MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: SHERYL WILSON
891 Hair Department member Sheryl Wilson shares her thoughts on how Union members can best honour Black History / Black Futures month and how she’s helping the Union take action to make the industry more inclusive by advancing skills training for textured hairstyling.
Sheryl wandered towards the circus set up in downtown Vancouver on her first day on the job not knowing what to expect.
Outside in the brisk autumn air, a group of hairstylists were hard at work getting actors ready for filming the next scene. People were focused, they looked tough and ready for anything, and Sheryl took in the scene. Today, she thought, is going to be a little different than working in the salon.
“I remember everyone saying, ‘Welcome to the movies!’ That was kind of fun,” says Sheryl.
With decades of experience as a hairstylist, Sheryl took a chance on working in film after going through a career shift into fitness that wasn’t fully meeting all her needs. Sheryl quickly learned how tough you need to be to work in the motion picture industry. On her first day, standing out in the cold all day prompted her to go out and buy all the warmest clothes possible. On another shoot, they had been filming into the early hours of the morning when suddenly they had to take shelter under a tent to wait out a lightning storm.
Through such challenges, she says, you develop a great sense of camaraderie and respect for your colleagues and their perseverance. She remembers at one point seeing a camera person walking through the mud during the stormy shoot carrying heavy equipment worth thousands of dollars and feeling humbled.
“The resiliency of the people in this industry is second to none. It is rigorous,” she says.
Respect for her coworkers inspired her to take on more of a leadership role in the Union, to help push for better work-life balance and safe conditions for fellow workers.
“Once I started going to meetings and joining committees, it helped shape and really develop my leadership. Going to meetings helps with getting a better understanding of what's happening and how things work. Also, taking the opportunity to take courses or the many beautiful training opportunities, I absolutely love to take them, and you meet other people and it's fantastic.”
A member of the Union for 10 years, Sheryl was Co-Chair of the Human Rights Committee, and is currently a member of the 891 Bargaining Committee. Recently, she was elected by her department to sit on the Hair Sideletter Committee, a group leading the way in training unionized film workers how to master working with textured hair and Black hairstyling.
Given her leadership experience, Sheryl is often asked to take part in Union initiatives and discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s something she appreciates, but also acknowledges can feel overwhelming at times often being the one asked to speak about the importance of representation and inclusion on behalf of your community. She wants to see more diverse voices elevated by the Union.
For Black History / Black Futures Month and beyond, she hopes members take time to learn more about the contributions of Black members of our community. She wants to see more emphasis on a greater sharing of people’s stories where people can just be seen as people.
“Seeing real people doing real things is important, and also, there are people that are so accomplished, so that's what Black History Month is all about.”
“It's a reminder that Black people have contributed a lot to society in North America. It's also so that my children can look and say, ‘Oh my goodness, look at that person and look what they did!’ It’s about having role models. All I would really want people to do is just pay attention and look for opportunities to learn.”
ELEVATING THE WHOLE INDUSTRY
Sheryl’s start in the industry began after her interest was piqued by an acquaintance who often posted photos on social media from beautiful places with the caption “This is my office today!”. When the woman, who worked in the industry, put a call out for experienced hairstylists, Sheryl jumped on the opportunity.
She quickly fell in love with the adventure of it all.
“The reason I love the industry is the newness, like every day is something different. It's really exciting,” she says. “In the summertime, you know you're in some really great place and you're outside and you're just like, they're paying me for this!”
She appreciates getting to go to places she’d otherwise have no access to – such as filming inside a mansion carved into a rock side, a sugar refinery, and inside the Britannia mines. She also thrives off the creative challenges of doing hair for a gala scene or the start of the apocalypse, all while adapting to working in unexpected environments.
With 30 years of experience in hair and an adult instructor diploma under her belt, she’s been in high demand when it comes to sharing her knowledge. She was invited to be a member of a MPPIA committee focused on inclusion, and the Creative Pathways governance committee run by Creative BC. Her work on the Union’s Hair Sideletter Committee, alongside her colleague Sarah Koppes, has been busy, but rewarding.
“It was something that the producers brought to our Union to have our hairstylists trained to handle Afro textured hair and curly hair and makeup for diverse skin tones. So for me, having Afro textured hair, and knowing all the little nuances — you know, there are things that, yes, it might look acceptable to you, but for me it's not, and to my community, it's not — it was sort of bridging that education.”
The committee is a joint effort by the Union and producers to make the industry more inclusive both in front of and behind the camera.
Sheryl says the need to advance skills training for working with textured hair is an industry-wide issue. In New York, they only recently implemented a law that cosmetology schools are now required to provide textured hair training in their curriculum. In the world of film, Black actors would historically be required to adopt White hairstyles, with little regard to authentic storytelling.
“Historically, there is a lot to this and just to sum it up, Black hair has always been an issue. In order for us to survive and to work, we had to assimilate and have straighter hairstyles, so that becomes relaxed hair or using wigs. My experience on set before all of this started to shift in the last little while was people would be wearing wigs or extensions and their hair would be straight, and the producers would want straight hair. Everybody wanted a White-looking hairstyle, and it was never ever true to what it was really like.”
Things are changing, she says. More representation on-screen and a push for more authentic storytelling means demand for skills are increasing.
“The best thing we can do is equip ourselves as much as we can, and we do that with as much education as we can, providing the funding for that, and having the conversations about figuring out how we get the education right.”
“When you're working in industry or fashion, you're going to get people from all over the place, and so you have to equip yourself as much as possible.”
Sheryl has helped identify specific skills, build training modules and find instructors and experts to guide course creation. It was important, she says, to find people who can speak the industry language and understand that workers may have only 20 minutes to do a style, so teaching a style that will take two hours in the salon won’t cut it for the realities of motion picture production work.
In November 2023, Sheryl taught the third module and it was a big success.
“It was incredibly well received. What I saw were people that were really receptive. They learned really well. They did so great. If this education is available, they will take it and they will excel. They're capable, they just need access to it, and so the Sideletter Committee, our job is really to try and provide that.”
“We’re really trying to focus on training, because if there is going to be more people trained, I just think it elevates the whole industry.”
UNIONS SHARING SOLUTIONS
Part of advancing better working conditions involves better inclusion.
One of the powerful parts of being an IATSE member means being part of a wide community and network of locals and unions around North America sharing knowledge and solutions to help workers thrive.
Sheryl, now based in Toronto, has not only been able to share her personal knowledge and experience, but been able to take lessons from other locals.
“In Toronto, they have a lot more rigorous requirements to even get into the Union. In their permit stage, they already have these modules, and you have to take them, and it is paid by the Union.”
She wants to see more training for permittees to help set up future members for success.
“I feel like if we could bring this education down to the permittee level it would make a big difference, so they have this training, and to become a member, you have to take it.”
Beyond expanding training for members and permittees, Sheryl also wants to see more workers take an active role in shaping their Union by getting involved.
“If there was anything that I were to say to other members is join committees, go to meetings, and try and inform yourself as much as possible. The moment you step up, that's when you’re going to get results. Sitting back and complaining is not going to get you anywhere. So be a part of the solution and contribute. It really, truly pays you back.”
891 Hair Department member Sheryl Wilson led a course providing 891 members hands-on experience and training on braiding and cornrow methods for textured hair - part of a series of trainings to help members expand their knowledge of textured hairstyling and support calls for more diverse skills on film sets across BC, in accordance with the Hair and Makeup Sideletters.
Read more 891 Member Spotlights here! Help shine a light on other 891 members making BC’s motion picture community a great place to work. Email spotlight suggestions to communications@iatse.com and visit Ourwork.ca for more on the benefits of joining the Union.
