This post seems even more appropriate as the government prepares to vote on whether to continue funding the arts in this country.
Now, I may have omitted a couple things as they apply, or do not apply to Passion. Things like royalties, which do NOT need to be paid because this adaptation is original and the writers of the Bible are looooong gone.
What your money does:
$25 pays one day's salary to a tech operator (sound, lights etc.) That's about $8/hour.
$100 pays for 2 nights of donkey rental. (yes, I need the donkey. He came into Jerusalem on a donkey!)
$200 pays for costumes. (I am borrowing most of them.)
$300 pays one non-union actor for the run of the show. (That includes all their rehearsal time and 12 performances. This amount should be MUUUUUUUCH higher, but it's the going rate in St. Louis. Probably works out to about $1.50 an hour. Puh-thetic.) There are at least 10 of these actors in the show.
$500 pays the marketing person. They are responsible for getting out press materials to radio, TV, newspapers, etc. They also direct market target audiences with flyers, emails and phone calls. This is a ton of work and when all is said and done, they might make $3/hour.
$1400 pays the salary of a union actor for three weeks of rehearsal and 12 performances. Quite a difference from the other actors listed before. Union actors make about $11 an hour - yes, it is sooo glamourous!
$2300 would pay for the printing of the programs. This amount also includes the design fee.
$3000 pays for the music director. That's a goocher for sure but a good one can make or break the show. They get about $30 an hour and between $75 and $100 per performance.
Here's some other things where price can widely vary:
Playwright's fee (yep, that's me. Over 200 hours of work already. Payment so far? Goose egg.)
Director's fee
Venue rental (don't get me started!)
Man hours for marketing, publicity, set/light/costume design, load-in, strike, getting and returning borrowed things.
Multitude of other tasks which seem so small they almost don't seem worthy of writing down but are nonetheless, essential.
You can often find people who will volunteer and that's fantastic. But Passion is conceived for professional actors and designers. You pay everyone else to do things - clean your house, fix the clog, put on a roof, tune your piano, do your nails, make your coffee. Artists deserve to get paid also and SHOULD get paid more than a pittance. That's another blog site entirely.
So that's a glimpse of what is needed for Passion.
Now, I may have omitted a couple things as they apply, or do not apply to Passion. Things like royalties, which do NOT need to be paid because this adaptation is original and the writers of the Bible are looooong gone.
What your money does:
$25 pays one day's salary to a tech operator (sound, lights etc.) That's about $8/hour.
$100 pays for 2 nights of donkey rental. (yes, I need the donkey. He came into Jerusalem on a donkey!)
$200 pays for costumes. (I am borrowing most of them.)
$300 pays one non-union actor for the run of the show. (That includes all their rehearsal time and 12 performances. This amount should be MUUUUUUUCH higher, but it's the going rate in St. Louis. Probably works out to about $1.50 an hour. Puh-thetic.) There are at least 10 of these actors in the show.
$500 pays the marketing person. They are responsible for getting out press materials to radio, TV, newspapers, etc. They also direct market target audiences with flyers, emails and phone calls. This is a ton of work and when all is said and done, they might make $3/hour.
$1400 pays the salary of a union actor for three weeks of rehearsal and 12 performances. Quite a difference from the other actors listed before. Union actors make about $11 an hour - yes, it is sooo glamourous!
$2300 would pay for the printing of the programs. This amount also includes the design fee.
$3000 pays for the music director. That's a goocher for sure but a good one can make or break the show. They get about $30 an hour and between $75 and $100 per performance.
Here's some other things where price can widely vary:
Playwright's fee (yep, that's me. Over 200 hours of work already. Payment so far? Goose egg.)
Director's fee
Venue rental (don't get me started!)
Man hours for marketing, publicity, set/light/costume design, load-in, strike, getting and returning borrowed things.
Multitude of other tasks which seem so small they almost don't seem worthy of writing down but are nonetheless, essential.
You can often find people who will volunteer and that's fantastic. But Passion is conceived for professional actors and designers. You pay everyone else to do things - clean your house, fix the clog, put on a roof, tune your piano, do your nails, make your coffee. Artists deserve to get paid also and SHOULD get paid more than a pittance. That's another blog site entirely.
So that's a glimpse of what is needed for Passion.
LOVE this breakdown of where the money actually goes. Plus "$100 pays for 2 nights of donkey rental" is just hysterical to read. :-)
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