Behind the Scenes operates as the entertainment technology industry’s primary charity, providing critical financial assistance and mental health resources to professionals facing serious illness, injury, or mental health crises. PLSN spoke with BTS Executive Director Lori Rubinstein for a Q&A to learn about the organization's achievements through its successful Mental Health Initiative, which provides tools and resources to support all industry workers and their families and promote mental health and awareness.

Tell us what is Behind the Scenes?

Behind the Scenes is an industry charity with two main programs that support industry professionals and their families. We provide financial assistance to those facing serious illness, injury, or addiction recovery, and offer a comprehensive mental health initiative with tools and resources tailored for industry workers and their families, promoting awareness and support.

Who does Behind the Scenes serve?

Our grants are aimed at entertainment technology professionals—those who have earned their living in the industry for at least five years. We're talking about the people who work behind the camera in film, TV, broadcast, the people who work behind the curtain in any live event production, as well as the people who work for the companies that design, manufacture, sell, or rent entertainment technology, lighting, rigging, audio, or scenic equipment. We do not assist performers. We're really dedicated solely to the folks who earn their living behind the scenes. However, our mental health tools and resources are available to everyone in entertainment regardless of their position or craft.

Behind the Scenes raises funds exclusively through industry-driven efforts, showcasing how industry organizations and companies support mental health initiatives by donating a portion of profits from designated products or services, reinforcing industry solidarity.

It's raised entirely through the industry, taking care of its own. We don't assist performers, and we don't get big names or stars to raise money. It's very much a grassroots effort of the industry wanting to care for its own. We have something called a Pledge-of-Support for companies, where we ask them to designate either a product or a service and agree to donate a portion of the profits from that product or service to the charity. It's a win-win for both the company and Behind the Scenes-for the company, it's a way to show their customers, their employees, and the end users of their products that they care about them and want to help take care of them.

How did Behind the Scenes start?



The ESTA Board of Directors really saw a need. Initially, we had two facets for the charity in mind-one was the charitable aspect and one was the educational aspect. This goes back to the mid-2000s, and we decided to focus solely on the charitable aspect. We realized that while there were other charitable organizations, certain parts of the population were not being served.

The catalyst came when we had a couple of people approach us, including one woman whose husband was a longtime technician who had developed brain cancer. She was actually wonderful because she had filled out so many applications for assistance on behalf of her husband, so she worked with me on the application process as we developed it.

The other thing I think that's happened that had a notable impact is the pandemic, because all of a sudden, it was okay to talk about your mental health because everyone in the world was going through the same thing. So I think it might've compressed that culture change timeline a bit.

What types of assistance does Behind the Scenes provide?

We started with our basic needs grants for people dealing with serious illness or injury, or for immediate family members who were seriously ill or injured and whose condition was taking a toll on the family's finances. We assist with rent or mortgage payments, utilities, medical bills, prescriptions, and physical therapy.

We also have counseling grants with a simplified application process. We work directly with either the therapist or the mental health institution, the rehab clinic, etc., so the payment goes directly to them. Our funds can either pay just the copay if insurance picks up part of it, or it can pick up the entire fee and give them enough sessions so they can really start to see the benefit.

Why is mental health such a critical issue in the entertainment industry? 

There's a tremendous stigma in this industry. We're trying to change the culture and reduce that stigma with our mental health program, but it's a long process. Suicide rates for our industry are enormously high—they are among the top five occupations for both men and women. The U.S. Government Statistics group together entertainment, sports, and media, and it has the third highest suicide rate for men and the fifth highest for women of all the occupations. 

There are a lot of factors that play into this: enormous stress, constant deadlines. There's considerable financial insecurity-people don't know when their next job is happening, the long hours, and work-life balance issues that don't exist. People are afraid that if they ask for an hour off to see a therapist, they're going to lose their job or not get hired for the next one. You're used to being unseen and unheard and solving everyone else's problems.

Since launching our Mental Health Initiative in 2019, Behind the Scenes offers vital resources like the Entertainment Industry Therapist Finder, connecting industry members with therapists experienced in entertainment, and Mental Health First Aid training, empowering peers to recognize and support mental health issues on set or in venues, thereby increasing awareness and encouraging industry support for accessible mental health services. We've collaborated with union and non-union workers, major employers, and clinicians to develop tailored resources that address the unique challenges faced by entertainment industry professionals. posters in their venues.

One primary resource is the entertainment industry Therapist Finder, which only includes therapists who either have previously had clients in the industry or who used to work the industry themselves. We discovered that mental health careers are a popular second career for people from the industry.

We also teach Mental Health First Aid, a course developed in Australia in 2008 and now taught in about 25 countries. Our industry-trained instructors have firsthand experience, and so far, we've trained 1,800 people. The goal is to have a certified mental health first aider on every set or venue, promoting peer support by recognizing signs, listening nonjudgmentally, and guiding colleagues to professional help. 

How does Behind the Scenes address workplace bullying and harassment?

When we did our survey in 2019, one of the things that really came through was how prevalent bullying and harassment still are in the industry. We heard it from all age groups, all racial and ethnic identities, all genders, and all sexual identities. We've partnered with an organization called Right to Be, which specializes in bystander intervention. We adapted their bystander intervention in the workplace class for the entertainment workplace. We offer quarterly free webinars on bystander intervention, sponsored by lATSE International. And Behind the Scenes has created posters called "Words Cause Harm and Actions Cause Harm" because a lot of times bullying or harassment isn't always intended-people don't realize that things they say or do are taken as harmful by someone else. We're trying to get people to understand what that behavior is and its consequences.

What substance use resources are available?

We have an active substance use task group that has done a lot of work in this area. We developed a webinar titled "Dealing with Substance Use in the Workplace: Why and How We Help." The task group includes clinicians and well-known industry folks who are in recovery themselves. One of the most valuable things the task group produced is a sheet called "Tips for Social Situations Involving Alcohol, with tips and tricks that have worked for people over the years, because they know you have to go to the bar after work to get your next job.

How can people access Behind the Scenes services?

People can visit our website at https://wp.behindthescene-scharity.org/. We're working on getting the word out through various channels-social media, press releases, IATSE locals, industry companies, and trade shows like LDI. We have a prominent presence at LDI through our Wellness Lounge, which offers three days of programming on mental and physical wellbeing. The challenge is reaching the non-union workforce, that gig workforce, because they don't have central points of information like union workers do. They don't necessarily read industry magazines or go to trade shows, so getting the word out to them is very difficult.

What are Behind the Scenes' future goals?

We want to grow existing programs because people who are coming to us are in increasingly dire straits. Most people in this industry have never recovered financially from the pandemic, and on the film side, the strikes dealt them a blow before they'd ever recovered. We can only give away as much money as we raise, and fundraising has been challenging because the industry has been hard hit.

On the mental health side, we're strengthening and expanding existing initiatives and developing new ones. We just launched career expansion/transition resources and are working on communication initiatives because we're hearing more about how better communication could reduce resentment and conflict.

We're also conducting a new survey called "Exploring Mental Health Needs in a Changing Industry" because there have been massive changes since 2019. The survey link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bts2025survey.

How can PLSN readers help?

Readers can be our allies in spreading the word that help is available, whether it's grants or mental health tools and re-sources. They can tell people about our programs, post our website on their sites, add links to their sites, or display our posters in their venues.

All of our work is made possible entirely by donations from the industry-this is how we raise money to give it away and fund our mental health work. There are many ways people can contribute: direct donations, joining our Ghost-light Groups (https://wp.behindthescenescharity.org/ghost-light-groups-2/) for fundraising activities, purchasing from our boutique, making donations in memory of someone or celebration of an event, or recognizing Behind the Scenes in their wills through our Ghostlight Society.

BTS currently serves the U.S. and Canada. For more information, people can visit www.behindthescenescharity.org. Or they may call 212-244-1421 or email: info@behindthescenescharity.org.

Photo courtesy of PLSN.