how much is the average that a working equity actor makes?

[BroadwayDreams2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:06pm

The question is in the subject. I was just wondering. I'm trying to make my mother more up to letting me move to New York and if she sees that I wont be living in a cardboard box it might help. How much do equity actors make on average? Non-equity?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:08pm

lets' just say that if we told you, she wouldn't want you to move.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:12pm

Only move to NY if you're good enough. Seriously.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:16pm

Actually Equity actors minimum is quite a bit more than someone with an office job, on average. Or a teacher, or a lot of other professions. Not to mention good health insurance and benefits. And once you start moving above minimum, well, it's not bad at all, especially when you realize that office workers are at their jobs an average of 9 hours per day, where as a Broadway performer is at theirs an average of 3 (and mostly likely enjoying it a helluva lot more). And actors also get amazing numbers of tax breaks that the average worker does not.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:20pm

Rath, let's not neglect to mention the unemployment rate for actors though. LOL.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:21pm

True. But that's also true of a lot of other professions, especially these days. Took me 6 months to find the job I have now - and I work in an office.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:22pm

amen to that. i am scrounging for a job now.....

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:28pm

If you're a really good dancer who can sing, and you can learn quickly, you can work on Broadway non-stop in the chorus. Which is not a bad life at all.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 4:36pm

If you check out the casting call page on actorsequity.org, it seems like the ensemble members of some bigger shows (Ave Q, Wicked, etc.) make $1381/week. I don't think it's the actual pay that'll make you slum it in NYC - it's getting a job in the first place.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 5:47pm

Broadway acting pays very nicely, even for the lowest ensemble member- it's the long periods of unemployment you have to watch out for. Updated On: 9/18/04 at 05:47 PM

[AlmostThere]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 5:49pm

What do the stars make? What do you think the leads of Avenue Q make?

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 5:51pm

Now, I have always wondered this:

What do understudies get paid? Anything extra when they DO perform? Anything less when they DONT?

And Stand-bys?

-d.b.j-

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 6:08pm

Understudies are paid according to their contract, so it's according to what their agent (if they have one)has negotiated.

They do get paid more for going on, as do standbys. They do not get money taken away for not going on.

[shermanslave]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 6:14pm

Rath, I would not say that just because one is good means a person can work on Broadway. I know plenty of people who are more than good enough and talented enough who rarely get work. Talent has a lot to do with working but it is certainly not the only deciding factor.

Any other Equity actors on the board agree with that?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 6:15pm

I said you CAN work...not you WILL. And honestly, the people who have the least amount of downtime are the very good dancer/singers who work in choruses.

Updated On: 9/18/04 at 06:15 PM

[JamieMcG]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 6:19pm

Stars will get paid anywhere between $1500-$100,000 a week (in the case of Lane/Broderick in the Producers) So it really varies.

But please keep in mind that at any given moment, less than 4% of all actors in New York City alone, are working actors. That's the most recent figure...

That's where actor/waiter/temp jokes come from.

The best argument you can give your Mom is that it's what is going to make you happy. And if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out, but you'll always regret not having tried (worked for me).

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 7:11pm

And of that 4% that are working actors, most are getting paid well below what Broadway pays. Off Broadway can be as low as $300 a week (maybe lower). Regional can be anywhere from $150 - $800 a week. Acting isn't a great paying job for most people who are even working. And insurance only comes if you work 20 weeks in a year.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 7:14pm

So you have to work other jobs besides acting. I never acted professionally, always worked office jobs, but for many years here had 2 and 3 jobs at a time to pay my bills. And long periods of unemployment as well. NYC living is just tough if you're not wealthy, no matter what your profession. If you want to be an actor, why wouldn't you be willing to make the sacrifice of working "survival jobs"?

Updated On: 9/18/04 at 07:14 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 7:47pm

An understudy who is not in the show gets the same weekly salary as a regular actor, plus they get extra each time they go on.

As, mentioned early, the Broadway minimum is $1381 per week. Off-Broadway can range anywhere from $400 to $1000. Off-Off-Broadway Equity can me as little as $250. Then there are non-union theatre that may pay their actors ten bucks per performance, and nothing for rehearsals, yet have the nerve to call themselvves "professional" theatres. "Professional" should mean enough to live on, not just cab fare.

By the way, the unemployment rate among Equity members is about 95%. Plus, you have to work 20 weeks a year to get full insurance benefits (12 weeks gets yuo six months coverage). Less than 10% of Equity members work enough weeks in a year to get health insurance.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 7:57pm

Jon: your minimums for Off-Broadway and Off-Off are not low enough, sadly. Some ob pays even less. And most Off-Off Broadway is non-paying showcases, where an actor gets paid for travel.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 8:27pm

Reminder: less than 20 percent of the members of Actors Equity are working at any one time, anywhere in the country, not just NYC. That means most are umemployed or working at other things. Be sure you have a skill you can use to pay the rent. The pay for actors is good but you'd better hold on to a chunk of it, since you could work for a few months a year (if you're lucky) and not work the rest of the year.

Updated On: 9/18/04 at 08:27 PM

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 8:29pm

You can? How come there are SO many unemployed dancer/singers? Not true at all!

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 8:33pm

Can someone please explain to me the difference between non-union tours and non-equity tours?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 8:45pm

Lynnespock, I said they are the performers with the lowest amounts of downtime - it can't be too hard to read into that that I mean of the working actors. Obviously if you're a very good dancer who's working chorus jobs, you're going to be able to last in jobs and move to other jobs with more ease than character actors, featured players and stars.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/18/04 at 9:02pm

non-union tours=non-Equity tours

but there is a difference when people say non-Equity house and non-union house. Non-union house usually means that the crew is non-union while the actors and stage managers are.