• Over 400 people, including 70 kids, attended the PIPA launch at the Young Vic on 16th October
  • Speakers included: Romola Garai, Poppy Burton Morgan, Stephen Unwin, Rakie Ayola, Adam Burns, John Summerfield, Annelie Powell and Sophie Mayer
  • We had Spotlight sessions from: Stage Directors UK, Family Arts Campaign, The RSC Creche, Act for Change, Theatre Clwyd, Tonic Theatre, Mothers Who Make, Good Enough Mums Club
  • We had press coverage in The Independent, The Guardian, various blogs and magazines plus front page news in The Stage 3 weeks in a row
  • The following Unions and Organisations are on board as supporters including: Equity, The Musicians' Union, ITC, BECTU, SMA , ALD, TUC, SNDT, Stage Directors UK
  • The event was filmed and you can watch the videos below.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKmVsaaV03467k-RzHUXPPU5bJIcDMGcw

It was an incredible day and it ran so smoothly. Even 70 babies and toddlers didn't disrupt the session, in fact we consider one of the biggest achievements was that we demonstrated just how viable it is to have kids in the room.

Loads of ideas came out of the day which we'll be digesting over the next few weeks. There were fabulous stories of people and companies making it work and a few pledges to trial new ways of doing things.

It's clear that we desperately need a body to represent our struggles, a place to voice our frustrations and stories, an organised community to support parents in the Industry and a pressure group to enable the change so clearly needed.

We are getting organised and PIPA will do all that it realistically can to keep the conversation going and make change happen but this will take time and funding. We're working on a revised mission statement and plan for the next year so that we can make the best use of the energy created on the day. Please keep an eye out for our Indigogo campaign coming soon.

We're currently calling out for volunteers with fundraising expertise, legal/charitable status support and website maintenance. Please let us know if you can help. We would also urge people to submit testimonials. We need to hear people's voices and stories as loudly as possible. We need to make the need for change so visible people can no longer look away.

Huge thanks to all the volunteers on the day and thank you to Equity and Family Arts Campaign for giving us the seed money for the campaign, The Young Vic for their generosity and support on the day and Bea and Co for providing the fabulous creche.

To read the press and blogs following the event please click here