What pays your bills!

[Dallas Richardson]

Hey! In a few short sentences, could you tell me what you do to pay your bills? How do you get by?

 

[ruinexplorer]

Early in my career, working many places (nothing was beneath me) and living simply. All of that ended up paying off that now I have a job that pays the bills.

 

[MNicolai]

One year out of college. $64k student loan debt. I picked up a job at an audio/video installation firm that specializes in theatres and performance spaces. Still do lighting designs on the side, but I specifically chose a 9-5 job job that kept me close to theatre, offered benefits, and had minimal but very interesting travel. Was able to get the job because I interned there for 2 years of college and got to learn the ins and outs of the business while I was still cheap labor.

Not as sexy as being a Broadway lighting designer, but I'm already making 1.5x-2x what my fellow theatre design/tech graduates are making, and I get to have a life that includes seeing my friends, enjoying hobbies, having a dog. I also have health, life, and disability income insurance, and very tangible job security. I always know where my next paycheck is coming from and that it won't bounce when I go to cash it.

I still spend most of our time working on or in theatres. Just happens to be during the construction phase. Other types of projects include corporate offices, sports venues, cadaver labs, active learning classrooms, government meeting rooms (state and local), and the occasional command and control center.

Never a dull moment, and it sufficiently pays the rent and the student loans.

 

[JFutty90]

2 Weeks after graduating college, I started working for a Staging Production company doing corporate events. Working many and crazy hours through out the year, but able to pay the bills for me and my family (wife and one child). Also paying student loans back with no issue.

Still get to do some theatrical work, but able to volunteer at church and other locations around the area when available with work situations.

 

[chawalang]

Spent my 20's working in every different kind of setting in the entertainment bizz.

Traveled A LOT and lived in a bunch of different cities.

Networked with genuine people.

Put myself in a place constantly where I would be challenged and forced to grow.

Took on responsibility, never settled with just being another hand on the call.

 

[Les]

After working in and out of the production field for the last ten years, I am in school for Occupational Safety and Environmental Technology. As much as I love theatre, I have found that (for me personally) it's not quite as fun when my livelihood depends on it.

 

[ruinexplorer]

This article in the Washington Post can help to show just how hard it can be depending on who you work for. Many younger stagehands will be so thrilled at the opportunity to work on concerts that $10/hour is just fine. When I was a tech director at a PAC, I convinced the board to allow me two pay schedules for general technicians, one for experienced and one for inexperienced techs, and would require that a certain percentage of each call would require experienced techs. To get the higher pay, I had both a written and a skills test which the tech had to pass (not based on time worked).

 

[gafftapegreenia]

This article in the Washington Post can help to show just how hard it can be depending on who you work for. Many younger stagehands will be so thrilled at the opportunity to work on concerts that $10/hour is just fine. When I was a tech director at a PAC, I convinced the board to allow me two pay schedules for general technicians, one for experienced and one for inexperienced techs, and would require that a certain percentage of each call would require experienced techs. To get the higher pay, I had both a written and a skills test which the tech had to pass (not based on time worked).

It's not just younger hands who work for $10/hour. When that's the going rate in town, you either take that $10/hour or you don't eat.

 

[Les]

It's not just younger hands who work for $10/hour. When that's the going rate in town, you either take that $10/hour or you don't eat.

Or find a new line of work. Sometimes you have to pay your dues early in life, but there should definitely be an upward momentum happening. If there's isn't, it's probably time to reevaluate either your work ethic or your chosen employer.

 

[ruinexplorer]

Agreed @Les. If absolutely no one in your town pays a living wage, then the choice comes down to relocation or a new line of work. In Phoenix, wages weren't great, but there were still opportunities for at least twice the going rate listed in the article. I'm sure that some smaller cities will have less of a range in wages, but there will also be less work (and less competition between employers).

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Or find a new line of work. Sometimes you have to pay your dues early in life, but there should definitely be an upward momentum happening. If there's isn't, it's probably time to reevaluate either your work ethic or your chosen employer.

And that, sir, is the exact reason why I moved from Atlanta to Chicago.

The real shame of such low wages is that it encourages a very high turn over rate of employees. Thus local crews tend to consist largely of green, inexperienced people who are often little more than whoever the temp office or even craigslist had available.

 

[WindWorks Design]

I have a day job in engineering, and spend many, many evenings doing local theatre for wages taht would not keep my family fed or a roof over our heads. But the income allows me to maintain my gear, buy some new stuff as funds permit, and I get to a) teach interested students, b) hang out with some fantastic adults, and c) push myself to turn high school theatre and local bands into something better than is typical on the local circuit. While tech week can be difficult handling a day job for 9-10 hours, then at the theatre for another 8-10 hours eacy night, it's totally satisfying. In other words, technical theatre doesn't have to be your "day job". Great if it can be, but we all know how hard it is to earn a living in the arts. I find the balance perfect for my lifestyle.

 

[Van Williams]

I recieved a BFA in theatre production (specializing in Stage Management and Carpentry) I currently work in the cruise industry as a Deputy Production manager of stage and automation, and bring home about 27,000- 30,000 a year(depending on how many months of the year I work) before taxes. Now this cruise lifestyle isn't for everyone, but if you want to gain experience a lot of the larger companies are recruiting directly out of college and promote rather quickly if you show promise.