COVID-19 is the ‘biggest threat’ to diversity in drama schools says new report
Hattie Fisk
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Despite positive steps taken since Centre Stage 2016 was published, a new report from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation suggests that 2020 lockdowns have been the ‘biggest threat’ to drama school diversity and inclusion schemes.
Robin Savage
In a survey of 22 UK drama schools, 15 institutions responded, all stating that funding for improving inclusion has suffered in the past year. In some cases investment has dropped by as much as one third since the pandemic began.
While the report states that since 2016, 57% of drama schools have reviewed and enhanced their access and outreach participation teams, the foundation notes that Covid-19 has put developments on pause.
Opening the Centre Stage 2021 report, Lloyd Webber states that in the last five years ‘there has been change, but not nearly enough’ to ensure drama schools have ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic diversity in both students and staff.
The theatrical impresario says: ‘Theatre schools need more scholarships, not just for performers, but for every discipline. I implore anyone who really cares about diversity in theatre to consider funding a scholarship.’
Despite all the surveyed schools increasing in the number of students from ethnic minorities attending courses over the past five years, diversity in some student cohorts is still in single percentage figures.
Chris Hocking, the principal at ArtsEd, states: ‘Lockdown is not an excuse to ease up on diversity. There has been no dance or drama training or performing arts in state schools this year and that is going to come back and bite us.’
London based ArtsEd increased diversity within its student intake (between 2016 and 2020) by 16 per cent, up to 37 per cent — one of the largest increases in the report. ArtsEd were also leading in terms of appointing staff from ethnic minorities at senior management level, including senior leadership, teaching roles and trustees.
The report states that ‘diversity in senior management level staff [is] the most important catalyst for change’, and urges drama schools to ‘unlock diverse talent and ‘create permanent institutional change.’