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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Which way do you consider paying your assistant?
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briansmagic Special user USA 507 Posts |
I pay my assistants C. They only get paid on performances (no rehearsals) but I NEVER pay them half of the fee that the client pays me.
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Magicman2k7 New user St.cloud mn 5 Posts |
You pay your assistants?
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briansmagic Special user USA 507 Posts |
Yeah I pay them! You almost always have to! We are on the same page, right? Audience members vs. onstage trained assistants...
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
When the assistant is not my spouse, I pay for both the show and rehearsal. My real preference is to pay an aspiring magician to do the prop/stagehand type stuff and to do about six to ten minutes of magic alone or with me. Payment to others is not related to my contract fee unless there are unusual circumstances. Where the client insists on certain show assistants, they pay. (Fashion shows for modeling agencies are this way or if Santa or the Easter Bunny appears.)
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Dayanara New user Michigan 64 Posts |
I don't have any, but this is how I'd do it.
1) No pay for rehearsals. It's part of your job and the learning process, so you are expected to show up. I've never gotten paid for going to school, you shouldn't either. 2) Assistants who hire in with dance knowledge will start with a higher pay rate than usual. In that case, the more you know, the more you're worth. 3) You'd get a raise for going to dance class. Every year you attend, you'd get a raise. Again with the knowledge. I'm not sure what my pay rate would be, but if I did a full-scale show (like, Vegas or a big venue) I would require a lot of assistants who can dance because dance is my thing. |
Red_Magic_Jones New user \ 20 Posts |
We pay a certain percentage of whatever we get for the show, taking into consideration rehearsal time etc...
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
When I worked the Renaissance Festival, the assistants got no pay for rehearsals (because I didn't either), but they got a fixed fee per day, plus a percentage of the tips.
They paid for their own costumes, I paid for all the prop expenses. Usually they got a bonus at the end of the season. Also, if we travelled, I picked up all the travel expenses, and paid them on a per show basis.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Big Daddy Cool Inner circle 1604 Posts |
Having just finished up a tour of two very large shows (13 member cast, and 7 member cast) I can add something to this discussion.
First, it is standard among professional companies to pay 1/2 rate for rehearsals. Whatever the pay rate for performance is, you should pay half for rehearsals. Of course, this isn't always possible. If you are doing a two-wall show, your fee is going to be tied to ticket sales. So your staff's pay will be a percentage of revenue. Since this is an unpredictable situation, it is impossible to pay 1/2 of the performance pay, because you don't know what the performance pay will be! BTW, this is a good way to manage staff costs, since payroll is a percentage of revenues. You should never have payroll costs above your revenue. But watch out, the staff will not stay happy with this arrangement for long. It would be better to pay a flat $50 per show with expenses than to tie it to revenue. They'll make less, but it will be predictable. One thing I am doing now is hiring staff only after the show is booked. And we are not doing any 2 wall shows this season, only buyouts. This way I know exactly what the revenue will be and costs are set. In this situation I try to be competitive with pay to get the very best talent available. |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
There are two things that come to mind from real life experience when I re-read this question.
1. A trapeze artists who asked how much should he pay his "catch man" And 2. A professional gambler in Nassau who asked how much should he pay his bodyguard. I don't think either is working anymore! Bob Magic By Sander |
DanielSteep Inner circle 1409 Posts |
How much should I pay an assistant that only does 3 illusions?
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Sal Amangka Special user Manila, Philippines 712 Posts |
Hi Guys,
First off, an assistant is like your partner in crime. Some effects you might be doing might "involved" the assistant to accomplish the effect. Also in getting an assistant, it's very important that he/she should also be interested into magic and not just the payment. It will also help if you have a good working relations with you assistant/s. If I get "extra" from the client, I give him/her 20%. But most of the time we both get extras. Sal |
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