Adlai E. Stevenson High School Seeking a Theater Technical Specialist/Designer

  • Position Type:
    Technology/Theater Specialist

  • Date Posted:
    8/9/2022

  • Location:
    Adlai E. Stevenson High School - Lincolnshire, IL

  • Date Available:
    08/15/2022
Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire, IL) is seeking a Theater Technical Specialist / Designer for the 2022-2023 school year.

Description:
The Theater Technical Specialist / Designer, is a full-time, 10-month, support staff position. Adlai E Stevenson High School is a public high school located in Lincolnshire, IL that is recognized as a National School of Distinction in Arts Education. We have robust Fine Arts curricular and co-curricular programs with five different theaters and an extensive Theater Production Team. Our Theater Technical Specialist / Designer works collaboratively with our three other Theater Technical staff, faculty, school support staff, and students to ensure our five main stage Theater Department Productions, Theater Class Workshops, and a few other events are successful. The Theater Technical Specialist / Designer provides support to our Theater Design & Stagecraft class and serves as support and leadership to our StageCrafters student crew. Due to the nature of our Theater Production rehearsals and performances the job responsibilities take place during the school day, afternoons, evenings, and weekends.

The Theater Technical Specialist / Designer will serve in various roles as Co-Production Manager, Tech Director, Scenic Designer, and oversee / assist with set construction for the Theater Department: Fall Play (Sept), Children’s Theater (Oct) Musical (Nov), Frosh/Soph Play (Feb), Winter Play (Mar), and Spring Play: One Acts (May).
Provide support and supervision for our Theater Design & StageCraft class
Recruit, train, supervise, and mentor student designers and backstage crew.
Assist with planning production calendar and budget.
Design, purchase, and organize props and special effects.
Assist colleagues with lighting and sound equipment.
Coordinate equipment maintenance, usage, and inventory.
Operate complex theatrical systems.

Qualifications:
A degree in technical theater and design is preferred, along with professional experience working in the field.

Application Procedure:
Online applications are required at www.d125.org. Interested applicants should complete all steps of the electronic application process and upload all requested materials to the application.

Compensation will be determined based upon the candidate's skills and experience.
For further information regarding compensation, please refer to the Support Staff Agreement 2022-2027.
 
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So... digging into that contract its 17.00/hour for 2022/23? Please include that in this posting or I will remove the post.
The problem is, this position will pay considerably more than $17/hour. In fact, every employee is payed greater than $17 at my school. At the end of the day, I’m not responsible for making an offer to applicants. That’s determined by the Director of Human Resources and is considerate with experience.

Furthermore, according to the rules of this forum, a link to a union contract outlining wage and wage structure is sufficient. This I have compiled with.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, should be paid as little as $17/hour. In fact, as the president of my local and as a person who negotiated this employment contract, I advocate for a minimum of $20/hour. If I were to advertise this position as paying such a dehumanizing sum of money, nobody will apply. And rightfully so. This position will pay more, but it will be “commiserate with experience”, and the best I have to offer. Any more and you’ll need to take it up with the district Superintendent.
 
@Matthew Godlewski is correct, links to Union Contracts are acceptable when the job is part of a union.
 
I love that you think that this position should start at 20$ an hr. This sounds like a recipe for injury and disaster. Every job you have listed under this position is a position in itself. I wear many hats but not that many and wouldn’t expect someone else to do without many many years of experience. Minimum this job should start at 52.50$ an hour.
 
That's the same starting salary as the job I worked down here in FL. I'd agree it's peanuts and it 100% failed to attract competent talent, but $52/hr is a pipe dream for a HS TD. Not arguing that value, but just that I don't know of any public school district that would come close to that rate. Most auditoriums around me don't have anyone overlooking the space and it shows in how poorly maintained those buildings become.

At any rate, I appreciate the push for publicizing salary on positions.
 
That's the same starting salary as the job I worked down here in FL. I'd agree it's peanuts and it 100% failed to attract competent talent, but $52/hr is a pipe dream for a HS TD. Not arguing that value, but just that I don't know of any public school district that would come close to that rate. Most auditoriums around me don't have anyone overlooking the space and it shows in how poorly maintained those buildings become.

At any rate, I appreciate the push for publicizing salary on positions.
They are asking for “specialist wages”, which is a step up from entry level, for a director experience. I am not surprised that most schools can’t find anyone, who would want to go get a BFA or Masters and make 20$ an hour. I understand the want to get kids into our craft and have them experience all that is awesome backstage but there should be proper compensation.
 
They are asking for “specialist wages”, which is a step up from entry level, for a director experience. I am not surprised that most schools can’t find anyone, who would want to go get a BFA or Masters and make 20$ an hour. I understand the want to get kids into our craft and have them experience all that is awesome backstage but there should be proper compensation.
It's an uphill battle for schools to get allocated/budgeted enough funds to provide for positions like this. School funding is not universal in style either. Frankly, we should be providing better arguments for the necessity of these roles in the first place. We did not have a TD when I was in HS, and I can imagine how the trajectory of my career would be very different if I had a chance to learn under one that early.

Let's applaud and support these roles the best we can, and as CB, we can do a LOT to ensure that good information is given and connect people with the correct resources.

But bashing a school for low pay is not the answer. Let's offer support to whomever the school finds to help ensure the students have a great, and safe, experience at this high school.

Virtually every school TD I know is underpaid, it's something we need to advocate for across the board, and we start by being supportive of the necessity of the TD role in the first place.
 
So I essentially do this job. We joined IATSE about 9 years ago. Before joining the union I worked at 30 hour week and my yearly gross was about $38k. We have increased our hours over the years and I currently work a 38 hour week. Next year we will achieve our goal of working a 40 hour week. We are currently making a little over $34 which is about the same as a crew chief on the city's IATSE contract for the big venues. Unlike my union brothers I also get a generous vacation, sick leave, health care, and a retirement plan.

Its a good position and a solid pay rate. But still not enough to raise a family on and live within 50 miles of the school.
 
@dvsDave is right on, as my case illustrates. I spent my early career bouncing around LORT and stock, some FT and some overhire, always living in some state of destitution, and then "hit it big" with a position at a private college that started at 28k in 2005 and allowed me to save enough to get an MFA (destitution still in progress) and increase my salary at the same college to 47k by 2016ish. Bought a mortgage for a (fixer, which I fixed myself) house, which I never thought I'd be able to do. Pandemic hit, my wife's restaurant closed, the college cut our pay, and it was time to get out or face ruin. Several high schools were looking at that time, and actually offering compensation quite a lot better than all the higher-ed comparables which wouldn't have been enough of a raise to bother with. I took a position at a small public performing arts magnet high school, for a 40% raise (my hourly would be about $45) in a much more affordable and desirable location. Changed my family's quality of life in profound and lasting ways. The difference between this and so many other HS TD positions is that my employer does understand the value in my position (even if they don't always understand what, exactly, I do all day, and what, exactly, my expertise consists of), and they damn near abducted me as soon as I sent my application, and started me at the top of the instructor pay scale because of my experience (and insistence). We serve the poorest communities in the state and the overall staffing and facilities aren't funded as well as they "should" be (and not remotely as well as the fancy private college I left), and yet here I am living my best life. So yes it's a matter of values and understanding. When opportunity, excellence and safety in the arts are valued and understood, people in these positions can wind up being compensated well enough. CB is a great vehicle for that change towards fair, sustainable employment. I'm pretty militant about fair pay for working people, but Dave's right that we should extend hiring institutions a little grace while helping them understand who they need and what they cost. Policies on pay transparency, like CB's, are critical in prompting those discussions.
 
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While 'institutions of education' may have other unions, I'm still big on IATSE membership (and a bit biased as I've been a member for about 25 years) for those who make spendable income from physically producing plays, events, presentations, etc.

United we bargain, divided we beg.
 
While 'institutions of education' may have other unions, I'm still big on IATSE membership (and a bit biased as I've been a member for about 25 years) for those who make spendable income from physically producing plays, events, presentations, etc.

United we bargain, divided we beg.
Some call it nepotism; we call it TRADITION!
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Some call it nepotism; we call it TRADITION!
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
Like arranged marriages? (obligatory Fiddler reference)

Q: How do you know a Local 1 carpenter has died?
A: The donut falls from his hand and rolls across stage.
Q: How do you know his son in on the same show?
A: He's the stage hand that caught the donut.
 
Friends, I appreciate the spirited debate. I'd also like to clear up a few things.

The CB contract only stipulates the minimum pay for the entire school, which is $17/hr. Offensively low, I agree, but a discussion for another thread.

THIS position will likely start at $25-30/hr, but I can not guarantee that as I am not the person making the offer.

Additionally, this job will come with a full benefits package: 100% covered HMO, defined benefit pension (IMRF), 403b options, full dental and vision plan, yearly raises of 3-5% (based on CPI and performance review), and much more!

This school is in the top 10 in the nation, has 5 theaters, and has a robust budget. The venues are state-of-the-art and very safe. I have worked here for 18 years and my counterpart 23.

I hope this helps clear a few thing up. Please reach out if you have any questions about the school or the position.
 
While 'institutions of education' may have other unions, I'm still big on IATSE membership (and a bit biased as I've been a member for about 25 years) for those who make spendable income from physically producing plays, events, presentations, etc.

United we bargain, divided we beg.
How many public high schools do you know with an IATSE contract? Like most educational institutions our union affiliation is with the National Education Association.
 
How many public high schools do you know with an IATSE contract? Like most educational institutions our union affiliation is with the National Education Association.
Hard to say, but the one I'm familiar with, the school does not own the PAC (although they're adjacent and connected by a hallway); they lease it from the City.

That said, any union representing teachers and staff is a good idea, usually.
 

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