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Employment / Re: Negotiating Rates
« on: Mar 30, 2016, 06:13 pm »
Dallas makes a good point about other benefits that can be negotiated. A few things to add to the list are parking and meals. Meals are not something I would ask for on an AEA production, necessarily, but it is something that I would ask for doing festival or event work. I have had relative success in asking for parking- some theatres have deals with nearby garages and it doesn't "cost" the theatre that much to give it to you, but saves you a good deal.
One of the tactics that I have used successfully in the past is to back up my request with examples of why I think the higher salary is reasonable. For a short gig that I worked on, I asked for a higher fee based on the amount of meetings and prep work expected. Once I laid out the amount of additional work that would be required of me, the producer agreed to the higher fee.
Are you finding that your "magic number" is significantly higher than what is offered? If it's a theatre that pays $400/week minimum, then asking for $600 might be more of a jump then they are prepared for, where $450 might be more reasonable.
The tricky thing is that some theatres budget a certain amount for stage managers and aren't willing to negotiate up, knowing that if you don't take the job at the minimum salary, they won't have a problem finding someone else that will. It's still worth asking, in my opinion.
The other thing you can do is look for larger contracts at larger theatres. I know that's probably not the advice you are looking for in terms of negotiating but it is a good way to work for a higher salary. Sometimes it's about being choosier about the jobs you accept, knowing that you might turn down work if it doesn't pay enough to cover your bills. There are also good reasons to take a job at the AEA minimum, even if it's not really "enough"- developing a relationship with a theatre or director, making connections in a new city, keeping busy if you don't have anything lined up, getting the work weeks to maintain your health insurance coverage, etc. Consider the balance of short-term benefits vs. long-term benefits.
One of the tactics that I have used successfully in the past is to back up my request with examples of why I think the higher salary is reasonable. For a short gig that I worked on, I asked for a higher fee based on the amount of meetings and prep work expected. Once I laid out the amount of additional work that would be required of me, the producer agreed to the higher fee.
Are you finding that your "magic number" is significantly higher than what is offered? If it's a theatre that pays $400/week minimum, then asking for $600 might be more of a jump then they are prepared for, where $450 might be more reasonable.
The tricky thing is that some theatres budget a certain amount for stage managers and aren't willing to negotiate up, knowing that if you don't take the job at the minimum salary, they won't have a problem finding someone else that will. It's still worth asking, in my opinion.
The other thing you can do is look for larger contracts at larger theatres. I know that's probably not the advice you are looking for in terms of negotiating but it is a good way to work for a higher salary. Sometimes it's about being choosier about the jobs you accept, knowing that you might turn down work if it doesn't pay enough to cover your bills. There are also good reasons to take a job at the AEA minimum, even if it's not really "enough"- developing a relationship with a theatre or director, making connections in a new city, keeping busy if you don't have anything lined up, getting the work weeks to maintain your health insurance coverage, etc. Consider the balance of short-term benefits vs. long-term benefits.