bills, bills, bills #8
A week in the life and wallet of a freelance director in NYC
Bills, Bills, Bills is a monthly series of anonymous money diaries from theatre workers curated and edited by Jenna Clark Embrey.
Editor’s Note: Each month, I take a look at the Bills, Bills, Bills column before writing this note and ask, "Is this lifestyle sustainable? And if not, why? And what makes it unsustainable?” In the case of this month's columnist, I was struck by their knowledge of available discounts, benefits, and resources. These benefits sustain their life in the arts, although the situation would be vastly different if they were not partnered or if they had dependents.
The other element of this month's column that should be highlighted is the sheer amount of unpaid hours this director is putting into their career. From meetings with artists to research to networking-esque "catch-ups," this person’s schedule demonstrates how much (unpaid) time a theater career can require. Because so many theatre artists have personal lives that intertwine with professional, it can be easy to forget that seeing a show with a friend is, in fact, a form of work. This type of unpaid labor can be seen across theatrical disciplines, but it is most starkly seen in the lives of directors, designers, dramaturgs, and other roles that require numerous pre-production meetings and “brainstorm sessions” without the support of a union that actively protects your day-to-day hours. (If you’ve ever held a position that was budgeted under the “special services” line in a production, this probably has applied to you!) If anything, let’s all engage more deeply in the process of tracking real work hours—ours, and for those that we supervise, support, and manage—to get a clearer understanding of what fair pay would actually look like.
Job: Freelance Director
Age: 35
Location: NYC
Income: Right now, it’s a weird and precarious time for me. My average monthly income for the past three months (July, August, September) has been $1,035.10, post-estimated self-employment tax. This is from a combination of directing readings, workshops, and a short play, and portions of grants and commission fees.
So far in 2022, I have made $22,545.50. $5,000 of that is pre-tax employee income. $3,843 is unemployment benefits, post-tax. $13,702 is self-employment income, pre-tax and deductions, but not all of it will be taxable because of the same reason explained above.
In mid-October, I am starting a temporary, remote, part-time job that pays $24/hour for 15-20 hours of work a week through mid-February. It’s my first non-theater job in three years, so I am battling some feelings of resentment and artistic failure around it all, but I want to stop draining my savings account and I’m happy there’s both flexibility and a finite end date.
I also received two directing fellowships recently that are about to begin and will be of some help financially. One offers a lump sum paid in two installments, but I am not slated to receive the first installment until halfway through 2023.
Assets
Checking: $477.44
Savings: $16,610.72
Roth IRA: $14,554.34
Monthly Expenses
I split all of these expenses with my partner; the numbers listed here are my half.
Rent: $612.78. We live in a one-bedroom apartment in a mixed-income building through the NYC Housing Connect affordable housing lottery. I applied consistently for about two years and we were drawn in 2016. These apartments are guaranteed to be rent-stabilized for 20 years. Rent will be going up to $1,286.84 (total, split with my partner) in late November when our new lease begins because our mayor, Eric Adams, approved an increase on rent-stabilized apartments for renewal leases that begin after October 1st. This is the largest rent increase approved by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board since 2013.
Groceries: $0. My partner and I currently receive SNAP benefits that fully cover our groceries in the state of New York every month. If we’re traveling out-of-state for work, however, those benefits don’t apply, so I’ll often bring a lot of non-perishable food with me to a gig if it’s a train or rental car trip away. Once I start my new job in a few weeks, these will soon come to an end. We normally spend around $100 a week on groceries for the two of us.).
Internet: $10. Monthly discount through the Affordable Connectivity Program
Electricity: $60.20. Our building covers gas and water. We get a small discount through the Energy Affordability Program.
CitiBike: $20. As SNAP recipients, we qualify for $5 monthly reduced fare CitiBike memberships.
MetroCard: $50. Since the pandemic started, I no longer get a regular monthly unlimited card, so this varies depending on whether I’m working on a production or not, but I am enrolled in the Fair Fares program which gives you a 50% discount on single rides and weekly and monthly unlimited passes. This is an estimated cost.
Pet Insurance: $19.25
Amazon Prime: $3.26. We get a discount.
Spotify: $6.50
Hulu: $1.50
Neflix and HBO: $0. We share with my parents who use our Prime/Hulu accounts in return.
Phone: $0. I am still on my parents’ family plan and my line is $30 a month. They use our Prime/Hulu accounts in return, which is not an even trade by any means, but they insist on it and I’m grateful for the help.
NYTimes: $4
Newsletter: $5. I subscribe to a monthly newsletter about writing for television.
Health Insurance: $0. My health insurance is an Essential Plan in the Health Marketplace and I currently do not have a monthly premium. I do not have a co-pay for my weekly therapy appointments, but do have co-pays for most doctors.
Prescription: $6. I get 3 months at a time of thyroid medication and pay an $18 co-pay. I also take birth control pills, which are free.
Dog Care: $25. This is an estimate.
Total Fixed Monthly Expenses: $823.49
Annual Expenses
Website Fees: $40
Dropbox: $119.88
Google One: $19.99
Calm Meditation App: $69.99
Renters’ Insurance: $40
Delta SkyMiles Amex Fee: $95
Gym: $300. Currently, I run outside and swim laps at a NYC Parks Recreation Center with a promotional free annual membership that will expire at the end of October, and take the occasional free yoga class. I will likely cough up $67.50 for a 6-month membership for the rec center when my free one expires. It’s normally $75 but my IDNYC card will get me a 10% discount. If I go enough, my insurance will also reimburse me. This is an estimated cost.
Total Annual Expenses: $684.86
Debt & Family Contributions: My college tuition and living expenses were covered by a combination of contributions from my parents, scholarships, and both federal and private loans. I spent a few years after graduating making monthly payments on those loans, and then my parents unexpectedly ended up in a more financially secure place and offered to pay the rest (and significant majority) off, for which I am extremely fortunate. They also helped me with two different security deposits on new leases in my early 20s.
Upcoming Large Expenses
Medical Costs: $2,000. I am currently dealing with a medical issue from a bike accident and it’s looking likely that the full treatment will not be covered by my insurance.
Egg & Sperm Freezing: $3,500. I am likely freezing my eggs abroad in the next year, which is significantly cheaper than doing it in the United States. With the procedure, medications, travel, and housing, it would run us about $7,000 total and that’s on the higher end. My partner and I don’t want children anytime soon, but we are in our mid-thirties and would like the option, so this is a solution we are actively exploring right now.
Wedding Costs: $1,800. My best friend is getting married over a holiday weekend in a very expensive city, and I’ll also have to travel for at least one other wedding-related event. (This is my estimate of those expenses.)
Monday
I wake up and go for a run. I got into running when I was doing a lot of assistant directing seven years ago. My level of involvement in the rehearsal room would vary so drastically between each director I assisted and what they expected, and sometimes I would find myself actually daydreaming about physical activity when my brain felt so underused. I started using the extra-long dinner breaks during tech and previews to run, and I’d go to a Planet Fitness where I’d get the cheapest monthly membership just to shower. When COVID hit, it became an especially therapeutic way for me to get out all the anxiety and cooped-up feelings.
I chug some water and shower, and gratefully down the coffee my partner has made along with yogurt and fruit and head out for a haircut appointment. This week is a really light one in terms of work and I know I’m going to get much busier in a few weeks, so I’m trying to get all my “life” stuff done now. Women’s haircuts are insanely expensive in NYC and my hack for several years has been SalonApprentice.com, where I can usually find a haircut for $0-$20 with an apprentice or student stylist who’s being supervised or instructed by a high-level stylist. After I found out last night that the meeting I was supposed to have this morning was rescheduled, I did a quick search on the site and found a haircut for $40 cash at a salon in the East Village. I do some mental math and realize that even though I still have money on my MetroCard, I’ll be running around a lot this week and it’ll be worth it for me to get a weekly unlimited pass, so I get one for $16.50 with my Fair Fares discount. Of course, the trains are having issues and the next one is 13 minutes away, so I text the stylist and let her know I’m going to be a little late. She’s wonderful and the haircut is great, wahoo! I give her $60. Yes, a 50% tip is a lot, but I have no idea if some of that money goes to the salon, not her, and it’s still far cheaper than what I’d be paying otherwise.
I drop by Target to return an unused candle I bought to use as a prop for a short film months ago (the person at the register didn’t even blink when she saw my receipt from April) and also pick up some hair ties. I still have an old merchandise return card from some horrific holiday gifts my partner and I received from family friends and returned a few years ago, so they don’t cost me anything.
I decide to go to MoMA, but I’m starving and know the Clif bar I threw in my bag won’t cut it, so I take the subway to Bryant Park and grab a pre-made sandwich from Whole Foods ($7.99 on my SNAP card) and eat it in the park. This is the second time this summer I’ve ended up there during their free piano concerts, so I also get to enjoy an awesome jazz pianist, Danny Mixon, perform while I eat.
I walk to MoMA and scan my member card; I have a free one-year membership through my IDNYC card. This is only my second time using it and I make a mental note to try to go a few more times before it expires at the end of January.
I get home just as the sky is starting to darken into a storm, and spend a couple of hours doing some admin stuff: emails, online sexual harassment training for one of my directing fellowships, and giving a friend feedback on marketing materials for her new business.
My partner is working tonight, so I make a simple dinner of pasta, vegetables, and homemade red sauce and chill out with some TV, walk the dog, and pass out early.
Total Spending: $76.50
Subway Rides: 3
Tuesday
I meditate and head to a park by my house for a free yoga class (I’m already mourning the end of these, as they stop once the weather gets colder). The class is great, apart from a dog turd that happens to be directly in between my mat and the woman next to me. I consider it a great success that we get through the class without either of us accidentally touching it.
I get home and make some coffee, eggs, and toast, and then head to the dentist (normally it’s a $30 co-pay, but they tell me I have a mysterious $58 credit on my account from three years ago, so I don’t pay anything.). It shows that I haven’t been in three years: I have three “microcavities,” they say. I attribute them to the seltzer addiction I formed during the pandemic and resolve to cut down. Luckily, my insurance will cover all of the treatment minus co-pays and I resolve to get it all done before the end of 2022. The health marketplace guidelines are constantly changing, as is my income, so I can’t guarantee if I’ll have dental insurance a few months from now. There is a Trader Joe’s in the same building complex as the dentist and I pick up two bags of their Pistachio “nutmeats”; I make a banging granola with them. I also can’t resist a small bag of pumpkin spice chocolate-covered espresso beans in the checkout line, as I am a glutton for seasonal autumnal flavors. I use my SNAP card to pay ($12.97).
I get home and snack on some cheese and crackers while I make a salad for lunch, and spend awhile on the phone with my health insurance. I was in a bike accident last month and I can’t get a straight answer from anyone about whether a procedure I may need to have will be covered or not. The incompetency of our healthcare system frustrates me to no end. I also spend a good long while researching specialists in NYC who do this procedure and take my insurance, thinking at least maybe the visits will be covered then, but can’t find a single one.
I decide to book an AirBnB for a friend’s wedding months away. I never plan this far ahead, but it’s in an expensive city and I can’t justify us staying in the hotel they’ve blocked rooms at for $350 per night for 3 nights. I find an AirBnB for $130 a night and a flexible cancellation policy. I put down a refundable $128.28 for the two of us that actually ends up being $108.08 ($54.04 for my half) as I still have $20.20 in credit on my AirBnB account from a holiday gift card my brother gave me.
I walk my dog and shower and get ready for a theater company’s annual fundraising gala. They invited their artists to come for free and it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to dress up. A piece I directed with them is still running, and all of my actors and the playwright are there too, so we get to hang out. It’s wild to see production photos of work I’ve directed since 2014 with them in a slideshow they have playing above the stage. The event is open bar, so I have two glasses of white wine (and drop $2 in the tip jar) and raid their snack table for an assortment of cheese, crackers, hummus, veggies, and cupcakes. (It’s a small theater company, so no sit-down dinner here). I still return home starving and make a sandwich.
Total Spending: $56.04
Subway Rides: 4
Wednesday
I meant to go for a run this morning but I can feel the two glasses of wine from last night taunting me in the form of a headache. I do a 10-minute meditation and then walk my dog while my partner makes us coffee. I make some eggs and take an at-home COVID test. I’m meeting another theater artist in my neighborhood to talk about partnering with a community organization he’s involved with and applying for a grant for a big project. He has a baby and requested I take a test beforehand and I’m happy to oblige. It’s good to go. Before I leave, we get a grocery delivery: AmazonFresh allows you to use SNAP benefits so we get a good amount of our groceries delivered from there since the closest store is a 10-minute walk from us, which limits how much we can carry home. This order is $134.72, on the higher end since we’re re-stocking our non-perishables.
The meeting goes great and I leave feeling energized and inspired. I get home and down a salad for lunch, do some more research on the grant guidelines, and follow up with the theater company that I’m directing with tomorrow. It’s an internal roundtable reading, so it’s low-pressure, but it’s a project I’m also co-creating and it was put on hold for a couple of years during the pandemic and we’re hearing it out loud with brand-new actors. I spend a couple of hours re-reading the last draft and doing research on several relevant world events that have happened since we last dove into it. I make some tea for a pick-me-up ahead of a Zoom “catch-up” call with a producer at a theater I had a directing fellowship at years ago; I ran into him last month on the street. It ends up being a good conversation and I leave it feeling like he’s rooting for me.
In the evening, I eat some leftovers for dinner and go to a (free) show at a university I guest direct at sometimes to support a few former students of mine as well as the director, who is one of my bosses when I work there. I am really hoping they’ll hire me for another show soon, as their director fee is good and the commute is ideal. (I spent three years traveling on regional trains to direct at universities outside of the city, some of the time for fees that were half as much, and with no housing, even during tech.) I’m crossing my fingers.
Total Spending: $0
Subway Rides: 2
Thursday
I do my 10-minute meditation, make some coffee for us, and pour mine in a travel mug to take with me. I throw a banana and a Clif bar into my bag as it’s raining and I’m anxious about being late. I get to the rehearsal room and it’s exciting to meet these new actors and dive into this play again with my collaborator. The roundtable read is useful, as it illuminates a lot of gaps and world-building that needs to happen. The playwright and I stay to discuss with the artistic staff, and by the time we lose the space at 2:30pm, I realize I haven’t eaten or had a sip of anything other than coffee and I’m super late to my weekly writing group that meets on Zoom on Thursday afternoons. I get home and make a salad while snacking on pretzels, hummus, and cheese, and log into the meeting for the last half hour to say hi to the group and respond to one of the writer’s pieces. I’m drained, so I sit on the couch with my dog for an hour before taking him for a walk, which somehow re-energizes me. I go for a run and make some salmon with potatoes and vegetables and wind down with my favorite trashy reality TV.
Total Spending: $0
Subway Rides: 2
Friday
I wake up, do a 10-minute meditation, then have therapy. (I’ve been doing it on the phone since the pandemic began.) I answer some emails and do more research for the project I’m looking for funding for and start putting together a proposal for partnering with the community organization, which is also a non-profit. I’ve discovered that applying with a non-profit partner makes me eligible for twice as much funding from this arts grant, so getting their support is a priority. I also realize that the theater company I did the roundtable at yesterday didn’t say anything about how they were paying me the $150 stipend they’d offered, so I reach out to their business manager to ask, who says it’ll be 1099 income via direct deposit. I quickly add up some numbers and realize that I’ve definitely surpassed $600 with them this year, rats. Taxes. Sigh.
I’ve directed at least 3 readings or workshops in the past few months — whether 1-day, 3-day, or weeklong processes, internal or with public showings — where theater companies have applauded themselves for “paying every artist the same amount.” While I deeply love and respect actors, directors often do so much work outside of the rehearsal room when it comes to casting and creative conversations with the playwright. Not to mention, the playwright does an extraordinary amount of work outside of the rehearsal room. Some theaters do take this into consideration with compensation, but many do not. For instance, at yesterday’s roundtable, which started at 10am, the actors were dismissed by 12:00pm, while the playwright and I stayed until 2:30pm. We also cast this ourselves.
I take the bus to the pool to swim laps, take a shower there, and hop on the subway to see a show downtown with a playwright friend ($28.25). It’s experimental, which I don’t mind, but it doesn’t make enough sense for me story-wise to stay engaged and I find my mind wandering quite a bit. My friend agrees. We decide to walk to a further train so that we can hang out longer and she goes to pick up her kids while I spontaneously decide to catch one of the Walk with Amal events (free) in the neighborhood next to mine. I get to the intersection, where a crowd has formed, and a staff member announces that “Little Amal is stuck in traffic” and would be arriving half an hour late. I debate whether or not to stay as it’s now cold and dark and I am starving, but remember there’s a Whole Foods nearby and grab a weird assortment of snack foods — a Babybel cheese, a single-serve hummus, a CLIF bar — to tide me over ($7.67 on my SNAP card). I return to the event and sit on a bench in front of a coffee shop. It’s freezing and the snacks are unsatisfying, and this is one of those moments where I think maybe I should have just spent money on hot food that I could eat while sitting down indoors comfortably. I’m questioning whether this puppet is worth the wait — but she totally is. Little Amal finally arrives and it’s incredibly moving to see her walk through this neighborhood I know so well, stopping to take in the world around her and interact with the children in the street. It more than makes up for the lackluster show I saw this afternoon. I get on a bus home and heat up some butternut squash soup and take a hot shower to get warm.
Total Spent: $28.25
Bus/Subway Rides: 4
Saturday
It really feels like fall this morning. My partner and I decide to do one of our favorite autumnal activities and get our first (and likely only) PSLs of the season at Starbucks ($6.76 for just mine, what?!). We also stop by our beloved breakfast sandwich place ($13.26 for my half of the bill) that has outdoor seating so we can sit and eat with our dog. I head to the library for a free rooftop yoga class and also pick up a book I have on hold. I chill out at home in the afternoon and then head to a friend’s for an early dinner before a show. She’s an incredible home chef and insists on cooking for the two of us and requests that I bring a bottle of wine and nothing else, so I pick up one of the lower-priced reds at my local wine store with a pretty label ($15.24, and yes, I always fall for the pretty labels) and hop on the subway. After stuffing myself with all of the incredible food she’s made and a couple of glasses of wine, we take the subway uptown and see a Broadway musical (we have comps) that is absolutely phenomenal and I’m not even a big musicals person!
Total Spent: $35.26
Subway Rides: 3
Sunday
I go for a run in the morning and after showering, my partner and I go to the closing performance of the piece I directed, which is part of three different one-acts and I see the other two for the first time. The audience is great and I’m so proud of everyone’s work. There’s a little closing party afterward with quiche, pasta salad, and all sorts of snacks, so we fill up on food and then go our separate ways. I get back on the subway to go see an Off-Broadway play ($28), but I still have an hour to kill when I get off near the theater. I don’t want to end up cold and grumpy again, so I decide to treat myself to an Earl Grey tea at a coffee shop ($3.25) and read my book. The show really resonates with me personally and I take the subway home, thinking about its themes and relationships and connections to my own experiences.
Total Spent: $31.25
Subway Rides: 3
Total Weekly Spending: $227.30. Note: I later learned I could get both theatre tickets I bought this week reimbursed by one of my fellowships as “arts-related expenses”, bringing my actual weekly total down to $171.05.
Total Subway Rides: 21 (definitely worth the weekly pass)
Total Household Groceries (paid for by SNAP Benefits): $163.35
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That 1099 threshold moment...really resonates. I later learned it’s not a reporting threshold for you, just the employer, and it changed my perspective on it somewhat.