Should we get Paid?

[Angie]

I like discussing things on this board better than the other board that is why when I see a topic that fire’s me up I bring it over here because we all seem to discuss it calmer here.

The topic of why aren’t the IO team members paid for their work, they are the product that keeps the place running.

The topic of payment comes up at CIC all the time and I was wondering what everyone thought, in my mind it is not feasible, I tried and am still trying to find a way and still have money for advertising, rent and so fourth. We did pay the teams in the beginning when we were only word of mouth and had no expenses. But then we lost our shirts on a big move, and our playing home as well; we had to save for rent. Now we have a very very small nest egg for our move to FrankieJ’s. And we have all talked about it and we at this point don’t see how we could pay the teams.

Now IO paying teams is silly, they have a much higher rent, and lots more expenses then we do, on top of that it is a school, do you expect your drama teacher at Columbia to pay you for your performance, how about SC conservatory? This doesn’t make sense to me, maybe we can all discuss it to help shed light on the situation, because I really have had this conversation many times with teams that have played for me and they don’t see why they shouldn’t get paid.

 

[Megan]

Paying people

Fuzzy Gerdes and I once had a show called Big Bowl of..., and one of our goals was to always give the improv groups that performed a cut of the door, even if it ended up being $2. We closed after four shows. We had no money to continue doing the show because we had given it all away.

From a business standpoint, it doesn't make sense to pay improvisers unless you can be assured of the quality of their shows. Flanigan's Wake, Free Associates and Comedy Sportz all pay their players, but on some level, they're always assured of a similar product at the end of the night because of the style of their improvisation. I don't think that quality assurance exists at places like IO or the Playground or CIC or UCB. That's fine, because we permit our players more freedom to do their own kind of improv.

From an artistic standpoint, improv as an artform is not so popular (outside of the Who's Line variety) that it makes much money. Theaters that specialize in improv have a hard time paying the bills because of this. Just ask anybody at the Playground or IO or the Annoyance.

From a location standpoint, there is far more improv in this city than the non-improviser paying public is willing to see. We have this huge glut of improv shows - there's too much to see that it's hard to even get out to support your friends on their new teams or shows. Why would anybody get paid to do improv in Chicago when you can't walk more than 10 feet in this city without running into somebody that is/has taken classes/performed at IO/SC/the Annoyance/Player's Workshop? Why pay when you can definitely find somebody willing to do it for free?

Here are a couple of things I think should be paid for, improv-wise:

Rehearsal/coaching fees for "House" teams at theaters - these people are your main attractions and draw audience, they should be actively cultivated by the theater to maintain their quality level and continue their commitment to your venue.

Festival fees for productions/ensembles - Organizations expect their groups or shows to represent them at a national event. I believe that by paying these fees, this is assisting them at a very nominal level to gain this type of attention.

Of course, I come from a hippy theater, the Playground, where every member owns a part of the theater and has a voice and vote in the business that takes place there... and while that's not the same thing as money, it's still getting something in return for your work. I'd much rather own a chunk of a theater than get $2 or a free beer for a show.

 

[Rkozlowski]

I saw this argument on the other board and anyone who thinks it's remotely feasible for Charna to pay her performers doesn't really know how expensive it is to run a theatre, especially one like hers that has to deal with liquor and full-time employees and the such.

I say "Suck it up!" The chances of any actor making a dime anywhere are 1000 to 1, you might as well get used to it.

Your loving cynic,

 

[PhilC]

Simple law of supply and demand.
________
tiny tits Cam

 

[chadhot]

i can't pay my bills, can't pay my telephone bills...

Pavlov's Dogs has been performing for 2 1/2 years in Dallas. We've been lucky enough to not pay for renting a theater or rehearsal space. At first we said that since we have nothing to really pay for that we would split the money by however many performers plus one. so everyone would get a portion plus a portion goes to the troupe fund. That lasted about 3 months. Now we have close to 6K in the bank and we've starting paying ourselves again. Only now it's performers plus 2. The troupe fund getting twice as much as the players.

We starting thinking about what sorts of things we would need money for and then decided how much we would need for those things. Then when we had the money we figured we needed plus about $1,000 we started paying ourselves again.

That's the only way we could justify getting money. Of course it's different for every group and the IO is a completely different story. It's nice to get a little chunk of cash per show but I never minded not getting paid.

 

[RICH TALARICO]

Should we get paid

At IO. Maybe.

I think IO is a school that does shows, not a theater that has classes. Although a lot has changed as of late, I think that for IO to make commitment to paying it's players it needs to commit to one or two teams a la Baby Wants Candy. (do they get paid?)

Any way I think that if you are hired to do a show, you should most certainly get paid for it. But if you are taking classes and performance is a part of that education, then it's really up to whatever you can work out with Charna.

If all the students got together and agreed to work for a cut of the door, that would be different. But IO has what most performers want: Stage Time...

Remember that in the end you are the show and at some point in your career you should make some money doing this....

Rich