Into the Woods JR

Accountability: July 2016

Profile I am thirty two years old and I am the Stage Manager for Into the Woods JR at a regional theater in Virginia. I make $375 a week, which comes out to $317.16 after taxes, and I’m staying in theater provided housing for free. This gig is five weeks long and ends the first…

Back in Budget Lockdown

Back In Budget Lockdown

Last summer I wrote a post about going into budget lockdown for the first time since paying off my debt. Sad to say, I’m back in the same situation again. I was riding pretty high when I calculated my net worth in April, but I have several large expenses (already saved up for) coming up…

Clifford

Accountability: April 2016

Profile I am thirty one years old and I am the Stage Manager/Lighting Director for Clifford the Big, Red Dog! I make $700 a week and receive a $30/day per diem. Saving & Spending I have made my financial life infinitely more complicated this month. So figuring out my net worth is really a joy.…

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Stage Manager?

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Stage Manager?

So you think you might want to be a stage manager? Let me warn you now, almost everyone who works in the arts thinks they can be a stage manager and the vast majority can’t. Just because you are an organized human being doesn’t mean you have the skillset to be an excellent stage manager.…

Detroit

Accountability: February 2016

Profile I am thirty one years old and I am the Stage Manager/Lighting Director for Clifford the Big, Red Dog! I make $700 a week and receive a $30/day per diem. I also finished up Potted Sherlock the first week of this month and am now on the hunt for something to do this summer!…

Do What You Say You're Going to Do

Do What You Say You’re Going to Do

If I could give every aspiring young stage manager one career tip, it would be: do what you say you’re going to do. And honestly, I’d give anyone aspiring to do anything that tip. I really wish I could remember the first person who told me that, because it definitely lodged itself in my mind…

How to Stay Under Your Per Diem

How to Stay Under Your Per Diem

One of the best ways to save money out on tour is to live on your per diem and the trick to that is keeping your necessary spending under that amount. The companies I’ve worked for have given me per diems in the $30-35 range, which seems to be pretty average for touring shows. Here’s…

Clifford the Big Red Dog Live

Accountability: October 2015

Profile I am thirty one years old and I am a stage manager and lighting director for a touring children’s theater show called Clifford the Big Red Dog Live! I make $700 a week and get a $30 per diem for each travel day. I pay no rent and have about $210 in monthly bills.…

Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic

Accountability: September 2015

Profile I am thirty one years old and I am a stage manager and lighting director for a touring children’s theater show called Clifford the Big Red Dog Live! I also just left my job as stage manager for Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic (if you live in the tri-state area and like weird immersive theater, there…

To Collect Unemployment or Not?

To Collect Unemployment or Not?

I realize in the entertainment industry, periods of collecting unemployment are the norm. I’ve never thought twice about a friend telling me they were on unemployment. Until the friend became me. Or might become me. I’m still not 100% decided. I’ve always thought of unemployment as a drastic final measure to make sure you’re fed…

The Cost of Being a Stage Manager

The Cost of Being a Stage Manager

It’s normal to assume you’ll graduate from college, get your first job and start making money, but some jobs require a little bit of investment for success. I remember shelling out several hundred dollars for medical tests for my first big job that stopped a good friend from taking a similar job – he didn’t…

Tour Life: Financial Dangers

Tour Life: Financial Dangers

Earlier this month I wrote about my mini money challenge idea and how I was going to live on just my per diem. I thought – I’m not going to have any problem doing this. I’m pretty much a golden god of saving anyway, especially after a year of living in NYC. So I nailed…

How Much Do Stage Managers Make? Part II

How Much Do Stage Managers Make? Part II

A few months ago I tossed out the idea “how much do stage managers make?” Because as one, I’m generally pretty curious. There’s a wide variety of pay scales among us (and the job itself varies widely), but I’ve always been a little puzzled about why we keep what we make such a secret. If…

10 Best FREE Apps for Stage Managers

10 Best FREE Apps for Stage Managers

Stage Managers are people with the answers to all the questions. How do we get that way? With a heck of a small army of tools and tricks. If you’ve already checked out how to stock your kit on a budget, here’s a list of several apps to beef up your smartphone for free* too.…

Net Worth: May 2014

Accountability: May 2014

Profile I am twenty-nine years old. I work as an assistant production manager and my yearly salary is $52,000. Saving & Spending Ugh. This is a month I don’t really ever want to repeat. Financially, it’s actually been a good one. It was a 5 payday instead of 4 payday month and I wound up…

True Story: I Lived on a Circus Train

True Story: I Lived on a Circus Train

My friend J$ over at Budgets Are Sexy was kind enough to let me guest post today! Hopefully he’s enjoying the extra day of paternity leave with his newest Penny. So if you’ve ever dreamt of running away with the circus, head over there and check this out. When I was eleven, I made a…

That Was Easy! Saving $$$ at Stapler Confessions

That Was Easy! Saving Money with Stapler Confessions

I think pretty much everyone who works in theater knows that stage managers could single handedly fund Staples. Turns out there’s actually a fantastic blog run by Rebecca called Stapler Confessions that focuses on personal finance AND getting the best deals at Staples. She is seriously into this store, and if there’s one person out there…

How to Stock a Stage Management Kit on a Budget

How to Stock a Stage Management Kit on a Budget

Every job has its tools and one of the biggest money suckers for a stage manager is their kit. What’s a stage manager kit? Well, it harkens back to the idea that a stage manager is the person who is “absolutely responsible for absolutely everything” for a production… which is an over or under simplification…