Beyond Clichés: Tackling Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry
📚 Production Solutions: Mental health issues in the entertainment industry are widespread. Here are resources and strategies to help keep your cast & crew from losing it.
The entertainment industry has given birth to a telling array of stereotypes: tortured artist, drunken pop star, domineering stage mom, anorexic dancer, Scott Rudin. While producers would likely banish these clichés from a script, they cannot disregard the mental health and psychological well-being of their cast and crew.
Mental health issues in the entertainment industry are widespread and severe. Numerous studies in the United Kingdom, North America and Australia show that rates for suicide and suicidal thinking, depression, anxiety and substance abuse are significantly higher among entertainment industry professionals than the general population. And those studies were conducted pre-pandemic.
The dismal statistics regarding mental health in the entertainment industry shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It’s a high-risk business that’s rife with uncertainty, job insecurity and burnout. So what are we going to do about it?
Let’s start by getting better at recognizing and responding to mental health issues. Producers and managers in the entertainment industry have always played the role of the therapist to some extent, calming nerves and cheerleading whenever necessary. Over the years, I’ve talked a lot of writers and directors off the proverbial ledge. But like many things producers are held responsible for, most are not trained to handle mental health problems.
Early in my career, I was tasked by a Broadway producer with firing an actor. Her alcohol abuse was so severe that she could not remember her lines. Having never fired anyone before, I asked for advice and was told to remain standing, keep it brief and give no reason for the termination beyond “the role isn’t a good fit for you”.
Fortunately, today there is a growing awareness and acceptance of mental health issues, and there are tools that we can easily add to our box to help address them in a far better manner than I did all those years ago.
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR ENTERTAINMENT PROS
Behind the Scenes is a non-profit initiative providing a treasure-trove of tools to address mental health and psychological safety in the entertainment industry. They have a “therapist finder” specifically designed for entertainment professionals, so that no one has to spend time and money explaining how the industry works to their therapist. They have an online certificate course in mental health first aid and brief scripts on mental health and well-being that producers can use when welcoming everyone to the stage or set. They even have an app for 24/7 peer-to-peer support.
The Entertainment Community Fund provides a broad range of services and support for entertainment pros. In addition to therapy and counseling services, they have programs to address a wide variety of stress-inducing circumstances, including financial and estate planning, senior care, addiction and recovery assistance, disaster relief, housing and so on.
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING STRESS ON YOUR NEXT PRODUCTION
If you’re a producer, director or department head, then the tone of your production’s workplace is largely in your hands. And while you’re unlikely to eliminate all the stress on your stage or set, it is in your power to substantially reduce it. Here are six reliable strategies to keep your cast and crew from losing it:
Get yourself (yes, you!) out of the “stressed” mindset. There’s no law that says production has to be difficult. If you’re a hot mess, your cast and crew will be too. Figure out a strategy for dealing with your own anxiety. And consider sharing your coping mechanism with your team. If everyone is talking about how they de-stress, then maybe it will become a badge of honor to fall in love with a meditation app.
Make sure your budget is sufficient to care properly for team members. You cannot starve yourself and stay healthy. It’s the same for your team. Make sure your budget has enough funds to keep everyone hale and hearty throughout the long process of bringing a creative project to life.
If the subject matter of your script is traumatic, arrange for a therapist to be on your set or in your rehearsal room. Ava DuVernay provided on-set counselors while shooting When They See Us, and I know of several off-Broadway productions that have had a therapist on-call through an arrangement with the Entertainment Community Fund.
Schedule shorter workdays. Entertainment is likely to be one of the only industries that likes to schedule a production meeting at the end of a 12+ hour day. It’s delusional to think that is a good time to make decisions and set priorities. Stress will be reduced if you and everyone else on your team get enough sleep.
Put clear policies in place regarding harassment, bullying and discrimination and enforce them. A number of unions and government agencies now mandate these policies, so be sure yours is compatible with theirs. Be sure to communicate these policies clearly to your cast and crew. You want them to know how you’re working to keep them both mentally and physically safe. You want them to know that you value and respect them.
Build mental health and psychological well-being rituals into your production. A dance break can do wonders for shaking off tension. Asking everyone to breathe deeply together for a minute can be a great way to focus your team at the start of the day. Calling a five minute time-out when tempers start to flare can help to prevent costly delays and energy-draining dramas.
Employing these strategies from the get-go can help make it clear that the producer and the production are doing whatever they can to make the entertainment industry a safe place for everyone. Happy cast and crew!—that’s a stereotype we want to be celebrating.