Abstract
This research starts in the second act.
While opportunities to participate in the creative labour market increase, the sector remains characterised by high levels of job instability and unpredictable income. Citing financial insecurity and the emotional toll, many creative workers leave the sector within the first few years of entering it or when planning for milestones such as homeownership, starting a family, and retirement (Been 2025; Hands 2024). However, many continue to identify as artists despite being employed in non-creative fields (McRobbie 2016). The strength of artistic identity, combined with increased personal security and an unwavering commitment to the craft, can influence a return to the field in the mid- or later stages of life.
This research examines the experiences of performing arts workers who have returned to the professional sector in various capacities after periods of absence or disengagement. Drawing from a qualitative survey conducted in mid-2025, the research is positioned at three intersecting contexts: the precarious—yet flexible—creative labour market, the purported role of arts policy in shaping creative labour conditions, and the endurance of passion as a driver of creative careers. It explores creative career transitions and the decision-making process along a capricious trajectory.
While resisting the neoliberal notion of embracing precarity as an efficient economic means of sustaining cultural production, this research considers how welcoming and legitimising unconventional artistic career cycles within the creative labour market might transform and enrich the professional performing arts sector. The research contributes new insights to arts policymaking, organisational management, creative labour markets and individual career transitions.