‘We have this attitude to our work which is that it’s our passion, it’s our love and it’s a part of our identity,’ Sydney-based theatre director, writer and producer Richard Carroll told a group of mental health professionals. Carroll continued that this ‘glorious’ aspect of working in the performing arts is also a source of conflict. Carroll added, ‘People can struggle to expect to be compensated properly for what they are doing, to be treated properly.’
The challenges of mental health were raised by Carroll and others speaking at an online event hosted by the Australian Psychological Society’s Performing Arts & Entertainment Industry Interest Group, where experts in mental health met with those with lived experience of the arts sector.