TD/Costume Shop Manager?

[Darin]

Our program currently has a part-time TD (~25 hours per week) and a part-time Costume Shop Manager (~16 hours per week).

The latter is set to retire this year. The school has expressed an interest (across the university) to consolidate multiple part-time positions into full-time positions when possible.

So my question is: how rare is it to find people who could both build/paint scenery AND run a costume shop? Would we be searching for a unicorn here?

 

[theatricalmatt]

It's not merely a unicorn; either one should be a full-time position on its own, never mind combining roles. I would expect a serious downgrade in production values when combining that many departments into one.

This isn't to say it can't be done; old-school theater scenographers would handle the entire production design (set, lighting, costumes, properties) to ensure a unified look, but that's very much an old-school practice.

You might make a pitch if, for example, the school budgeted enough to rent in sets and costumes; then, the person you're hiring is essentially just a rental manager. But where's the fun in that?

 

[Darin]

It's not merely a unicorn; either one should be a full-time position on its own, never mind combining roles. I would expect a serious downgrade in production values when combining that many departments into one.

This isn't to say it can't be done; old-school theater scenographers would handle the entire production design (set, lighting, costumes, properties) to ensure a unified look, but that's very much an old-school practice.

You might make a pitch if, for example, the school budgeted enough to rent in sets and costumes; then, the person you're hiring is essentially just a rental manager. But where's the fun in that?

We've managed to get along with part-timers in those positions for the past 30 years (and have had terrific production values.

I don't think this is a particulary good mix of jobs to combine into a full-time position (though I'd love to get away from part-time roles, as they are VERY hard to hire)

 

[Footer]

It's not merely a unicorn; either one should be a full-time position on its own, never mind combining roles. I would expect a serious downgrade in production values when combining that many departments into one.

This isn't to say it can't be done; old-school theater scenographers would handle the entire production design (set, lighting, costumes, properties) to ensure a unified look, but that's very much an old-school practice.

You might make a pitch if, for example, the school budgeted enough to rent in sets and costumes; then, the person you're hiring is essentially just a rental manager. But where's the fun in that?

And by old school... you mean like pre-WWII Robert Edmund Jones world.

We've managed to get along with part-timers in those positions for the past 30 years (and have had terrific production values.

I don't think this is a particulary good mix of jobs to combine into a full-time position (though I'd love to get away from part-time roles, as they are VERY hard to hire)

I mean... can you really run a costume shop in 16 hours a week? Can you really build/paint/install scenery in 26? These jobs going forward will be impossible to hire unless you are paying out the nose. The days of people "killing/starving themselves for the art" is over.

Dare I ask what the pay rate is/what region you are in?

 

[theatricalmatt]

I will say that, just because 25 hrs TD + 16 hours wardrobe = 41 hours, that doesn't mean that one person can (or should) do both jobs in the same time frame. For one thing, during production week, you would now only have one person being pulled in two different directions: when both the door on the set squeaks and won't stay shut, *and* the buttons fell off one actor's shirt, and the pants split on another's -- which crisis do you respond to first?

For another, most people lean toward their strengths, so I would expect to see this position shift toward, say, 36 hours TD + 4 hours wardrobe. That's just human nature. What incentives do you have for maintaining both sides of the equation?

 

[Colin]

I've known one such person in 19 years, who has experience doing both kinds of work (not at the same time) for major LORTs and some colleges. She's too smart to take this kind of job, and has left the industry now anyway. But she's out there, whereas I've never met a single unicorn.

PT work in this realm tends to creep towards FT hours, unnoticed and uncompensated. Combining two not-really PT positions into one may reveal how thin these positions are stretched. Do you have a truly honest assessment of the workload?

And do you have a unicorn doubler installed in the facilities for those times when your schedule may be used to having two people doing these jobs at the same time during tech etc?

 

[Darin]

I agree with everything you all are saying. I think this is a fool's errand (but it wasn't my idea, so I'm getting some feedback I can take back to our Provost).

I mean... can you really run a costume shop in 16 hours a week? Can you really build/paint/install scenery in 26? These jobs going forward will be impossible to hire unless you are paying out the nose. The days of people "killing/starving themselves for the art" is over.

Dare I ask what the pay rate is/what region you are in?

We've proven that we can (we operate out of a black box theatre without a fly system, we only do one musical every other year, etc.). I think our production values are very good for a small program.

 

[Footer]

I agree with everything you all are saying. I think this is a fool's errand (but it wasn't my idea, so I'm getting some feedback I can take back to our Provost).



We've proven that we can (we operate out of a black box theatre without a fly system, we only do one musical every other year, etc.). I think our production values are very good for a small program.

Models that have worked for 30 years are currently being broken all over the place. What was acceptable to potential employees in 2015 is no longer acceptable. The industry has changed. If you can find someone to do the job in your market, thats great for you. I know in my market there is no way I'd find people to fill either job on a part time basis.

 

[Darin]

Models that have worked for 30 years are currently being broken all over the place. What was acceptable to potential employees in 2015 is no longer acceptable. The industry has changed. If you can find someone to do the job in your market, thats great for you. I know in my market there is no way I'd find people to fill either job on a part time basis.

We've had the same Costume Shop Manager for 30+ years

Our TD is a retiree.

So yeah, it's an odd situation.

Unfortunately like so many small schools right now, the university simply does not have the money to staff departments out like they should. We're trying to work the system as well as we can within the limits

 

[jtweigandt]

And by old school... you mean like pre-WWII Robert Edmund Jones world.

I mean... can you really run a costume shop in 16 hours a week? Can you really build/paint/install scenery in 26? These jobs going forward will be impossible to hire unless you are paying out the nose. The days of people "killing/starving themselves for the art" is over.

Dare I ask what the pay rate is/what region you are in?

Can you really run a costume shop on 16 hours.. I guess it depends. We have 5000+ sq feet of costume space filled to the gills, we rent to over 100 schools regionally and produce our 5 musicals a year. The costume shop is open to the public Wed am and Sat am 8-noon.. All volunteer. Our costumers for each individual show are given the ground rules and access to the shop, and coordinate our in house pulls and new costume construction for themselves.

 

[Darin]

Can you really run a costume shop on 16 hours.. I guess it depends. We have 5000+ sq feet of costume space filled to the gills, we rent to over 100 schools regionally and produce our 5 musicals a year. The costume shop is open to the public Wed am and Sat am 8-noon.. All volunteer. Our costumers for each individual show are given the ground rules and access to the shop, and coordinate our in house pulls and new costume construction for themselves.

We do either three plays or two plays and a musical per year, with the plays being 4-8 actors. We do a lot of modern dress show. Our costume shop is maybe 250 sq feet