How hard is living while being a performer? — Page 2

I live in New York City, Midtown to be exact, on less than $1400 per week.

Of course you can live on 1400/wk.

But, when you only make that for six months, and then don't have a job for another two years...that 1400/wk becomes less than 300/wk. Now, THAT is closer to the reality of the situation.

And, as you I'm sure know, actors have to spend a LOT of money on lessons and other things (like parties, clothing, classes, meals, meetings, headshots, massages, etc) that keep them in front of the right people on a constant basis and keep them healthy. It is an impossible task for anyone to have to deal with.

That's why my advice is always "don't be afraid of debt, just learn how to manage it."

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Massages?? Parties? If your complaining about not making enough money in NYC, then you'll need to get rid of these "luxuries."

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massages are a necessary part of a dancer's life. if you dont get them, you shorten your career.

parties are where you meet people. can't do without them.

yes, there are ways to save (go to the massage school and go to the party and order a water), but it still doesn't take away the expense.

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I remember a thread like this one on this board around this time last year. This topic seems to invite the bitter and disenfranchised.

I agree that $1422 is a decent amount of money and you can live comfortably on that. You can pay your rent and pay your bills and you might even be able to afford a small morgage on a house in Jersey and put a little bit in savings but no one making equity minimum will ever become wealthy from performing in a Broadway show.

this thread compelled me to make a response. mostly because the finincial side of show business seems to be frequently misrepresented.

let me preface this by saying, i am a single person in their mid twenties...with no dependents. supporting a family on this contract would be very difficult. but i've seen people do it. they just have REALLY long commutes to work and may have to be even more conservative about "luxuries" like taking a taxi or having that 7 dollar glass of wine after the show.

speaking as someone currently working on the pink contract with the base salary being 1433, i certainly do not have room to live large, but indeed comfortably. after agent pay out and taxes, my check is reduced to around 750 a week...which means two weeks of work just barely covers the rent and utilities (no cable or internet mind you...if you are wondering how i am online, i'm at a complimentary wi-fi location at the moment) on my studio apt. then i also have a cell phone bill as well as a gym fee to pay montly...don't forget that 80 dollar subway pass...right there you rack up another 300 dollars. that leaves you with roughly $1200 dollars in disposable income. so lets say groceries/drug store necessities rack up $60 a week...bye bye to another $240...so here we are at $960...which is easy to spend in a NY minute between taxis and the occasional dinner out. and for someone thinking about the future, afterall i won't always be on a production contract, i stick $500 into my 401K per month (plus i look forward to a pretty generous tax return)....so that fun money gets reduced to $460....nothing to complain about, but lets just say i'm still wearing gap, not gucci....still eating tuna fish, not caviar.

but do i care? nope. i'd rather be onstage than behind a bar anyday...and believe me, bartending can be more lucrative at the right place! sure, if someone wanted to pay the chorus more, i'd be all for it, but when you're passionate about what you do there are so many other riches that come your way.

Well said, Mafiadiva2. $1422 is a decent amount of money for a single person to live on. I would hate to think about trying to do it if I had a family to support.

Updated On: 12/16/05 at 12:19 PM

Rath is right, of course! Even if you are in the highest income level as a lead, with a decent contract, most actors have agents/mrgs/publicist working the field for them. While they watch the ratings and direction of the show they might be currently in. And that's another hefty expense.

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Jazzy, I think if you read carefully there are two posters who feel living on $1400 a week is "difficult" and paying Broadway performers that amount is "disgraceful".

Well, if you got the job, you are set for a while (so SAVE).

Otherwise, it can be extremely difficult to live in NYC (and area) without steady income. It also depends on where you are wanting to/willing to live and HOW you want to live. I was a full-time performer & full-time Temp for about 6 years in NYC. Sometimes you strike a balance and sometimes its tough.

If you don't want to be a waiter, just make sure that you know Word,Excel, PowerPoint, can type reasonably well and have some decent Business attire (several dress shirts, a suit, nice shoes for guys/classy dresses-suits for girls). Temping can be great money and there are generally perks depending on the firm.

Good luck.

Also, take note that that $1422 is for Broadway, and the market that employs most actors is Regional theater, where the salaries are lower.

Taken from "How to Be a Working Actor" by Mary Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers:

"First some sobering facts before we begin: As we write this book, there are some 150,000 professional performers, be which we mean members of Actors' Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) in New York and Los Angeles and their locals and branches around the county. You should know that unemployment for performers greatly exceeds the national average. According to the unions' own reports, only 20 percent of the members earn more than $5,000 per year. Performers who earn more than $25,000 per year constitute about 8 percent of their membership. Only about 2,000 actors earn more than $100,00 per year. They are the ones you recognize working in commercials, and in major roles on soap operas; they're bakable names in feature films and staring on the Broadway stage."

For the mathematicall challenged:

30,000 actors out of the estimated 150,000 in unions are making more than $5,000 per year.

12,000 of them are making more than $25,000

and 2,000 of them are making $100,000 or more.

the rest of the 120,000 pro actors are making less that $5,000 annually.

yikes.


So, although that $1422 a week isn't that bad of a salary, the grand, grand majority of performers are NOT making that.

Updated On: 12/16/05 at 03:18 PM

I just have a question about the cost of massages that are apparently very necessary for dancers. Isn't a medical massage like this covered under the health insurance you receive through Equity? If not, it should be.