I donated my time to the students MANY years ago.

But when I realized that EVERY OTHER extracurricular activity
was paid (football coaches, basketball coaches, swimming
coaches, debating team coaches, cheerleading coaches,
baseball coaches, etc. ad nauseum), I put my foot down. No
more free stuff. Over the next fifteen years, my salary for plays
went up substantially. But - like all teaching positions - if you
actually counted the hours up that were spent on the
production, it was probably on par with dropping the fry baskets
at Burger King LOL. However - it was the principle of the thing.
Heck - they are the ones who insist that I invest in a masters
degree to teach this program - why should I not get the return
on my investment that every other school position receives?

I think it's very important that the arts - and their TEACHERS -
are treated with the same respect as every other activity in a
school system.

Our group has paid the rehearsal pianist. We struggled with the concept,
because once that door is opened, is can be difficult to justify the non-
payment of others. Our thoughts were 1) The rest of us have day jobs
and doing theatre is something different. For the rehearsal pianist, she
gave private lessons and our rehearsal time overlapped with prime time
for piano lessons. It wasn't enough money to compare to her self-
employment, but it was a recognition that she was working. 2) Rehearsal
pianist is more of a non-glam job, without the audience recognition.   3)
We were desperate and we needed to count on someone. More of a
pragmatic rather than an ethical decision.

My biggest complaint thru the years has been the concept of paying the musicians.  They come in about a week before we open and begin to learn the show and then walk off with a nice check after the cast has worked on these things for 20 or 12 weeks or more.  I hadn't really thought about it until a musician mentioned to me one day how unfair he felt it was.  When I asked why the musicians were paid, I was told, "Well, these folks are turning down paying gigs on show nights, so the only way we can get an orchestra is to offer money." Fine.....great....OK, but what about the high school girl in the show who works at McDonald's?  She's missing a paying "gig" throughout the whole rehearsal period and run of the show.  Why is her money any less important?  Those musicians are picking up additional income to their "day jobs", while high school girl is trying to make some extra money for college. 
I'm not angry about this inconsistancy, but it filtered down at one point to a scenic designer who approached me one day and asked if I had a designer for my next production.  "No, not yet, are you interested?" "Why, yes I am.  I make $500 per show." "Wonderful", I replied.  "Where did you receive your theatrical training?" "Why, I didn't go to school for this, I picked it up along the way and decided after attending a number of productions last year that I could do this too."  "Good luck to you", I said "I wish you luck. To my knowledge no local theaters pay their scenic designers for non-musical, box sets, and I personnally would never pay anyone with no experience who isn't trained at least as much as I am."

Don't really know what any of that means, but that conversation was ages ago and it still rankles when I recall it.  No that I've written it all down I can let it go.   Deep breath     Ahhhhhhhh   much better

Performers are only paid in special situations, like if we have to bring in someone that is not involved with the group to play a specific instrument or something. And we have to pay the venue for a bartender when we do a bar but they don't really count I guess. We never pay actors, directors, or crew.

Just to keep it between the yellow lines... On Diva's message, she is so right on where does it end... BUT, (and only because it matters to her and me and not to most of you) it was a set dresser that desires payment, the builders and to a same degree that dresser really only wanted what we all want in a way.  To be appreciated.. I think we often fall short in appreciating those around us.. Particularly in C.T. and particularly those who do our tech... I think all of us need to find more ways to make people feel appreciated and to say thank you...  Might sound like a small, even petty thing, but it is just like giving medals in the Army... We say "Great job, thank you for risking your life.. Here is a medal, go do it again next week"  Same concept with people who do the "work" of the theater.. If you don't say thank you sometimes, they just seem to go away... Where all this pay stuff comes from is when we turn around and they are all gone, we resort to the wallet, when we should have been appealing to the soul...

 

Thank a Techie.. (or anyone else that makes it possible)