the week of july 5 - 11, 2024
the return of "that's not a living wage"
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Morton | Editorial Support: Ryan Adelsheim
icymi: bills, bills, bills
This month’s money diary is from a director maintaining two apartments in two cities (and I am not a fan of their dentist!):
productions
Dustin Thomas’ ¡Alguien Más! will tour outdoor parks and venues in Rhode Island as part of Trinity Rep’s summer theater program Teatro en El Verano. Marcel Mascaró directs the bilingual adaptation (with “a telenovela twist”) of George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 play You Never Can Tell.
The 7 Fingers’ Duel Reality starts performances July 6th at The Old Globe in San Diego. The “one-of-a-kind daredevil theatrical extravaganza where love, honor, and betrayal come to life through a blend of acrobatics, theatre, and music” is directed by Shana Carroll.
Ryan Spahn’s Inspired by True Events runs July 10-26 at 154 Christopher Street. Knud Adams directs the new work about a Rochester community theatre group who must “improvise on and off stage in ways they could not have imagined when their star actor arrives in a dangerously unhinged state.”
summer festivals
Contemporary American Theatre Festival runs July 5 - 26 in Shepherdstown, WV. This year’s line-up includes Donja R. Love’s What Will Happen to All that Beauty (directed by Malika Oyetimein), Mark St. Germain’s The Happiest Man on Earth (directed by Ron Lagomarsino), Harmon dot aut’s Tornado Tastes Like Aluminum Sting (directed by Oliver Butler), and Paloma Nozicka’s Enough to Let the Light In (directed by Kimberly Senior).
Rachel Bloom’s Death, Let Me Do My Show runs July 5 - 14 at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Seth Barrish directs the “one-woman musical comedy that is definitely NOT about the ever-present specter of death and will in NO way explore the pandemic and all the tumultuous events that ensued in Rachel’s personal life.”
Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles starts performances July 5th at Chautauqua Theater Company. The dramedy about “one ordinary woman’s life measured by the simple tradition of baking a birthday cake” is directed by Arya Shahi.
Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jenny Turner Hall’s A Simple Herstory will have a public workshop presentation July 5-7 as part of the Vassar Powerhouse season. The “groundbreaking, multi-platform audio fiction exploration of the 100+ women who have run for President of the United States” is directed by Meghan Finn.
The O’Neill Playwrights and Music Theatre Conferences continue through July 27th in Waterford, CT. This week’s public readings include Jesse Jae Hoon’s 12 Chairs (July 4 & 6, directed by Charlotte Murray and dramaturged by Charles Haugland), DJ Hills’ Horsegirl & Cowdaddy (July 5 & 7, directed by Adil Mansoor and dramaturged by John Baker), and Kevin Wong’s musical Soft Magical Tofu Boys (July 6, 10 & 12, directed by Mei Ann Teo, music directed by Jason Liebson, and dramaturged by Annie Jin Wang.)
The East to Edinburgh Festival runs July 9 - 28 at 59E59. The annual showcase features 16 NYC shows heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
that’s not a living wage
Here are this week’s featured underpaid job listings, paired with the living wage for a 40-hour work week for one adult with no children in that area and the most recently available 990 data. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
Office Manager at The Tank: $40,000 - $44,000 (Exempt Status Unknown)
* (“The Tank will pay for 50% of health insurance plan’s premium, with the remaining 50% deducted, pre-tax, from the employee’s paycheck each pay period”)Living Wage for New York, NY: $69,852
Revenue (2023): $1.68 million / Net Income: $315,680
Executive Compensation: $59,590 (Artistic Director)
Company Manager at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey: $37,000 - $44,000 (Full-Time Exempt)
Living Wage for Morris County, NJ: $57,228
Revenue (2022): $3.68 million / Net Income: $186,816
Executive Compensation: $199,290 (Artistic Director)
Development Communications Manager at Signature Theatre (VA): $45,000 (Full-Time Exempt)
Living Wage for Arlington County, VA: $64,695
Revenue (2022): $12.9 million / Net Income: $3.23 million
Executive Compensation: $180,979 (Managing Director) / $146,970 (Associate Artistic Director)
Devoted NFTG readers will recall “That’s Not A Living Wage” was a regular newsletter feature for years. I’m not entirely sure why I stopped; I think sifting through ArtSearch & Playbill listings every week bummed me out after awhile. (Theatres also reverted to classic scams, like posting positions with a living wage but a ridiculously unreasonable scope of responsibilities and required expertise.)
I'm reviving it this week in honor of the new federal labor laws around overtime pay that went into effect on Monday. As of July 1st, employees who earn less than $844 per week ($43,888 per year) cannot be considered exempt from overtime pay requirements. The threshold will increase again on January 1, 2025, to a minimum salary of $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year.) (Your state or county exempt threshold may be higher than the federal one; NYC’s is currently $62,400.)
As expected, anti-labor ghouls are swarming: In Texas, a federal district judge blocked the enforcement of the law for state government employees. I pre-scheduled this newsletter on Wednesday morning, so it’s possible there are new legal challenges and developments from our clown-show judicial system.
Anyway: don’t romanticize your workplace, confirm and learn about your exempt status, and know your rights at the federal, state, and local level when it comes to overtime pay, minimum wage, paid time off, sick leave, and FMLA. (Jenna once had to inform a Bills, Bills, Bills diarist that their salary was illegal!)