When is it OK to work for free?

[RuthNY]

Excellent, post, Matthew!  Thanks!

[sgoldsbo]

Excellent, post, Matthew!  Thanks!

I second that. Thanks, MatthewShiner! Some really great information.

[dallas10086]

I saw another example of ridiculous job listing today. A theatre in Chicago wants a SM who will work from Nov. to Feb. with a possible extension through March, for a flat fee of $400. Apart from stage managing, they are also requiring the SM to do the company laundry, run the sound and light boards and maintain props!

I would hope that no one worth their salt would take the job; the pay (AND doing the laundry?!) is insulting at best.

[PSMKay]

Dallas, that's pretty much the standard non-union rate in Chicago, and has been since I got here in 1998.  And I had to do laundry, run boards and maintain both set & props for nearly all of my gigs out here.

However, if things are still as they were when I stepped out of active theatre in 2002, the majority of the actors aren't getting paid anything at all, only the techs are making any sort of income.  However, most non-union shows out here rehearse in the evenings and expect all staff to also be working a day job (or at least they did a few years ago).

[dallas10086]

Dallas, that's pretty much the standard non-union rate in Chicago, and has been since I got here in 1998.  And I had to do laundry, run boards and maintain both set & props for nearly all of my gigs out here.

However, if things are still as they were when I stepped out of active theatre in 2002, the majority of the actors aren't getting paid anything at all, only the techs are making any sort of income.  However, most non-union shows out here rehearse in the evenings and expect all staff to also be working a day job (or at least they did a few years ago).

I didn't know that's the usual rate. And for that long? That's ridiculous.

[PSMKay]

At the peak of my career, after 6 years in Chicago, I would pull in $500 for the entire rehearsal process (4-5 weeks if you include tech), and then about $75 per performance.  Now, bear in mind that this was non-union and that the designers would definitely pull down more.  However, the designers I was working with easily had decades more experience than I did. Like many here, I never worked completely for free after I graduated from college, but the payscale was definitely not enough to live on without a day job on contract after contract.