Accessing success – how young people navigate connections in creative industries

Breaking into a creative industry has obstacles that are well documented. For young people pursuing their dreams, what’s often felt are the gaps in access to success. Whether this is down to where someone is from, who they’re surrounded by, or how they make their start, it’s clear that the playing field is not level. Speaking to young people working to establish themselves in the arts, it became clear to me just what carries them over these hurdles.

The opportunities offered to young creatives in London are bountiful. In some industries, the importance of knowing people in the capital cannot be overstated.

To Oliver, 20, moving from Devizes in Wiltshire was the natural step in the progression of his career as a dancer. On whether or not it was an option to not move, Oliver told me it technically was but logically it wasn’t.

“I started my training in Bristol, and I’d commute there from Bath. It’s unfortunate that so many opportunities feel exclusive to Londoners, but I felt like moving there was the boost that I needed in terms of starting my career.

Most of the prestigious schools are in or around London, the furthest out I applied for was in Guildford. It’s not even necessarily that that’s where all the best dancers are from – personally some of the best training I ever received in my life was in Bristol, but it sort of felt like the name and location weren’t considered glamorous enough to take me where I want to be.”

This sentiment is echoed through student migration statistics. Oliver is among thousands who set their sights on London as the city to place the roots of their professional careers each year. He says that the benefits he’s come across so far make that decision make more sense to him every day.

“Making connections here has been interesting because it was an expected benefit of moving to the capital city. In terms of school, so many of my teachers are respected industry professionals and former dancers that are perfectly equipped to help students like me in the future once we’re done training. They make us very aware of this and let us know that their opinions of us could be the difference between landing jobs or not. 

Something I’ve learned since moving here is that I always have to be on top form because the standards here are particularly intense. It’s a lot of pressure constantly having to present the best version of yourself because one off day could mean that people aren’t receptive to you.”

But to Oliver, the most worthwhile opportunities are the ones he seeks out beyond dance school. “I would say that living in London itself has offered me more than my classes have so far. Being able to attend workshops, performances, and meeting all new people through extracurriculars has shown me just why so many people move here.”

While reflecting on the positives that moving to London has reaped for him, Oliver is mindful of the obstacles in place for people like him as well as those from different backgrounds.

“I don’t come from money, my parents don’t support me, and as much as Wiltshire is home, I felt trapped there because of how little it offered me in terms of investing in my future. Right now I’m supported by student finance as well as the part time job I’ve got here. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have found my footing here and make the leap of moving worth it.”

“I think a lot of people like me that feel held back don’t know the full extent of what’s available in terms of support. But also that sometimes just isn’t enough. It makes me sad that there’s such a gap in who has access to what based on where they’re from. As much as I’m glad that I moved, I do sometimes wonder how many more people would be able to thrive if there were more opportunities available to people that want to dance without the unavoidable prospect of moving to London. There are a lot of different backgrounds that are massively underrepresented in the dance industry, and I think that’s sadly more of a reflection on who is able to get themselves into rooms than who dances the best.”

Getting yourself into rooms seems to be an area where young people are discovering a sense of disparity among their peers. Nepotism has become something of a hot button topic in the entertainment industry in the last year. A December 2022 piece by Vulture described as a definitive guide to the nepo-verse spread to virality on social media for its diagrams detailing the familial connections in Hollywood.

Katie, a 21 year old film student from the North of England, told me about how she first noticed some of her peers were connected to the industry through family in the first year of her course. “I overheard this guy on my course explaining to his friends how if his pursuit of filmmaking doesn’t work out he can just join his dad at the Oscar winning animation studio he works at. Another person in my class makes no secret of being the child of a BAFTA winner.”

On how she views this as it relates to herself, Katie says she realised there are certain things these peers don’t have to worry about because of their connections. “Students that are related to BAFTA winners and directors and writers have this built in pool of connections from their families. For example, when we had to cast our second year film, my team cleared out a week to audition people whereas some of the others just rang up actors that their parents knew for a favour.”

In popular culture, children of famous entertainers are often scrutinised for the value they add to the projects they work on beyond being celebrity offspring. While being, for example, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann’s daughter may give Maude Apatow’s name more weight than her work would alone, she has described feeling sad about the “nepo baby” label. She is certainly not the only one eager to demonstrate that her talent can speak for itself. For reasons like this, Katie doesn’t consider a surname or familial connection to be a complete walk in the park. 

“I do feel a disadvantage in the sense that there are people at the same level of qualification as me that already have a foot in the door. But I’ve learned my lesson in comparing myself to others because how well connected someone is doesn’t always reflect the love they put into their work and the quality of it as a result of that. And I’ll never have to worry about whether I’m working towards something I love. I hope so anyway.”

Here, Katie raises an interesting point as to whether the cultural capital these connections afford young people trumps a genuine drive and passion for the area of study. Her answer is a hesitant yes. 

“Unfortunately I do think that with the film industry, knowing people is the most important tool to find your way in. It’s not like every job is being offered on Indeed; a lot of it is word of mouth so you do need to make connections to make films.”

“But I also feel that the imbalance there is just an institutional flaw and someone’s passion for their work should be the priority. The greatest filmmaker alive could be somewhere right now with less connections than even I have as a film student. And I don’t think being born into something makes you any more right for a job if you don’t have a genuine desire to create things and move people.”

Both students made similar references to the fact that being enrolled on a course has opened up certain opportunities that they may not have otherwise had. Not as obvious, however, are the examples of young people breaking into creative industries without going to school to train in that field.

Nicole, 29, has appeared in several West End productions including Waitress, Dear Evan Hansen, and Book of Mormon, as well as competing on television singing contest The Voice. Having recently finished a national tour as the leading lady in Dreamgirls, Nicole spoke to me about how not going to drama school led her to where she is today.

“I didn’t have any connections going into it. As far as experience, I went to a Saturday school until I was 19 where I would sing with other kids. It wasn’t training or anything, and there was no one there that could connect me to anyone. I used to buy The Stage newspaper because it had a double page spread at the back of just open call auditions.”

It wasn’t until Nicole started attending these auditions that she started networking within the theatre industry. She didn’t have an agent until her third year professionally working and up until then was doing contracts by herself. Through an audition she was introduced to Pippa Ailion, a prominent casting director who connected her to people that would progress her career.

In terms of advice she has for those venturing into creative industries without formal training, Nicole assures that feeling out of your depth is a universal experience.

“If there’s someone you want to work with, send them an email and make them aware of who you are. I think a lot of people appreciate that kind of upfrontness and just expressing desire to work with them. There’s nothing you can lose from putting yourself out there.”

Things are getting better, Nicole feels. “It does seem hard to make it in without going to school, but it’s so much more possible now than it once was. There are all these newer ways you can make connections like through workshops, online, meeting people, and social media. I feel like you can network a lot more now so the journey in is much more accessible. It’s just about making sure the timing and space is right for you.”

Whether it’s dance, film, or musical theatre, those who work in creative fields are often transparent about how difficult it can be to make your way in. It is resoundingly clear that not everyone at entry level has the same journey or tools, but this can make it easy to lose sight of the fact that not everyone’s path in is meant to look the same. 

Those that I spoke with all demonstrated a similar appetite for creative success that has allowed them to cultivate their passions. Even if it does feel like there are gaps in what’s available to people, having that determination goes a long way for them. So while there is surely work to be done in fostering equitable environments for young people hoping to work in creative industries, the barriers in place have been bypassed time and again, maybe one day be worked around into obsoletion.

Featured image via Luis Morera on Unsplash