ! I came across an article in the UK newspaper, The Guardian about BAFTA nominated actor Samuel Bottomley (starred in "Somewhere Boy). He is setting up a drama workshop in the economically poorer North of England to address the inequality of access to acting training. Apparently "the proportion of working-class actors, musicians and writers has shrunk by half since the 1970s, according to the Office for National Statistics. Bafta-nominated actors are five times more likely than the general UK population to have attended a private school, at 35%, the Sutton Trust found." I'm wondering if you've faced barriers based on where you are from and or what you can afford? And how can we change this barrier to acting training? Here is the article https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/27/samuel-bottomley-somewhe...?
Acting : Inequalities in the Access to Acting Training - How Can We As Actors Overcome This? by Alexandra Stevens
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This is interesting. I recently saw an interview with Tarantino regarding theaters and ticket pricing. The thought of ticket prices, pricing the lower middle class and below out of being able to afford taking themselves and their families to the movies. Movie theaters were initially meant for working class people, where as "Broadway"/theater, ballet, opera, etc. were generally to expensive. I know I'm not exactly comparing apples to apples here, but I think the underling point is access, in particular to artistic and creative expression. Great share.
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Dustin Quinteros your share is very relevant and I felt energised to read it. Exactly, it is about inequality of access to the arts. I mean movie prices are crazy in London at any rate. I hadn't been to the movies for years (also due to having young kids so not much time). I just read your profile and read you you pivoted towards working in the creative industry later in life (like me). Was this also partly due to barriers in access?
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Alexandra Stevens yes, but not due to finances or expenses . I grew in a small town and there were no creative arts programs in school, outside of band or 1 art course. We had no theater dept, or anything like that. I just didn't know how, other than picking up and moving to "Hollywood "which was terrifying for an 18 year old in the 90s, that why I'm so grateful for Stage32 and other similar sites. I love Studiobinder because they have so many free templates, software, education material, etc.
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Dustin Quinteros yes I think you highlight well that it's not just about financial inequality but about structural inequalities like geography, school budgets/priorities and cultural messaging. Glad you managed to find your way. What projects are you working on at the moment?
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Alexandra Stevens exactly, although; with the "invention" of the internet and social media sites like this one, things have certainly improve. Have you checked out Nollywood?
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Dustin Quinteros no i haven't dug that deeply into Nollywood but I will now after your suggestion. Any way individual film makers and actors can empower themselves is something to encourage and promote