Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup: Do you pay your tech?

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Do you pay your tech?

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Forum Discription: For how-to's and where-can-I-find
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4996
Printed Date: 5/13/25 at 1:33am
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Topic: Do you pay your tech?

Posted By: jenkins
Subject: Do you pay your tech?
Date Posted: 3/08/11 at 12:39pm

Going from professional theater to community theater and I'm unclear as to the tech staff. I've only done one show with this group, and it's all volunteer. However, I thought I'd check and see if anyone pays their lighting designer/operator, sound, costumer, etc?

Seems it will be hard to keep them as volunteers if I don't give them a small stipend. But then do I insult the actors by not paying them?

Much as I fought with equity, they had guidelines!

Replies:

Posted By: Majicwrench
Date Posted: 3/08/11 at 5:29pm

Can only speak for me and what podunk theatre I have been involved with:

I have seen groups pay their tech guys. I don't like it personally. I have seen groups bring in competent tech guys from somewhere else and pay them, I do like it.

Most all the groups I currently work with do not pay the tech people. We are all volunteers.

I did lights a while back for another company, and they insisted on paying me, even tho money never came up tween us. Very kind of them, but absolutely not neccessary as far as I was concerned.

Posted By: jenkins
Date Posted: 3/09/11 at 1:27pm

Thanks much!

Posted By: bnk01
Date Posted: 3/11/11 at 11:35pm

On all the shows I've done, we paid one person: she was a stage manager/lighting board op. She received a small stipend ($50 a night) for all shows, even when the director, actors and all set/prop people were unpaid volunteers. She also worked several rehearsals & dress w/out pay.
That's just how the theatre had done it, and how we did it.

Posted By: didj1028
Date Posted: 3/15/11 at 7:18pm

I am happy to work in a community theatre where we have (myself included) 3 full time design staff (set, lights, costumes). Aside from that we only ever pay our choreographers, music directors, and pit orchestra for our musicals. All tech crews for performances are volunteers. Sometimes I wish we could offer a small stipend, might make my recruiting work easier.

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Geoff Ehrendreich
Waterloo Community Playhouse
Waterloo IA

Posted By: PaulyWally
Date Posted: 3/24/11 at 5:50pm

My general attitude is:

If you're able to get good volunteer work, great. But I would sooner pay someone competent than get free labor that sucks.

You are also not obligated to pay anyone unless you're an equity house. The nature of community (and semi-pro) theatre is that sometimes we get paid while someone else doesn't... and sometimes we don't get paid when someone else does.

That said, I think you should always pay your stage manager something. You don't want free stage management (even if they're competent) because that means that they could place the show lower on their list of priorities. Stage managers have far too much responsibility to the show. Once their attention to the show falters... so will the show.

just my .02