[SML] Vo Tech programs for theatre

[Duncan Mahoney]

Vo-Tech courses for Theatre only make sense if the money will be there in the  theatrical industry when students graduate.

I do a budgeting exercise in one session of the scenic construction class that I teach.  The students define what they would pay for rent with a roommate, food that is not top ramen every night.  Car payment, insurance a little money for clothes, some tools, health insurance.  An estimate for taxes, etc.  The last few years the minimum liveable wage has come out to about $23/hour as a W2 employee and $25 as an independent contractor.  Yes it was  lower in 2018 when one student was living in a garden shed and paying $500 a month rent.  Interestingly, I heard from my students last year that $25/ hour is the going rate for overhire carpenters and electricians in Los Angeles.  I imagine that will rise with inflation.

And yet I still see ads for technical directors in regional theaters that pay less than 50k/year.  A TD needs a huge skillset and they can make way more than that if they are willing to leave theater for construction or another industry.

Even a carpenter or electrician can do better elsewhere.


Duncan Mahoney

Head of Technical Direction

Professor of Theatre Practice

University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts

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