Did we find it?

Summer lovin’ had me a blast. Now it’s Autumn and a Happy New School Year to you! What a summer it has been – our first foray into the school holidays as parents, which was not quite as relaxing as I remember it to be as a child, watching endless episodes of ‘Saved By The Bell’ and ‘Goonies’ on VHS before heading down to Nan and Grandads. Each summer my sister and I would dutifully head to the Grandparents whilst my parents did the grafting. I guess there is an early memory of being part of a family with a working Mum. I remember after having the eldest I felt really guilty at times not having a ‘job’ (hello, can you say workaholic?). Then remembered that a) I was grateful to be a Mum 2) if I wasn’t there someone would be paid to look after the baby and F) my Mum took about 9 years off work to raise my sister and I and then headed back to work in admin. This gave me sucker, and helped defy that pesky little Mother Guilt devil. If I turn back my mind I can even remember curling up at her feet whilst she did some freelance typing - what a trailblazer! Sadly, my parents don’t live down the road like my Grandparents did and my children won’t become as highly skilled at Bingo and rummy as me and my sister did over the summer hols. This summer, juggling work, kids, nursery, holiday play schemes, playdates and actual holidays (which aren’t reallyholidays with children, they are ‘trips’ as any relaxation you’ll be having is when your asleep) has been no mean feat. *Nerd Alert*, I used my transferable skills from work and drew up a spreadsheet­- a major weapon in my parental arsenal against total chaos. We all got where we needed to go, relatively on time, and back again. So to sum up: inspiration is right under your nose, kick your mother guilt to the curb, and spreadsheets will save the world. Happy Autumn!

Dance Mama is part of a movement that wants positive change. Take part in the PIPA Campaign survey to have your say Evening All! Kid’s in bed yet? *hears the suspicious sound of Sellotape emanating from a child’s bedroom above* What better way to reignite my blog with a call to action and tell you a bit more about Parents & Carers in Performing Arts, or PIPA Campaign, founded in 2016 by Cassie Raine, Actor, and Anna Ehnold-Danailov, Director. I was happy to see on my return to work last Autumn a development on planet arts that is PIPA. In a relatively short space of time they have gone great guns, establishing a charter with an impressive list of arts organisations signing up, stakeholders including One Dance UK, The National Theatre and UK Music to name but a few, and research across the theatre sector to get some actually brilliant evidence to challenge and improve the status quo. 1720 people have taken the survey already...sacrifice your half-drunk mug of tepid tea and fill it in! As a PIPA ambassador, I invite you to take part in an online survey they are gathering with Birkbeck University about being a parent or a carer in the performing arts.1720 people have taken the survey already (you don’t have to be a parent or carer to have your say), but I reckon there are way more people who have these sorts of responsibilities, so sacrifice your half-drunk mug of tepid tea and fill it in! [Editor note: this survey's deadline is 15.07.18] Welcome to the Arts Mamas In tandem with this call to action, I am very happy to include Actor Mama – Hannah Young’s interview as the first of many Arts Mama case studies. It’s great to compare notes, and big thanks to Hannah for completing this whilst premiering at The Print Room after a bit of a break from the boards. More to come…