News & Advice

Expert advice for freelance actors and performers about how to increase your chance of getting a mortgage and what you can do now to prepare for future home ownership. As a performer, your income structure can be quite unique with your personal finances fluctuating depending on your working situation. Due to the particular nature of […]

How to set up a pension as an actor and how much you should aim to save for your retirement. When you’re starting your acting career, retirement is probably at the back of your mind. Finding an agent, preparing for auditions and keeping your Spotlight up-to-date seem more urgent.  Typically, actors are driven by a […]

How performers can register as self-employed and what is tax deductible as an actor. Being a performer requires a lot of work – you have to learn lines, film self-tapes and go to auditions – all while juggling the rest of your life. Self-employed actors in the UK also manage their financial aspects and are […]

How to plan your spending as an actor to ensure you’re saving enough when your income is high and surviving when work is slow. One of the biggest obstacles to self-employed actors getting a grip on their finances is a failure to budget properly for their irregular income. It’s easy to spend freely when earning […]

When actors need to register as sole traders, how they calculate tax and how taking on additional work affects this.  As a self-employed actor, whether you have an agent or not, you’re a freelancer. In most cases, for the purposes of HMRC, your legal status is ‘sole trader’.  These terms might appear daunting at first, […]

Advice for making the most of your time at drama school, including common mistakes and how to avoid them and improving your acting skills after graduation. In the final instalment of this two-part special of The Spotlight Podcast, we talk to Charleen Qwaye (Co-founder and Director of Training, Fourth Monkey), Stewart Nicholls (BA Musical Theatre […]