The question of stage manager pay was raised in
another thread, so I did a bunch of research and came up with some stats for you. This is going to be a large post, though, and I don't want it to get buried, so I am posting as a separate topic. This is unfortunately US-based as that's what I can readily access.
I surveyed four areas: New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and, for a less theatre-friendly option, West Virginia.
The most detailed data I could obtain was for all
Independent Artists, Writers and Performers. In most cases the numbers are from the first quarter of 2012, so they're pretty recent.
When reviewing this info, remember that I'm talking about the
average income and spending. In other words, if you are lucky enough to make this a career, about half of you will achieve the numbers that I'm using here. Also bear in mind that the stats do not include the self-employed, and people who earned less than $500 from individual employers over the course of the year. In stage management there's many of those. Many, many shows in each of the cities I surveyed do not pay their workers $500 over the course of a single gig, or the stage managers don't report their income for any number of reasons. To reflect this, I've included the number of people who actually attained enough success to even register on the scale. Compare these numbers to your knowledge of how many people actually "work" in the business.
National DataThe national unemployment rate for independent artists, writers and performers is 11.6%. It's higher for men than for women - 13.6 vs 9.4%. Either way, this means that if you manage to get to the level where you get paying gigs on a regular basis, 11.6% of you will still wind up being out of work long enough to collect unemployment.
The average member of this industry works 24.6 hours per week. It is NOT a full time job, even for those who are working.
Student loansFurther down I'm going to be quoting some monthly expenses. If you get financial aid loans that you have to pay back, your costs will be higher. Here's the average add-on for student loan payments:
4 year undergrad | Private | $373 |
4 year Undergrad | Public in-state | $279 |
2 year Undergrad | Any | $107 |
3 year Graduate | Private | $518 |
3 year Graduate | Public in-state | $318 |
New YorkOnly 3494 people are counted as professional artists, writers and performers in NYC. Everyone else is not earning enough to count. Figure that 5% of those people (174) could be stage managers.
If you manage to get on payroll in NYC, in your first year half of you will earn less than the average of $4249 per month. Have a degree? OK, you now have a 50% chance of getting at least $5382.
If you manage to keep that gig for a few years, that will increase to $6311 per month, or $8725 if you finish college.
This is all higher than the NYC average employee: $4097 for new hires and $7915 for established workers.
If you're living in New York City, your average monthly costs are going to be about $4848.
However, if you've done the entire run of college & grad school with loans, those monthly costs could be more like $5739.
This means that the average new hire in New York will be losing $400-600 per month, or cutting their costs accordingly.
The average established worker has a decent chance of earning a profit.
ChicagoChicago counts 1208 professional artists, writers and performers who felt comfortable enough to say as much on their tax returns. Figure that 60 of them were stage managers.
As a new hire on a gig paying professional rats in Chicago, half of you will earn less than $2329 per month. If you've finished college, that goes up to $3189.
After a few years of residence that could increase to $3586 per month, or $4714 if you finish college.
This is all substantially lower than the average Chicago resident: $3189 for new hires and $5502 for established workers.
If you're living in Chicago, your average monthly costs are going to be about $4798.
Add in the worst case scenario financial aid payments and that number jumps to $5690.
This means that the average SM in Chicago will be losing around $2500 per month if they try to just work in the arts.
The average established career professional will still lose about $1100 per month or make up the difference with a part time job.
San Francisco1758 people claim to be professional artists, writers or performers in San Francisco. Going by the same 5% estimate I used above, 87 of them are stage managers.
Newly hired pro SMs in San Francisco average $2210 per month. College grads, you get $3503.
Long-term residents pros get $3303 per month, or $4561 with a college degree.
The average San Francisco worker across all industries earns $4374 as a new hire, and $6838 once they've established themselves.
The average San Franciscan spends $5663 per month.
Add in student loans and that's more like $6554.
In your first year on a professional paying gig in San Francisco, your best case scenario sees a loss of $3250 per month if you don't pick up a second job.
Chop $1000 off the monthly debt once you've established yourself, but the forecast is still nasty.
Charleston, West VirginiaThere are a total of 8 professional artists, writers and performers in Charleston, WV.
They earn an average of $913 per month when they've established themselves.
The average Charlestonian earns $4050 per month.
Monthly cost of living is $3808, or $4700 if you've got student loans to pay.
In Charleston this is not a question of "Nice work if you can get it." You pretty much can't get it.
ConclusionIf you try to make this a full time gig, the top 45% of you - that's maybe 75 people - have a chance of earning a living at it only in the New York, the top theatre city in the US. In other cities you'd really have to be in the top 10% of all career stage managers to have a shot of breaking even. That means 6 lucky Chicago stage managers and 9 San Francisco SMs can do this full time and still be able to save for retirement. I'm ballparking here, and probably being very optimistic with those numbers.
I know you love stage management. I know you want to make it your career full time. But you really must ask yourself:
1) Do I have a shot at being one of the top 400 or so stage managers in the entire metropolitan theatre community? Take a look at the membership numbers of SMNetwork and then ask yourself that question again.
2) Even if I am one of the best, can I stand to be working two jobs for my entire career?
3) Am I willing to go to the cheapest post high-school education I can get away with?
4) I can cut my losses by going on tour to minimize personal expense, but am I willing to tour for my whole life?
5) I can raise my chances of a higher income by working industrials and commercial, but am I willing to do this?
If your answer to those five is "No," then it's time to reconsider your career choice. You can still stage manage. Please do! But know the odds, and plan accordingly.
Sources:Earnings:
http://lehd.did.census.gov/applications/qwi_online/Tuition & loans:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/index.aspFinancial aid payments:
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtmlConsumer spending:
http://www.bls.gov/regions/consumerspending.htmPS: Students, if I can do this kind of research and report in 3 hours, you can too.
EDIT: Clarified some language.