Directing: Paying Director's

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Paying Director's

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Directing
Forum Discription: For questions about handling shows, actors, crew, board members, children ...or do we repeat ourselves?
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3813
Printed Date: 11/24/24 at 1:39am
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Topic: Paying Director's

Posted By: oronoboy
Subject: Paying Director's
Date Posted: 2/09/09 at 10:00am

In our community theater we have a policy where the director is paid up to $500. Also, there may be an occasional payments to professional's that may contribute services or training for a specific show. We are quite low budget, $1000 to $2000, so these payments can be a significant portion of our budget.

I was curious how other communuty theater's handle director pay, if at all?

Replies:

Posted By: janetk
Date Posted: 2/09/09 at 11:55am

In our CT we do not pay directors, producers or actors. Everything is on a volunteer basis. There is one exception though - for musicals we do pay musicians. It just seems it is hard to get them to volunteer their time though we have had a few who donated their money back to the CT.

Posted By: KEB54
Date Posted: 2/09/09 at 12:20pm

I guess I am fortunate. I get paid a stipend, as well as most of the staff. The director gets paid more than anyone else. However, in my case the director also acts as the producer. The director has to oversee all aspects and has to be present at work sessions.

On my last production I figured I used half of my stipend buying food for the crew, which is not a budgeted item. This went for things like donuts, coffee, snacks, soda, and sandwiches for the construction crew on Saturdays and Sundays. I have a talented and dedicated group of people. The reason is that I get them to help me show after show, so they are experienced. The reason they come back is that I feed them! :)

I have learned that the last thing you want to have happen is for them to leave the theatre for lunch. They tend not to come back. Also, getting them early is best accomplished with donuts, coffee and orange juice.

But I digress, ... I get a stipend but a lot is spent on the show for non-budgeted items.

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KEB

Posted By: janetk
Date Posted: 2/10/09 at 9:13am

The producer and director put a budget together for the membership to vote on. Usually this budget includes food for those that are working on the show. It also includes gifts for the cast and crew. Our budget for a play is usually somewhere between $3500 - $4500. Musicals of course run higher.

Posted By: imamember
Date Posted: 2/10/09 at 10:42am

we used to pay certain people.

director - 500
tech director - 500
stage manager - 250
lights - 75
sound - 75
music director - 500

We restructured things and it's more like

director - 200 play 300 musical
everyone else on a case by case basis but it's cut back a lot

Plays average around $3000 to $3500 and musicals are $8000 to $10,000 but I'm betting we'll be scaling those back as well.

Posted By: oronoboy
Date Posted: 2/10/09 at 6:19pm

This is all very interesting. It seems each group learns to work within whatever budget contraints they have. Another issue we have is the occasional lack of volunteer help. Its the same few people doing all the work. It seems typical for any non-profit.

Posted By: iamadramanerd
Date Posted: 2/10/09 at 9:47pm

Our very small CT never pays anyone, but we have a lot of great volunteers. As a director I would love a stipend so I could pay for the food I bring just like KEB54.

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Wove, true Wove.

Posted By: SpenceKenzer
Date Posted: 2/12/09 at 1:04pm

Our CT is entirely run by unpaid volunteers, with only ONE exception.

Occasionally our CT engages an actor or a director who is a member of Actors' Equity, and we are obliged to pay the fees required by Equity.

Most of the Equity fees go to the actor/director; our CT requests that he/she donates his/her entire fee back to our CT.
Since our CT is a registered non-profit organization and a registered charity, we can provide the Equity actor/director with a charitable donation receipt for income tax purposes.

However, some of the Equity fees go only to Equity. We consider these part of the expenses budget for that particular show.

We usually engage an Equity actor 2 to 4 times per year.
We usually engage an Equity director about once every other year.

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Saludos, my dahlinks, and you know who you are ... !

Posted By: dramacorrect
Date Posted: 3/10/09 at 9:55pm

Our ct has always paid our directors ($400), but lately they've been adding to the list of who they pay. It's driving me nuts. SM, ASM, AD, along with directors musicians etc. However, lights, sound, costumes etc never get paid. As a staff members it gets on my nerves that we pay volunteers (most of whom don't realize they're getting paid till the show's over and they're handed a check) but we staff members are told they can't afford any benefits or better pay for us. Our "honorarium" budget is up to about $8,000 per year now.

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Posted By: chelserin
Date Posted: 3/11/09 at 7:40pm

We don't pay directors either. The question of wether to reimburse certain people for gas came up at a board meeting a while ago (a costumer had asked about it) since we are out in the county. However, we decided that unless everyone gets reimbursed, no one should. Where do you draw the line of who is 'worthy' of monetary compensation and who isn't? So we've made the executive decision that we are a purely volunteer organization, which means none of us get paid. You gotta love it to do it.

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To be in the world, and of the world, and never to stand aside and watch.

Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 3/12/09 at 8:19am

I think the line is drawn at where you can get qualified people to work for free.

Actors? I've yet to find a community theatre that couldn't get actors!

But, directors? musical directors? choreographers? lighting and set designers? These people are at a premium in my area - without stipending they would simply work elsewhere.