The Employment of Performers with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry MAY 2005



Research by: Olivia Raynor, Ph.D. and Katharine Hayward, Ph.D., M.P.H. National Arts and Disability Center University of California, Los Angeles Commissioned by: Screen Actors Guild Made possible by a grant from Screen Actors Guild / Producers Industry Advancement and Cooperative Fund 

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The Employment of Performers with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President’s Letter

4

National Chair Letter

5

Executive Summary

6

Key Findings

6

About This Report

9

Purpose of the Research

11

Findings

12

The Employment of Performers with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry

Conclusion and Recommendations 22

Olivia Raynor, Ph.D. and Katharine Hayward, Ph.D., M.P.H. National Arts and Disability Center, University of California, Los Angeles

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

NATIONAL CHAIR LETTER

Screen Actors Guild is proud to have commissioned the attached study to explore and find solutions to the many challenges faced by performers with disabilities, and to promote diversity in areas of our jurisdiction like film, television, commercials, and interactive media.

Working on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation playing Dr. Robbins has been one of the highlights of my acting life. At times, though, it’s strange to realize that I’m the only person with a visible disability who’s currently a regular on network television. Turn on your plasma for a week and look for major (or minor) characters with disabilities and you’ll see what I mean. In a nation with close to 20% of its population classified as “disabled” by the latest census and the Harris/National Organization on Disability Survey on Americans with Disabilities, this is a huge problem. It’s a dilemma with ramifications far beyond the difficulties faced by the Screen Actors Guild’s 1,237 performers with disabilities or PWDs. If you don’t see someone who looks like you on screen, it’s as if you don’t exist in our culture.

Screen Actors Guild

I appreciate the work of everyone who contributed to this collaborative project. First, I offer my thanks to the trustees of the Screen Actors Guild/Producers Industry Advancement Cooperative Fund (IACF) for providing the study’s grant money. Secondly, much gratitude goes to Dr. Olivia Raynor, Dr. Katharine Hayward, and the UCLA National Arts and Disability Center for authoring the report. Third, I would like to recognize the tireless efforts of former Guild President Melissa Gilbert and SAG Performers with Disabilities National Committee Chair Robert David Hall, as well as the entire PWD Committee. Last, but not least, congratulations to SAG National Director of Affirmative Action/Diversity Angel Rivera and his staff--Don Richards, Dion Torruella, Silvia Henriquez and especially Elaine Gram--for their dedication and hard work, which has enabled this report to be completed on time and on budget. This report follows previous studies commissioned by the Guild, including “Missing in Action: Latinos In and Out of Hollywood” in 1999 and “Still Missing: Latinos In and Out of Hollywood” and “The African-American Television Report” in 2000. It serves as yet another tool for the entertainment industry so that a true “American Scene” is reflected in the films, television programs and commercials seen around the world everyday. Screen Actors Guild is committed to diversity and inclusion. Recently, we worked with the CBS Diversity Institute to hold the first-ever network talent showcase for performers with disabilities. Progress was made in our continued attempt to include PWD data in the casting data report during our last few contract negotiations with employers. We trust this report will assist in furthering these goals. Alan Rosenberg President, Screen Actors Guild

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Performers with Disabilities Committee

This report has been years in the making and is truly a breakthrough. It’s a good, small, first step in the direction of understanding why society has such a problem in depicting the images of its disabled citizens in our popular media. It’s also an indictment of the way PWDs are treated by our industry. This group of SAG’s membership is well trained, educated, and diligently working to pursue the same career goals that all Guild members seek. They are frustrated by a lack of auditions and jobs, fearful of asking for lawful accommodations, and confused by their exclusion from the industry’s Casting Data Report. Many of you see the humanity and talent of PWDs. To those of you producers, writers, studio heads, show runners, and creative types willing to actually audition PWDs and increase our chance of employment in this difficult business, I say thank you for doing the right and smart thing. To those with reservations, I ask you to seriously consider the report you hold in your hands. I also want to thank the many fine people at Screen Actors Guild and the IACF who persevered in seeing this study to its conclusion, especially Dr. Olivia Raynor and Dr. Katharine Hayward of UCLA. I believe with all my heart and soul that PWDs can and must be seen and judged for their abilities. We are a valuable asset and a major part of the American Scene. Robert David Hall National Chair, Screen Actors Guild Performers with Disabilities Committee

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“

The people that are guardians of storytelling in the United States of America, and the world, claim to be the most creative people that there are. Yet, if you remember in elementary school and kindergarten, most kids had the 8 Crayola box. That’s what most of the people in Hollywood are using. Eight crayons. They have the nice, handsome white guy, the beautiful white girl, sidekicks, a couple of others. I’m saying if you are really going to tell the story, you need the 64 Crayola box.

”

SAG member with a disability, Los Angeles

KEY FINDINGS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are approximately 54 million Americans with disabilities, and yet they remain virtually invisible in the media. Until now, information about the employment of people with disabilities in film and television in the United States was virtually unknown. Annually, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) publishes a Casting Data Report that provides the industry with an analysis of the hiring practices and employment trends in film and television related to ethnicity, age and gender. The industry does not currently report information about the hiring of SAG actors with disabilities; hence, little is known about their employment. In response to this need, SAG commissioned this report, “The Employment of Performers with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry,” to create a comprehensive profile of the employment of SAG members with disabilities in 2003. In addition, SAG members with disabilities describe their experiences and views about getting an audition, disclosing their disability and need for accommodation to an employer, treatment in the workplace, and perceived barriers to employment. The collection, analysis and dissemination of this information are essential to achieving the objectives of non-discrimination and fair employment in the industry. To address the aims of this study, the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA held 4 focus groups in New York and Los Angeles and sent a mail survey to 1,237 SAG members who had self-identified on SAG’s Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Survey as having a disability or using adaptive equipment. Thirty-two members with disabilities participated in the focus groups and 496 (40.1%) responded to the survey.

Only one-third of SAG members with disabilities reported working in a theatrical or television production in 2003. Performers with disabilities worked an average of 4.1 days a year. Males worked an average of 5 days, compared to 2 days’ work for females. Performers with disabilities under 40 years of age had a higher average number of days worked than those over 40, 6.2 days versus 3.5 days. SAG members with disabilities have extensive training and education, with 29% having a college degree in theatre and approximately half were involved in a variety of professional experiences through other entertainment industry unions. Despite measures such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Producers/Screen Actors Guild’s Policy of Non-Discrimination and Diversity (2001), nearly 36% of the performers with disabilities felt they had encountered some form of discrimination in the workplace, including not being cast or being refused an audition because of their disability. While a little over a third of the performers with disabilities stated that a reasonable accommodation would help them in their work, 60% never asked for an accommodation because they believed employers would be reluctant to hire them. Many of the performers were unwilling to be candid about their disability for fear of being viewed as an object of pity and incapable of doing the job. Overall, the respondents believed that their prospects for employment were very limited and identified the three greatest barriers as: (1) only being considered for disability-specific roles; (2) a lack of acting jobs in general; and (3) difficulty getting an audition. Not surprisingly, the performers with disabilities that had more frequent auditions were also more likely to have worked. The most frequently encountered obstacles to getting an audition were stereotypical attitudes about disability and only being considered for limited roles. Also, the performers reported that the more ‘obvious’ or ‘visible’ the disability, the less likely the actor was to be hired or taken seriously by the creative team. Commercial work (51%) accounted for the largest share of auditions in SAG productions, followed by television (25%) and film work (18%). Performers with disabilities secured the majority of their acting jobs in television (32%), followed by film (28%) and commercials (22%). 103 performers with disabilities (21%) were cast in 426 lead roles and 357 supporting roles. 16 performers with disabilities had a total of 316 voice-over roles. 101 background actors with disabilities worked an average of 6.57 days. Most (56%) earned between $1- $1,000 a year.

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Nearly 30% of the study respondents acquired their disability after the age of 40. Some of the performers reported experiencing two forms of employment discrimination: for ‘being old’ and because they are ‘disabled.’ The report concludes with recommendations to guide policies and practices in the industry: Advocate for greater diversity in roles and increased hiring of performers with disabilities in film and television. Performers with disabilities want to see changes in audition and employment practices so that the results reflect the industry’s commitment to eliminate stereotyping in casting and to portray the American Scene realistically. Collect ongoing data about the employment of performers with disabilities in the same manner as other underrepresented groups to allow accurate comparisons of employment practices and trends in the industry. Reliable methods for the identification of the performers with disabilities will be necessary as not all disabilities can readily be identified through observation. Advocate for the inclusion of performers with disabilities in all diversity employment initiatives. Address images, language and attitudes that contribute to or hinder inclusion in the workplace. Educate the industry about the accessibility and accommodation rights and needs of performers with disabilities and how to address them. While most buildings now provide accessible parking and bathroom access, there are still a number of limitations to gaining access to audition sites. Performers do not believe that auditioning in alternate sites, such as parking lots or outside of the casting room, allows them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in an equitable fashion to others interviewed during casting sessions. Provide resources to the industry regarding accommodations, such as how to get a sign language interpreter, companies that rent out accessible equipment such as ramps or trailers, and so on. The majority of accommodations needed by the actors were fairly minor, such as a place and opportunity to sit down or proximity to a bathroom. Other accommodations, such as provision of a sign language interpreter, or Braille or large print script require planning and associated costs. Examine the needs of older actors, specifically those with age-related disabilities, as more than half of the entire membership of SAG is over the age 40. Performers with disabilities who stay in the workforce past the age of 65 are increasingly likely to acquire disabilities. To address the aims of this study, the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA held 4 focus groups in New York and Los Angeles and sent a mail survey to 1,237 SAG members who had self-identified on SAG’s Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Survey as having a disability or using adaptive equipment. Thirtytwo members with disabilities participated in the focus groups and 496 (40.1%) responded to the survey.

ABOUT THIS REPORT The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) represents approximately 120,000 actors and professional performers nationwide of every age, gender and ethnicity. Performers who self-identify as having a disability in SAG’s Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Bank represent about 1% of the total membership1. The role of the union is to protect and represent its members, specifically in their collective bargaining negotiations with producers. Through the collective bargaining process, the union negotiates fair pay, treatment and protections for its members. Annually, SAG produces a Casting Data Report2 that provides the industry with an analysis of hiring practices in film and television related to ethnicity, age and gender. SAG uses these data to measure progress related to diversity and employment practices in the industry. Specifically, the Casting Data Report addresses: trends in the types of roles; number of days worked and forms of hiring for men and women; age (under and over 40 years old); and race/ethnicity (African Americans, Latino/Hispanics, Asian Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Caucasians). Disability is not currently one of the categories included in the casting data report forms; hence, little is known about the actual employment of performers with disabilities relative to other underrepresented groups in the industry. In response to the need for this information, the Screen Actors Guild commissioned this study, “The Employment of People with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry,” to provide a baseline of the hiring of performers with disabilities in film and television, and the specific issues faced in getting work. This research takes a focused look at the employment of performers with disabilities in 2003. All of the data in this study were derived from self-reports by SAG performers with disabilities who voluntarily participated in the study and may not represent the opinions and experiences of all SAG members with disabilities.

The Portrayal of Disability in the Media An estimated 54 million Americans are living with a disability, representing 20% of Americans between the ages of 5 and 64 years. This percentage increases to 40% for older Americans (Disability Status, 2000; Census Brief 2000). The proportion of people with disabilities portrayed in television and film is vastly lower than the actual number of Americans living with a disability. Earlier research has looked at the number of characters in television that depict a person with a disability. These studies found that less than 2% of the characters on television display a disability, that only one-half percent had speaking parts, and that physical disabilities were portrayed more often than developmental or psychiatric disabilities (Gardner & Radel, 1978; Greenberg & Brand, 1994; Zola, 1985). Characters with disabilities were found not to play “normal roles,” as their parts focused on their disability (Gerbner, 1998). Popular images in the media of people with disabilities are often unrealistic and limiting. When characters do have a disability, they are often portrayed in stereotypical ways as suffering, special victims, courageous or deserving of sympathy (Elliott & Byrd, 1982; Greenberg & Brand, 1994, Special Olympics, 2005). Rarely are people with disabilities allowed to develop into fully-rounded characters or shown as valuing and participating in typical activities like sports or fitness, thereby further reinforcing stereotypical views (Bauman, 2004; Harnett, 2000).

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Film and television’s fascination and interest with the lives of individuals with disabilities has not translated into employment opportunities for performers with disabilities. There have been many theatrical films with a lead character with a disability that have garnered large audiences, critical acclaim and Academy Awards, such as Ray (2005), A Beautiful Mind (2001), As Good As It Gets (1997), Scent of a Woman (1992), and My Left Foot (1989). The lead actors in all of these films were not performers with disabilities; although Marlee Matlin, a deaf actress, won an Academy Award for her lead role in Children of a Lesser God (1987). For actors without a disability, portraying disability is considered traditional casting; however, it is considered non-traditional casting for a performer with a disability to portray a non disability-specific role. In contrast to film and television, commercials offer more opportunities for people with disabilities to be seen more realistically, such as in social situations with friends, playing sports, creating artistic work or interspersed in crowd scenes among a variety of people. For the most part, advertisers have focused on two disabilities, deafness and wheelchair users. (Haller & Ralph, 2001). It is understandable that, in a visual medium such as commercials, the use of equipment or sign language would be used to denote disability representation. While perhaps initially motivated by “good will,” increasingly advertisers are recognizing the potential profitability of including people with disabilities in their advertising, that it is simply good business practice (Haller & Ralph, 2001).

Non-Discrimination and Diversity in the Industry The Producers/Screen Actors Guild’s Policy of Non-Discrimination and Diversity (2001) reaffirms a commitment to a policy of non-discrimination and fair employment regarding the treatment of performers on the basis of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, marital status, disability or sexual orientation. As a part of this agreement, producers agree to make every effort to cast performers with disabilities that are suitable for roles, eliminate stereotyping in casting, and portray the American Scene realistically. Furthermore, the producers agree to include in casting specifications when a role calls for a person with a specific disability to enhance opportunities for performers with similar disabilities to audition for the role. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) is landmark federal legislation prohibiting employers from discriminating against a qualified individual with a disability in any terms and conditions of employment including recruitment, the application process, and hiring. Accessibility and accommodation are paramount for participation by people with disabilities in the workplace. This includes physical access for people who walk with difficulty, use wheelchairs, crutches, canes or walkers, as well as communication access for people with disabilities that affect vision, hearing or cognition. A reasonable accommodation is a change or adjustment to a job, the work environment or the way things are usually done that meets the individual needs of an applicant or employee to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to other employees. It is the responsibility of the applicant or employee to disclose to their employer that they have a disability and that a reasonable accommodation or tool is needed (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). People with disabilities are not required to disclose their disability during the job application process, which for the actor may be on their resume, headshot or audition, but may choose to disclose once a job offer is made. The dilemma of disclosure is the uncertainty of not knowing in 10

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advance how the employer will respond to the disclosure. While the ADA is intended to reduce uncertainty by imposing penalties on employers who discriminate, it does not eliminate the risks of negative consequences (Mancuso, 1993). A person with a disability may choose not to disclose, but employers have no obligation to provide an accommodation until the employee’s disability and need for accommodation are known. Employers are required to provide a reasonable accommodation to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities unless such an accommodation would pose an undue hardship (e.g. too costly, too expensive, too substantial, or too disruptive). Little, if anything, is known about the practical impact of the ADA and employment practices for actors with disabilities within the industry. This research provides a first look at the experience of actors in casting, requesting and receiving accommodations, perceived attitudes regarding disclosure, and need for an accommodation.

Purpose of the Research and Research Questions Specifically, this report addresses the following research questions: •

• What are the characteristics of SAG members with disabilities (i.e., gender, age, disability, perceived visibility of disability, education, income, ethnicity, and state of residence)?

•

• How experienced are performers with disabilities prior to joining SAG? How do they continue developing their craft?

•

• How do performers with disabilities get a job? How often do they audition?

•

• What kinds of roles do performers with disabilities play (i.e., lead, support, background player, disability specific, non-disability specific)?

•

• How many days a year do SAG performers with disabilities work?

•

• What barriers do SAG performers with disabilities encounter when getting a job?

•

• Do performers with disabilities disclose their disability?

•

• How many actors believe that they need an accommodation to work? How many request one and how often? Why do actors who need an accommodation not ask for one?

•

• What are some examples of accommodations that are asked for?

•

• What can SAG do to improve employment opportunities for performers with disabilities?

•

• Are performers with disabilities familiar with existing resources (organizations/ committees) that assist performers with disabilities? 11

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Table 1-Respondents Self Identification of Disability

Definition of Performers with Disabilities

SAG DISABILITY CATEGORY

FREQUENCY

PERCENT

For the purposes of this study, a performer with a disability was any performer who self-identified on SAG’s Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Survey (formerly the Special Skills and Talent Survey) as having a disability3 and/or using adaptive equipment4. Members have the opportunity to voluntarily disclose on this form a number of personal descriptors, such as ethnicity and disability, as well as any specific talents or skills. The purpose of the Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Bank is to identify individuals who have specific characteristics of interest to potential employers in the industry. Currently, this database is the only mechanism through which SAG can identify its members with disabilities.

Unspecified disability Mobility impaired Hard of hearing Visually impaired Little person Deaf Amputee Blind Cerebral palsy Paraplegic Multiple sclerosis Down syndrome Mental retardation Quadriplegic

141 132 118 49 39 32 25 16 11 11 9 9 6 5

28.4 26.6 23.8 9.9 7.9 6.5 5.0 3.2 2.2 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.0

Methodology Focus groups

The National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA facilitated four focus groups with 32 SAG members with disabilities, two in Los Angeles and two in New York in April and May 2004. The purpose of the focus groups was to assist in the development of the survey instrument and to discuss members’ experiences and opinions about working in the industry5.

Survey

All 1,237 SAG performers with disabilities, 18 years of age and older, were sent a survey accompanied by a postage paid return envelope6. A reminder post card was sent two weeks after the initial distribution of the survey. A total of 496 surveys were returned, yielding a 40.1% response rate. This response rate is considered good for a mail survey. The sample was generally representative of SAG performers with disabilities in terms of disability, adaptive equipment used, age, and income.

FINDINGS Disability According to the disability categories of SAG’s Diversity, Special Skills and Talent Bank, the largest share of respondents indicated that they had an unspecified disability (28.4%). This included individuals who had asthma, arthritis, diabetes, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, along with other medical conditions. After unspecified disabilities, mobility (26.6%) and hearing (23.8%) impairments were the most commonly reported disability categories (see Table 1). Additional questions revealed that 11.9% identified as having an emotional or mental disability, 10.9% a learning disability, and 7.3% as having a speech or communication disability7. Slightly more performers with disabilities reported their disability as “not obvious” as compared to “obvious,” 39.3% versus 35.5%. Interestingly, 19.0% were not certain whether their disability was obvious8.

Note: N = 496. Percentages do not add up to 100 because respondents could select more than one category of disability.

Three hundred and fifteen (63.5%) individuals used at least one piece of adaptive equipment. As can be seen from Table 2, the most commonly used pieces of adaptive equipment included a cane (21.2%) and hearing aid (19.4%). The use of canes and hearing aids coincides with the large percentages of performers with disabilities who indicated having a physical and/or hearing disability (see Table 2). Table 2-Type of Adaptive Equipment Used

TYPE OF ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT

FREQUENCY

PERCENT

Cane Hearing aid Other adaptive equipment Wheelchair Brace Walker Prosthesis Crutch Motorized wheelchair White cane Scooter Guide dog

105 96 81 55 43 28 28 24 22 13 13 6

21.2 19.4 16.3 11.1 8.7 5.6 5.6 4.8 4.4 2.6 2.6 1.2

Note: N = 496. Percentages do not add up to 100 because respondents could select more than one category of disability.

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Respondents were asked whether they were born with a disability or the age that it began. The majority (68.4%) indicated that they were either born with a disability or acquired their disability before 40 years of age; 28.8% acquired their disability after the age of 40. On a scale from slight to very severe, the largest share (39.5%) reported their disability as moderate.

Table 4 presents respondents’ educational level. Overall, respondents were a welleducated group: 28.2% had a college degree and 20.4% had a postgraduate degree. Table 4- Respondents Educational Level

FREQUENCY



Demographic Information

Education 9 Less than high school High school graduate 36 Some college 127 Associates degree 46 College degree 140 Postgraduate 101 Unknown/Missing 37

The average respondent was a Caucasian male between the ages of 40 and 59. Males represented 60.9% of the respondents, while 36.3% were female. They ranged in age from 20 years old to 97 years old, with the most commonly reported age of 49 (see Table 3). Table 3 - Gender, Ethnicity and Age Respondents TTableable 3-Gender, Ethnicity andofAge of Respondents



FREQUENCY

PERCENT

Gender Male Female Unknown/Missing

White/Caucasian 362 73.0 Black/African-American 48 9.7 Other 29 5.8 Asian/Pacific Islander 13 2.6 Hispanic/Latino 12 2.4 Native American Indian 5 1.0 Unknown/Missing 27 5.4

1.8 7.3 25.6 9.3 28.2 20.4 7.5

Note: N = 496.

302 60.9 180 36.3 14 2.8

Ethnicity

PERCENT

The survey respondents primarily resided in states with the three largest branch offices, California (52.4%), New York (14.9%), and Florida (4.4%). As Figure 1 below illustrates, nearly a third (31.0%) of SAG performers with disabilities had no income from SAG contract work in 2003. Over half (51.0%) of the performers earned between $1 and $5,000, and less than 5% made over $20,000. Not unlike the SAG membership as a whole, there are wide-ranging disparities between the earning levels for SAG members with disabilities, with only a select few high-earning actors.

Age

20-29 19 3.8 30-39 61 12.3 40-49 101 20.4 50-59 128 25.8 60-69 70 14.1 70-79 62 12.5 80-89 22 4.4 90-99 3 0.6

Unknown/Missing Note: N = 496.

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6.0

Figure 1- Earnings for All Performers with a Disability

60 50 40 30

31%

34.1%

20

16.9 %

10

4.8 %

3.8 %

3.4 %

$5,00110,000

$10,00120,000

$20,00150,000

0 $0

$1-1000

$1,0015,000

1%

0.4 %

$50,001- $100,000 100,000 and over

Note: N = 496. Percents do not add up to 100 as 21 respondents did not provide income information.

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Table 5 shows that over half (51.8%) of performers with disabilities had a household income of less than $35,000, with 23.8% reporting a household income less than $15,000 in 2003. Table 5-2003 Total Household Income

2003 TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME

FREQUENCY

PERCENT

Less than $15,000 $15,001-25,000 $25,001-35,000 $35,001-50,000 $50,001-75,000 $75,001-100,000 $100,001 and over Unknown/Missing

118 87 52 82 68 38 30 21

23.8 17.5 10.5 16.5 13.7 7.7 6.0 4.2

Note: N = 496.

As can be seen from Table 6, performers with disabilities supplement their SAG income in numerous ways. The most common sources of supplemental income are other income (32.3%), Social Security (31.7%), and family support (24.6%). Nearly half (47.3%) of the performers with disabilities augment their income through part-time or full-time non-SAG work. Table 6-Other Sources of Household Income

SOURCES OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME

FREQUENCY

PERCENT

Other income Social security Part-time non-SAG work Family support Full-time non-SAG work SAG or other pension Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

160 157 146 122 89 85 82 39

32.3 31.7 29.4 24.6 17.9 17.1 16.5 7.9

Note: Percents do not add up to 100 because respondents could select more than one answer.

Sources of Household Income

About half (51.8%) of the respondents had never been eligible for SAG benefits over the course of their Guild membership. A little over a quarter (27.4%) of the performers with disabilities were vested in SAG. Approximately 9% of the respondents had health insurance through SAG in 2003; this percentage corresponds to the number of who indicated sufficient earnings to meet the required threshold level 9. A large number of survey respondents received health care coverage through Medicare (22.6%) which may be attributed to the higher percentage of older individuals participating in the study. Some of the respondents receiving SSDI may also have received Medicare coverage. 16

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Professional Training and Development

Survey respondents had a lengthy average membership in SAG of 16 years, with a range of 1 to 66 years. Nearly half of the respondents were members of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) (49.8%) and another quarter of the respondents (25.4%) were affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association. As can be seen from Table 7, the majority of performers with disabilities had extensive educational, professional and related work experience prior to joining SAG. A significant share had taken acting courses (78.8%), 71.2% performed in school-based theater, 64.9% in community theater, and 64.9% had acted in TV and films. Additionally, a large percentage (28.6%) had completed a college degree in theater. Table 7-Education, Training and Professional Experience Prior to Joining SAG

ACTIVITY

FREQUENCY

PERCENT

Had taken courses in acting Performed in school-based theater Performed in community theater Performed for pay in TV/movie Performed as background in a SAG production Performed for pay in a commercial Performed for pay in a stage production Had a college degree in theater

391 353 322 322 250 246 223 142

78.8 71.2 64.9 64.9 50.4 49.6 45.0 28.6

Note: Percents do not add up to 100 because respondents could select more than one answer.

The respondents reported that in 2003 they continued to develop their craft through multiple kinds of activities. These activities fell into two broad categories: 1) self-promotion and 2) professional development. In terms of self-promotion, 62.3% of performers with disabilities were marketing themselves, 44.2% were attending networking events, and 34.7% were creating and/or updating demo tapes. Additionally, performers were building on their craft by taking acting classes (43.5%), being involved in student projects (28.2%), meeting with an acting coach (28.0%), performing in showcases (23.2%), teaching industry-related classes (18.8%), and performing in professional (20.0%) or community theater (17.9%).

Casting Outlook

Focus group participants talked about barriers they encountered in getting jobs, including the lack of performers with disabilities being cast in general, the lack of disabled roles, and the frequent casting of people without disabilities in disabled roles. Some of the actors with disabilities felt that they were relegated to only disabilityspecific roles that corresponded to the physical characteristics of their disability. For example, one participant commented, “…So casting happens so quickly. So I think that they say: Okay, we need someone with no legs, that guy has no legs. It’s fast and it’s not thinking.”

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The performers also discussed being typecast as the villain, the bitter cripple, and the little old lady. “I also get typecast. … Most of the time I always played a villain. I don’t mind. Lots of fun. But at the same time I know I can do other roles as well. You don’t see my type of people as far as sitcoms or commercials…” Overall, the respondents believed that their prospects for employment were very limited because actors without disabilities were being cast in the few disability-specific roles available in film and television. Also, the performers with disabilities did not perceive that the industry considered them for mainstream or non-disabled roles10. Added one participant: “…Even though all of us live lives -- outside our disability, we’re not going to be thought of as much, or very rarely, for non-disabled specific roles.”

Lead and Support Actors This section provides an in-depth look at the process of seeking work and actual employment of respondents who reported working in lead or support roles, or had no employment in 2003. A section that describes performers with disabilities who worked exclusively as background actors in 2003 follows this.

Getting the Audition

Approximately 31% of the respondents were represented by an agent, while only 5.8% had a manager. Furthermore, 14.2% reported having an agent and 7.8% reported having a manager with whom they had a more informal relationship and did not have a signed contract. Performers with disabilities identified their agent (34.0%) and themselves (24.7%) as the two most important people for getting an audition. Networking was also important in finding-out about auditions. Thirteen percent reported getting an audition through a casting director, 10.7% from a friend, 9.0% from an organization assisting performers with disabilities and 8.1% through their manager.

Auditions

Performers with disabilities reported having a total of 1,902 auditions in SAG contractual categories of employment in 2003. Commercial work accounted for the largest share of auditions, followed by television and film work. • • • • •

961 (50.5%) auditions in commercials 482 (25.3%) auditions in television 335 (17.6%) auditions in film 83 (4.4%) industrial/interactive auditions 41 (2.2%) music video auditions

Type of Contract Work in 2003

The total number of reported acting jobs in the five SAG contractual categories of employment was 1,224. The actual number of jobs in some areas is higher than the number of auditions. This is attributed to the fact that not all jobs require auditions, particularly for the more well-known performers. The majority of acting jobs were secured in television, followed by film and commercials. • • • • •

386 (31.5%) acting jobs in television 343 (28.0%) acting jobs in film 265 (21.7%) acting jobs in commercials 189 (15.4%) music video acting jobs 41 (3.3%) industrial/interactive acting jobs

Roles

Performers with disabilities were asked the number of lead, supporting and voice-over roles they had in 2003. One hundred and three performers with disabilities had a total of 426 lead roles and 357 supporting roles. Sixteen performers with disabilities had a total of 316 voice-over roles. 18

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Earning a Living: Days Worked

There was a significant, positive correlation between auditions in all five SAG contractual categories and number of days worked (p