Our Promise
PEOPLE BEFORE PROJECTS
The Arts is a beautiful sector to work in, but often for freelance creatives that work comes at a cost.
This includes, but is not limited to; the cost of uncertainty, stress, imposter syndrome, sleep
deprivation, familial criticism, monetary insecurity and ultimately fear of failure.
But we do it anyway because we love it, and because there’s nothing better than creating something
brand new. So, to combat the above and ensure that working with us is a positive experience, we
make the following promise.
If you work with Dolls In Amber we will support you in the following ways:
Kindness first
This runs through the way we work; we do not compete with other creatives in the room, we
support and help each other. Every process is viewed as a collaboration; that’s where the strength in
our practice lies and is why people want to work with us time and time again.
Communication
We maintain open channels of communication. We will check in with you and there’ll be an open
dialogue for you to feed back on the process. Keep talking.
Boundaries
At the start of each project or process we will ask you what your availability is. What are your
working hours? When can we contact you? What is your preferred method of being contacted?
Support before criticism
If you’re working with us we already think you’re great! Be open and honest; we want to know
what’s happening with you behind the scenes so we can support you in meetings/rehearsals.
Constructive criticism/Positive leadership
In an industry where negative criticism has become so entrenched, we do not belittle or tear down
in the way we practice. DiA aim to do things differently. Any criticism will be given clearly and
reiterated as many times as necessary. We believe it’s not the performers’ fault if they don’t
understand the direction, it’s the director’s job to find a different way to communicate.
The Queer Factor
Our content usually contains at least a queer theme. Being queer can be hard and working on things
like this can throw up all kinds of unexpected emotions. Talk to us about it! If dealing with
particularly difficult content, performers will be given the option to step out should they need to.
This will be tailored to the creative in question and will be agreed with the director/ producer/
facilitator prior to the process beginning. No-one is ever expected to ‘power-through’.
Self Care
We encourage everyone we work with to be aware of what they need to keep healthy. Although this
is an individual endeavour we will support and encourage this as much as possible. To the best of
our abilities we’ll ensure space for self-care within our practice.
To reiterate: People before Projects.
Signposted Agencies
● Mind (general) https://www.mind.org.uk/
● MindOut (Queer) https://www.mindout.org.uk/
● Wise Thoughts (Queer Support and counselling) https://wisethoughts.org/
● London Friend (Queer support groups/ counselling/outreach) London Friend
https://londonfriend.org.uk/
● The Pink Practice (Queer counselling) http://www.pinkpractice.co.uk/
● A little less conversation (Counselling, Queer-adjacent) https://www.littlemoreconversation.co.uk/what-is-psychodynamic-counselling
● ELOP (Queer support) http://www.elop.org/
● Opening doors (Queer 50+) https://www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk/
● Stonewall (Queer info and Support) www.stonewall.org.uk
● Switchbored (Queer listening service) www.switchboard.lgbt
● Industry Minds (Mental Health Support for the Creative Arts) https://www.industryminds.co.uk