bills, bills, bills #16
A week in the life & wallet of a freelance lighting designer in an out-of-town tech
Bills, Bills, Bills is a monthly series of anonymous money diaries from theatre workers curated and edited by Jenna Clark Embrey. The full archive is available here.
editor’s note
When this month’s columnist handed in their money diary, I was struck by how many terms and details I, a theater professional who lives with a lighting designer, did not know. I asked our columnist if they would be willing to add in lots of definitions for readers (and myself) and I have to hand off my hat to them, as they really delivered. The more we understand about our colleagues’ jobs, the better we will all be as theater practitioners.
This month’s column also reveals a significant financial blow in the form of a double-pandemic-layoff household and how the effects of such a layoff can have repercussions for years. My unsolicited advice to this columnist: if you transfer a big portion of your checking account into a high yield savings account, the interest could pay for most of your breakfast budget for the year! Get those stars, baby.
The month’s contributor has asked for their honorarium to be donated to the American Parkinson Disease Association.
Job: Freelance lighting designer. What does that mean? I conceptualize the lighting needs for a particular production, then plot, plan, and cue the production. I also assist other designers, whether it’s during tech or during the pre-production process. I also draft for a couple of designers, and serve as an assistant lighting designer for two of the theaters in my town and a large seasonal theater in another state. Most of my recent work has been assisting work, which manages to put money in the bank. I do have a slate of design jobs coming up, so that will be nice. I do, however, really enjoy assisting. It’s fulfilling to collaborate with designers in order to accomplish their vision. I supplement my design income with IATSE union jobs around town.
Location: A large-ish city in the Midwest. I do a lot of work in the city that I am based in, but also travel to other parts of the country as needed for gigs.
Age: Late forties
Assets:
401K: $0*
Roth IRA: $0
Personal Checking: $1,651.35
Joint Checking: $61,683.96*
Savings: $0
*My spouse, who also works in the theatre, and I currently have no retirement savings. We cashed out her 401K at the beginning of the pandemic when we were both laid off from our jobs at a major regional theater in a different state. This allowed us to pay off debts and survive 18 months without meaningful income outside of state unemployment and my partner selling goods on Etsy. In 2021, we made a long-distance move so that I could take a position at another major regional theater. This turned out to be a misstep for us, so we moved to our current city after nine months when my spouse was offered a job at yet another major regional theater. Although both theaters help offset the cost of moving, two cross-country moves in less than a year took a toll on our finances, so we made the decision this year to cash out my 401K to get us on better financial footing. This allowed us to pay off debts and squirrel some money away, hence the large amount in our joint checking account.
Income: This varies widely, based on freelance jobs and occasional IATSE overhire work. Though I’ve been an LD for twenty years, my freelance-only career is still relatively young, so I’m not making as much as I anticipate I will in several years. My average annual income is between $25,000-$30,000.
My current out-of-state job is hourly at $15/hour. I know it’s low, but this job is amazing and I get to work with some of my favorite designers in a part of the country that I’ve never been to. Plus, I only work 40 hours per week, which is very unusual in our industry.
My spouse has a consistent paycheck from her job that covers all of our bills. We use my income to supplement and to put in savings. I am eternally grateful to her for allowing me the chance to pursue my dream. I also recognize the privilege of this situation. She makes approximately $75,000 before taxes.
Debts:
Credit Cards: $434.63, though this will be paid off when the statement due time comes around. Because of the two 401K cash-outs, my spouse and I were able to pay off all of our credit card debts during the pandemic, as well as both cars.
I paid off my student loans about ten years ago (15 years after graduation). My wife still has a minimal amount of student loans remaining that we are trying to get forgiven.
Monthly Expenses:
Mortgage: $2,047.11 (includes property taxes and insurance)
Car Insurance for two cars: $1,188.64 every six months
Cell Phone: $50
Spouse Cell Phone (includes Disney+ bundle): $85
Cable/Internet (includes Max): $152.91
Gas/Electric/Water: $290
Trash/Recycling: $177.11
Netflix: $16
Google Workspace Account: $6
Medical Appointments: $95
Prescriptions: $10
Adobe Creative Cloud: $55
Annual Expenses:
Vectorworks Service Select Subscription: $670
Website Hosting: $214.50
IATSE Dues: $380
Amazon Prime: $139
Microsoft 365: $100
Because I operate a small business (soon to be incorporated), we end up deducting a portion of our monthly bills (internet, cell phone, etc.) from my taxes, as well as the office space and website maintenance.
Monday
I am out of town for a show and today is my day off. We spent last week focusing the lights until midnight each day, so it’s nice to have a day to relax and spend it doing what I like. I wake up around 9:00am and putz around and catch up on the morning’s news. Around 10:00am, I head out to start my day.
When I’m at home, I have a morning ritual: after I wake up and make sure the pets are as cute as they were the night before, I head out to Starbucks (I know, I know) to get a black iced tea and a scone, catch up on all my phone’s demands, and read a book. I generally spend an hour or two there before I head home or to the theatre to start work. I like this routine. It gives me a start to the day, relaxes me, and allows me to take my morning medications that require food. It’s an expense that I budget for and I rack up an ungodly number of stars so I get lots of stuff for free.
Since I’m in this town without a car and the nearest proper Starbucks is at least a forty-five minute walk away, I go to this lovely local coffee house directly below my company housing. It has a great vibe, the people are nice, and I can sit in a comfy chair and read. Today I get my usual iced tea and a scone. Since this is a local place and not a global chain, I don’t get the reward bonuses that typically make Starbucks worthwhile. It does have a reward program which, broken down, gets you $5 off an order after you spend $3 twelve times. Today’s total, with tip (always tip!), is $8.98. I get one point on my way to free tea!
This afternoon, I explore a little bit of town. It’s a small town (10K) and reminds me of my hometown growing up. (It’s definitely a tourist town, exactly like my hometown.) Luckily, it’s a weekday so the number of tourists is low and places aren’t too crowded. I further explore the theater campus, which is much bigger than I expected.
I’ll admit it, I like going out for dinner — especially if I’m only in a town for a short period and I’ve never been there before. I decide to treat myself to dinner on my day off at a nice little restaurant/bar a few blocks from the apartment. I get a burger, fries, and a cider for a total of $27.72.
After dinner, I head back to the apartment. It’s around 9:00pm; I watch TV and surf the internet for the rest of the evening and head to bed around midnight.
Total Daily Spending: $36.70
Tuesday
I start out my morning as usual, with a trip to the coffee shop around 10:00am. Today it’s an iced tea and a muffin; total is $8.90 and another point towards free tea.
After the coffee shop, I head back to my apartment for awhile before going into the office. I use this time to catch up on personal and professional emails (not related to theater), and peruse Facebook. I also watch some tennis, a personal obsession of mine.
Around 1:45pm, I head into the office. It’s a short 5-10 minute walk, depending on how long I have to wait at the horribly timed traffic lights. Once there, I dive into finishing up paper magic sheets, setting up the followspot paperwork, and getting my tech table set up properly. All seemingly boring things, but nothing is quite as satisfying as getting a tech table set-up perfect.
I’m on dinner break at 6:00pm, so I head back to the apartment to eat. I haven’t fully stocked up on supplies, so I have a chicken sandwich at the apartment. I promise I know how to cook.
Back to the theatre for tech at 7:00pm. Our night begins with introductions of the 80 people working on the show and some safety/intimacy talk. After that, actors get into costumes and we begin writing light cues even though the sun is still out. (This is outdoor theater, which obviously impacts lighting!) The night goes well, but slowly; we only make it through about six pages, but the show is incredibly complex and we’re making good art.
Midnight comes and tech ends; time for the post-tech meeting. It is the most efficient meeting I’ve ever been a part of: quick, concise, but still presenting lots of useful information. Of course, there is still the chorus of “nothing for the group,”1 but only because there is nothing to share and not to speed the meeting along.
After the meeting, I head home, watch some TV for a while, and head to bed way too late.
Total Daily Spending: $8.90
Wednesday
Day starts per usual at coffee shop. I get another iced tea and a muffin; total: $8.90 and another point.
I don’t have to be at the office until 1:30pm, so I head to my apartment to chill for a little bit. More tennis is watched, more internet is surfed. It’s relaxing. I don’t know why, but I tend to get super stressed and anxious prior to techs. After about an hour of tech, I tend to calm down and realize that everything is going well and there’s nothing to stress about. But I find having a routine and finding relaxing things to enjoy prior to tech makes it all the easier.
Around 1:15, I head into the office. Astute readers will notice that I haven’t eaten lunch, and I didn’t yesterday. I tend to only eat breakfast and dinner when I’m in tech for no particular reason. I still get enough calories and nourishment. I think it comes from when I was starting my career and was making $200/week after taxes and was trying to live without putting too much on my credit cards.
At the office, I chat with my fellow ALD for a while about tech last night, her weekend, and other small talk. She is significantly younger than me, which is not a problem; this is her second year at this theater. She teaches me things and I return the favor. We have a good professional relationship despite only knowing each other for two weeks.
After the chit-chat, we both dive into work. I update paperwork and whatnot from last night, check in with the electricians, and generally get ready for tonight. Today, that means putting followspot cues in my script for Act 1 so I can get ahead. Of course, they’re all going to change, but it’s a good base to start from.
5:30pm rolls around, so I head back to the apartment for dinner. It’s another chicken sandwich! I’m excited to go to the grocery store on Friday to get some real supplies.
Back to the theatre at 6:30pm to meet with the designer and begin the night’s work. We start cueing at 7:00pm when the programmer comes on. It’s still bright out, but the designer has a good eye as to what will read onstage when the sun goes down. After half-hour, we start with the actors and continue from where we left off last night. Again, it’s slow going but we make good progress. We get through page 28 tonight. Efficient post-tech meeting commences and concludes.
Because the theater operates in rep, this is our last tech of the week. We would normally also tech on Friday, but the director has a prior commitment out of town, so the company will use the time onstage with minimal tech support.
When the meeting concludes, I head back home to unwind and relax. More TV while I let the day drift away. I go to bed around 1:00am.
Total Daily Spending: $8.90
Thursday
Another day, but no tech for me. My fellow ALD has her first tech tonight.
I get up around 9:00am and head to the coffee shop around 10:00am. Predictable, I know. Another tea and a muffin. Because I have some extra time today, I get a second tea. No discounts on a refill, so I pay full price. Total for all this is $13.04, plus two points towards free tea!
I head to the office at noon, taking what’s left of my second tea with me. The crews (scenic and lighting) will begin changing over the space to the other show soon. I grab my things off the tech table to leave room for my ALD partner to set up. For those that are curious, I always bring my own headset (hygiene!) and my personal X-Keys. X-Keys are programmable keyboards that many designers use to quickly navigate through screens/layouts on their RVI (Remote Video Interface) and not have to ask the programmer to do that for them. This is the most popular model I've seen around and the one I have. The X-Keys allow me to navigate around the tech table screens without bothering anyone.
After clearing the tech table, I go back to the office to work on paperwork. I update spot sheets from last night and make a change log for the stage manager to help her stay on top of things. I also work on my ETC Eos magic sheets to make information gathering during tech easier. I chat with my fellow ALD about things and life in general. I feel kind of like a mentor to her and I enjoy giving my knowledge and insights to her. I grew up with not a lot of theatre unless you drove over an hour, so I like to help the “younger generation” as much as I can because I had to be taught so much.
Around 4:00pm, I head out for dinner. You can probably guess that I went back to my apartment for a chicken sandwich. It’s the last of my sliced chicken, so it’s definitely time to go to the store.
Even though I don’t have tech tonight, I still have some hours to do. (Gotta make 40 hours to get the full paycheck.) So around 5:00pm, I head back to the office. I spend the evening finishing up spot sheets and EOS magic sheets. I also update the paper magic sheets to reflect some changes from the last two days. My designer isn’t back until Tuesday, so no need to print them up.
At home, I do the usual: TV & surfing. I check my bank account and notice that I’ve been paid for some IATSE work back at home that I did before I came out here. It’s a nice surprise: $942.31.
At 9:00pm, I head home. I stop by the theatre to check on tech for the other show. I don’t stay long because I always forget how boring tech can be if you have nothing to do with it.
To clarify some of the terms I’ve used in today’s entry: ETC (the name of the manufacturer) Eos (line of equipment) is the most popular theatrical lightboard. One of the greatest features they added years ago was this way to essentially create custom screen views with custom buttons and displays called Magic Sheets. This came about from an older add-on technology called "Virtual Magic Sheets," which used a separate computer to essentially mimic your paper magic sheets with live information from the lightboard for channel levels, color, etc. I think the original intent was to do the same thing, so you could see your magic sheets on the lightboard, and it could display so much more information that VMS ever could. But then actual designers and programmers got a hold of it and realized you could put macros and effects and color palettes all on the same page and have it respond to touch (finger or mouse) and a whole new world was born.
Spot sheets (properly called followspot sheets) convey to the designer, the stage manager, and the followspot operators who the spots are supposed to be picking up, what color, how big, and how bright.
Paper magic sheets are a graphical representation of what lights are in the show, what they're doing, and what color they are. (They can also be more, but that's the most used items.) They provide an easy and quick way for the designer to see which lights they want to adjust or take out, instead of having to look through a long list of channels to figure it out.
They are usually broken up into sections by what they do: Front lights, side lights, back lights, movers, etc. Typically, there's a small ground plan over which the channel numbers for the lights are superimposed.
Total Daily Spending: $13.04
Friday
Another day with no tech! I wake up around 9:00am and head to the coffee shop around 10:00am. Today, I get my tea and a berry croissant; total is $10.20, plus another point.
My first theater paycheck hits my bank account today: $446.47. It's only for a week’s work and I didn’t quite get to 40 hours.
I don’t have a car out here, but the theater will loan you one of their cars for three hours provided it’s available and you sign up 24 hours in advance. I had planned on Fridays being my shopping day, so as soon as my weekly schedule is released, I sign up for car time on Fridays. It’s very handy, free, and nice to get out of town every now and then.
I go grocery shopping. Normally I’m at a theater for about two weeks, so I don’t bother stocking up on things because I’ll be gone before I use it all up. But I’m at the theater for six weeks, so I figure it’s worth it this time. I head over to the local grocery store and pick up supplies. I spend more than I’d like ($96.31), but things are more expensive here and I did get a lot of food. I saw that the premium ice cream was on sale: buy one, get two free. Of course, I purchase three half gallons for a mere $6. I’ve now got ice cream for the rest of my stay here.
After unloading groceries, I head over to a nearby town to visit a couple of friends from college. We haven’t seen each other in over 20 years, so it was good to catch up with them. We had a wonderful late lunch/early dinner and caught up on everything. It is one of their birthdays and the other one picks up the check because of that and the fact I was able to make it.
I head back to town and return the car. I have to go to work at 6:00pm, so I just chill at the apartment. I (stupidly) decide to take an unscheduled nap and wake up 10 minutes before I have to be at the office. Luckily, it’s a short walk.
Tonight, we have some additional focus. Because there is no tech, we have the rare opportunity of touching up focus without having to be here until 3:00am. We take full advantage of it. We end up touching about 60 units of the 400 total focusable lights. We end around midnight.
There is a theatre bar literally in the courtyard of the theater complex that the theater folks often go to after shows/techs. A group of us head over there for a nightcap. I buy the first round for me and my ALD compatriot; total with tip: $16.00. Being the homebody I am I head out after one drink and go to bed, but a fun time was had by all.
Total Daily Spending: $122.51
Saturday
Per usual, I wake up around 9:00am, and head to the coffee shop around 10:00am. I get my tea and a croissant, for a total of $10.05. More importantly, I get my twelfth point, so I get $5 off my next purchase.
I head to the office at 11:30am. I tried watching an anti-harassment video that the theater mandates for employees, but the website is failing me; I’ll have to do it another day. My big project for the days is working on a pixel map Eos magic sheet. It’s not really that necessary, but I wanted to see what I could do and how quickly I could do it.
I head to a late lunch at 3:30pm. This time I brought a turkey sandwich with me and eat it out in the theatre’s courtyard. Around 4:00pm, I head back to the office to finish my day.
I’m done at 7:00pm, so I wander down to the creek that runs through town. I make a rash decision to go out for dinner, so I choose a pub and get the Shepherd’s Pie ($28.56). It’s really good and I didn’t feel like cooking, so this is a nice compromise, though I shouldn’t spend the money.
I head back to the office to collect my things and stop by the theatre to take a look at tech for the other show; apparently, I didn’t remember my lesson from Thursday. I stay a little longer, just enough to see what this LD is doing and how they’re using the same tools as mine to accomplish completely different looks. After about 20-30 minutes, I head back to my apartment. I vow to go to bed early tonight, but that doesn’t happen. I watch TV until 1:00am before I hit the hay.
What is a pixel map Eos magic sheet? Think of your big screen TV: what you see on the screen is made of pixels. Your cable box (or Roku or whatever) tells the TV what pixels to turn on and at what intensity and color. That's essentially a pixel map.
A pixel map is the lightboard's (or media server's) way of telling the theatrical pixels what to do. A pixel map doesn’t have to be a screen; it doesn’t have to be LED. A pixel map can be a line of LED tape at the front of a scenic unit that you want to chase and change colors. It can be the backlight system that you want to send effects across simply and quickly. Way back in 1999, we made an 8X8 grid of PAR64s and did what we could to pixel map it before “pixel map” was even a term.
An EOS pixel map magic sheet (probably a term I made up), it just that: an EOS Magic Sheet that is displaying the intensity/color of the pixels. With all of the wonderful things EOS does, displaying live pixel maps in a meaningful way is not one of them. So sometimes folks like me get bored enough to manually create them. Depending on the size and number of pixels, it can be a daunting task. But the end result is being able to see in live mode (and Blind mode) what the different pixels are doing and when.
Total Daily Spending: $38.61
Sunday
A true day off: no tech, no going to the office. Just some R&R to cap off the week.
Per usual, it’s up at 9:00am, and to the coffee shop at 10:00am. Get a tea and a cookie as they were out of usual breakfast pastries today. Total is $8.99, but I get my $5 off so I only pay $3.99!
I spend an unusual amount of time at the coffee shop compared to other days, but I get a lot of nothing done. After that, I head back to the apartment to do laundry. In my particular company housing, laundry is free, to which I’m grateful. I do three loads (all the clothes I brought with me), and watch my favorite team play baseball.
After laundry is done, I decide to explore the local park that’s next door to the theater. It’s bigger than I thought, has the creek running through it, and has lots of trails to explore. Even though it’s a Sunday and absolutely beautiful out, it isn’t that crowded. I explore for about two hours, and don’t even touch half of the park. I’m a big fan of nature and running water, so I spend a lot of time by the creek. There’s a lovely duck pond near the entrance, so I hang out there for a while becoming lost in the immense Zen of watching three ducks paddle around.
I go back to my apartment but decide it’s too nice to be inside. I go out on the communal balcony and read for an hour or so. I’ve been having a hard time getting into this book, but I loved the first book in the series so I’m giving in a couple of chances. This time, it seems to be picking up and becoming more interesting.
I cook myself a simple dinner (finally!) of some hamburger pasta-thing and settle down to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs; the team I was rooting for (the Oilers) didn’t win and lost the series. Now there’s no more Canadian teams in the playoffs and my team lost in the first round. I’ll be happy as long as the Dallas Stars don’t win the Cup.
After the game, I finish watching Shrill on Hulu. I started watching it in 2019, but only watched the first season. The pandemic meant that I canceled Hulu to cut down on costs. My spouse’s cell phone plan includes the Disney+ Bundle, so I decided to watch the last two seasons while I was out here. It didn’t end the way I had thought it would, but it was still satisfying and an incredibly good series. I highly recommend it.
Around midnight, I head to bed. Tomorrow is another day off. Two consecutive days off in theatre, especially during tech, is strange. But I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it!
Total Daily Spending: $3.99
Total Weekly Spending: $223.75
Total Weekly Income: $1388.78
Note from Lauren: There are many non-theater professionals who subscribe to this newsletter (much to my surprise and delight!) who don’t know the inside-baseball context for its title. After a tech rehearsal or preview performance, every department (scenic, costumes, lighting, props, etc.) gathers for a production meeting with the director and production manager to collectively discuss any notes/issues/work for the next day. “Nothing for the group” is an oft-repeated (and golden) phrase to hear from your colleagues during these meetings.
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