Ignorant question?

[kelleymd]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 5:34pm

Just curious...and please feel free to verbally flog me if this is ignorant/inappropriate for this site...but what kind of pay would one be looking at on a national tour? Broadway show? Just wanting to learn more about the industry. :)
Updated On: 5/24/05 at 05:34 PM

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 5:35pm

It isn't a stupid or flog-worthy question.

No worries!

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 5:45pm

Base pay for a Broadway chorus member is $1,381 per week. National tours are less, but lodging and meals are paid for, so you probably end up making more money on a tour. It all depends on the budget, your role, etc.

While nearly $1,400 a week sounds like a lot, for NYC living, it's not that great. Most Broadway performers still have numerous roomates, and they are not living the big life. They're comfortable, thogh, and that's good. Updated On: 5/24/05 at 05:45 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 5:50pm

Well, they might be at least comfortable - but that's only while they're working. Many of these jobs come and go.

[chenofan]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 9:03pm

Whatr about a bank -able star, such as Bernadette, what would a marquee name make? anyone? I'v always wondered that. I've been able to find chorus butnot 'big' names (I'm sure it depends upon who and what show)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 9:11pm

I've lived in NYC for 16 years, and have had at least as many jobs (even thought mine were desk jobs) as any Broadway performer, and not ever made close to that weekly salary. That's quite a decent living.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 9:13pm

yeah...but Rath...if you are just starting out as a performer and are in the ensemble of a little show....not so good.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 9:25pm

Or just starting out in many other jobs, either, Thenardier - I thought we were talking about Broadway salaries.

[Jon]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:06pm

"Stars" such as Bernadette Peters can make anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 a week. Sounds good, but actors on hit TV sitcoms often make ten times that.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:09pm

Those salaries still sound good to me, Jon, even if they're not TV salaries. And movie stars make lots more than TV stars, if you want to start that argument.

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:12pm

$1400 a week is more than enough for a decent living in Manhattan, I think. Do they pay you while you rehearse the show or just when the performance is running?

[TGIF]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:20pm

Yes, but you also have to remember the extra expenses actors pay for. Headshots/managers/voical coaches/etc.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:25pm

That's right, TGIF. Those expenses get written off on their taxes at the end of the year, however. They're not throwing that money into the wind. People who take dance classes, voice lessons, etc., who don't make their primary living as actors don't have that option.

This argument comes up every few months. Trust me, $1381 is quite enough to live on nicely. And yes, a job may not last forever, but that's the case in most professions, no matter how high/low the salary.

[TGIF]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:28pm

Hah, I am in no position to know if that is enough to live on nicely! Just thought I would throw it in there.

Updated On: 5/24/05 at 11:28 PM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:30pm

:)

[mint0621]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:38pm

i think Broadway salaries are quite lucrative if you compare it with ballet dancers in the NY City Ballet or American Ballet Theater; the ensemble dancers make around $30,000/yr, and NY ballet dancers are arguably the best in the world.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:46pm

and now that I think about it, Broadway chorus members make nearly twice as much per year than teachers do. Kinda scary...
Updated On: 5/24/05 at 11:46 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:50pm

Well, not in New York. The starting salary for the NYC public school system is $39,000 and the average is over $50K.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:52pm

I daresay, Margo, it is quite a bit more taxing to teach in a NYC public school than to be on a Broadway stage...

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/24/05 at 11:56pm

Starting teachers in NYC make $39,000 a year. This is pretty high. Starting B-way chorus members make $71,812 a year. Like I said, that's almost twice as much.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:08am

Rath - my point is that not all of these people work 50 weeks a year. What about the ensemble members of LITTLE WOMEN? Are they all stepping right into another gig? And while you may have bounced around in the workforce, there are MANY who do the work they do simply because it is dependable STEADY employment.

I agree that a consistant earning potential of that much per week is more than adequate. But factor in the amount of downtime that many deal with, and it doesn't look quite as rosy.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:16am

I hear ya, DGrant, and I'm saying a lot of other people end up going through the same on-again/off-again employment - but most people don't expect it. Actors know to expect it - it's the nature of the business.

I bet you know a good number of people - I know I do - who are quite talented, but never went after a professional performing career because of the insecurity. Instead they went into jobs they weren't as excited about, and some ended up with a lot of career insecurity anyway.

Updated On: 5/25/05 at 12:16 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:28am

You might be right, trpguyy, IF those chorus members are in a show that runs 52 weeks (what is that? What TINY FRACTION of 1% of Actor's Equity does that represent? What are we talking? Maybe 200 people out of THOUSANDS of Equity actors? And how many ever get to be in more than one or two Broadway shows -- long-running or not?). And how many of them have jobs year after year, decade after decade with an annual cost of living increase and summers off plus Xmas and Spring Break and no agents and managers taking a percentage?

Anybody thinking that the life of a Broadway chorus member is, in the main, financially lucrative is quite misguided. Trust me, over a ten year period the average NYC teacher is MUCH MUCH better off financially than the average Broadway chorus member (if you only count income from Broadway and Equity touring shows for the chorus people).

Updated On: 5/25/05 at 12:28 AM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:31am

And yet, you couldn't pay me enough to teach in the NYC public school system. You take your life in your hands every day just walking into work. And it goes downhill from there.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:33am

Well, Rath, I wasn't factoring in the violence factor -- though some of those disappointed audiences after Jackie Mason etc.... can be particularly vicious.

Updated On: 5/25/05 at 12:33 AM