For Workers in the Arts and Entertainment Sector
The arts and entertainment industry can present unique challenges for psychological health and safety. This interactive workshop explores WorkSafeBC’s Psychological Health & Safety Framework through an arts and entertainment lens, providing practical, zero-budget tools that supervisors can implement immediately on set, in production offices, during rehearsals, or at festival grounds.
Join psychological health and safety expert Brandy Zimmerman and industry safety specialist Katherine Ray for a conversational exploration of what supportive leadership looks like in film, theatre, and live events. Rather than prescriptive solutions, you’ll walk away with a flexible toolkit of approaches you can adapt to your specific production context – whether you’re managing a film crew through a chaotic turnaround, supporting performers through tech week, or coordinating teams across multiple festival venues.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand regulatory context: Identify WorkSafeBC’s expectations for psychological health and safety and what this means for arts and entertainment employers and supervisors
- Differentiate requirements from best practices: Clearly distinguish between legal obligations and voluntary approaches
- Access a practical toolkit: Choose from multiple informal check-in strategies that fit different production contexts
- Apply communication skills: Use active listening and empathetic communication techniques adapted for fast-paced, high-pressure creative environments
- Connect to resources: Know where to direct crew members for third-party mental health support, including industry-specific resources
- Lead by example: Model psychologically safe leadership through concrete behaviors that build trust in temporary, high-stress work environments
About our presenter
Brandy Zimmerman helps arts and entertainment organizations build supportive management practices that keep their best people thriving, no matter what happens.
She helps organizations and teams build practical, supportive management practices that work within the sector’s realities, with a focus on what managers can actually control and influence.
As a Psychological Health & Safety Advisor and former Associate Minister of Health (Alberta), Brandy has worked with 45+ organizations and trained 3,500+ employees. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience with ADHD, anxiety, and burnout – understanding the gap between knowing what supportive management looks like and making it work when the pressure is on.