How has this thread reached 2 pages? It should have been open and closed in a single post.
Regardless of what list the
theatre may or may not be on, you
demand that you are paid for the work that you do. Anything more, and you are letting them screw you.
My guess is the reasons that you've reached "Technical Director" at only a year in the profession, are that:
a) Nobody any more senior would ever consider being shafted in such a manner
b) They hope that offering you a senior position will act as a retainer in place of pay because it's good for your CV
I got a "technical manager" job when I was about 19-20 and didn't have much experience. I found it odd that they'd chosen me but lapped it up because it was a great
venue... big sound, big lighting rig, great shows, fairly easy hours on paper, and I thought it'd be a great step into the industry. As you've more or less described, they give you an amount of work which is simply not doable in the time you've been allocated, safe in the knowledge that you, young and keen and looking to make your
mark, will kick about the extra hours to get it done because you think they will appreciate it. They don't appreciate it, they anticipate it, and it has been on the cards since the day you walked into the interview and they saw a young sweet and innocent virgin of the industry ripe for the picking.
It's a cut throat industry and they're cutting yours at the moment. But you're being paid something, and learning something all the time, so use the time wisely to apply for as many positions as would suit you, and then you'll be able to choose one that genuinely suits you. Don't just
hand your notice in because 20 hours money for 40 hours work is still better than 0 hours money for any amount of work or not. Personally I wouldn't even make them the offer of how much you want to be paid. If they've had 4-5 previous TDs then they know the score and how many hours you need to get the job done, and they can't claim naivety. They're up front shafting you and to be honest they're probably waiting for the day you realise so they can hire another young hopeful and exploit them too.
