I'm the resident director for a small CT who, up until now, has primarily done Shakespeare and small comedies.  I'm putting together a production team to do a good sized musical and have no idea of what kind of salary to expect to pay for a choreographer.  What is the customary range for CT choreographer.  Thanks.

It all depends on the size of the theatre, the number of seats you can expect to sell, your overall budget, and the load of work necessary. For example - if you're doing "Oklahoma!" - which has three major ballet numbers as well as quite a few choral numbers - it's going to cost quite a bit more than if you're doing "A Little NIght Music" or "Into the Woods" which have virtually no dancing and only musical 'movement'.

If you can afford to hire a choreographer, make sure you get one who is used to working with UNTRAINED dancers - most community theatres do not have an abundance of trained dancers, and if the choreographer isn't used to it (i.e. a dance teacher), there could be some dust ups LOL.

Good luck!

I agree, don't if you can get away with it.... But in answer to your question, we give a stipend of $200....

If your theatre doesn't pay anyone, then by all means look for someone who is willing to do this as a volunteer. However, if you pay others in your production staff then at least pay something for a choreographer. The comment about not paying if you can get away with it is a bit annoying. A good choreographer, and as mentioned, one that can work well and create interesting movement for untrained actors, is not easy to find. It's just sad that people think that anyone can do this stuff (I mean many directors in CT don't even have prof. acting experience, let alone movement experience) and that experienced choreographers (who get paid to dance, teach, or choreograph) should suddenly do this work for free. You get what you pay for in my opinion.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but as a choreographer and teacher I'm not sure why I should spend my life getting better at something and not expect to be paid. In a lot of CT's that I've been involved with the choreographer is the ONLY professional on the production staff (often directors, musicians, set designers etc. do this work on the side and not as a job, while choreographers work as teachers or dancers elsewhere for income) and they get paid the least.

As has been stated - payment should probably depend on the workload involved, and the experience of the choreographer. Plus, what your theatre can afford is important - but it should be comparable to what you are paying other production staff in my opinion. The most I've heard of a choreographer being paid in CT is $600 for a big dance show.

I direct a youth theatre company and we recently did Wizard.  We paid our choreographer $500 and she taught 32 kids ages 7-15 some wonderful choreography.  I think it is worth it to pay someone who not only dances but is also familiar with music theatre.