Pennysmart
Pennysmart support people across the UK. They provide a holistic financial wellbeing service through advice, casework, and implementation support.
Pennysmart support services include:
- Full money health checks
- Budgeting and money management support
- Identifying debt issues and support on debt solutions
- Help to access benefits
- Benefit entitlement checks (including missed benefits)
We can refer actors and stage management to support from Pennysmart. To enquire about accessing this support, please complete this short form.
Who Can Apply
Actors and people in stage management with at least two professional credits in the past two years, an average of one professional credit per year since the start of their career, or ten professional credits or more over their career.
What do we mean by ‘Professional Credits’?
For actors: Professional credits refer to paid acting roles, for instance in theatre, TV, film and voiceover work (e.g. radio and video games). We can also consider lead roles in commercials. We do not consider extra, walk-on, or background work as professional credits. Where an actor plays one role over a period of more than one year, we will consider this as one credit per year. For instance, if you held the same role in a production for two years, this would count as two credits.
For stage management: Each production you’ve worked on in a paid capacity counts as one credit. Where someone in stage management works in one production over a period of more than one year, we will consider this as one credit per year. For instance, if you held the same position in a production for two years, this would count as two credits.
To be eligible for our support, you must:
Be aged 18 or older
Currently live in the UK
Have a UK bank account
Have less than £16,000 in household savings or under £23,250 if of pension age, or experiencing a long term health issue
If you are unsure whether you are eligible, please contact us and we will be happy to advise.
FAQs
The support offered by Pennysmart will vary depending on your circumstances and wishes. If you wish to complete the form above, our team will be pleased to discuss with you further.
Yes. Please contact the member of the team you have been in touch with directly. You can also email support@actorstrust.org.uk or call us 0303 223 1110.
Please feel free to email us via support@actorstrust.org.uk or call 0303 223 1110. You can also read more about Pennysmart on their website.
No. If you are eligible for support and Pennysmart can support in your specific situation, Actors’ Trust will fully subsidise the cost.
Actors’ Trust will share your contact information with Pennysmart. A member of their team will then contact you to arrange a money health check within 10 days. Following this they will share information with you about next steps you can take. For clients who may benefit from more in-depth support, Pennysmart can provide this on an ongoing basis.