“The Basic Finances of Professional Theater”

I am often surprised by the number of people who think my husband and I are getting “rich” off of Zack’s work in theater. Unless you are in the category of Neil Patrick Harris or Sutton Foster ,the superstars of musical theater, you will just be able to get by on the salary your child will make. If you’re child is union he/she will also have excellent benefits but the average professional musical theater actor is not getting wealthy. We are not in this for the money.
When you include accommodating the laws surrounding child labor and the need to have a trust established in his/her name, agency fees, union dues and taxes the take home pay check is considerably less than it initially appears. Further add in the cost of a second home while the child is working and the possibility of a lost salary for the parent who is with the child while he/she is working away from home then the reality is hard to deny, being the parent of a child performer is not going to improve your financial situation.
If your child has this dream and you find yourself compelled to support him/her in it and chase this dream it can be done but you will have to be frugal.
A Broadway Union contract can typically pay a salary of @ $1,900/week or @ $98,000/year. The tax rate for the state of NY in this income bracket is 6.65% or @ $6,500. The federal tax rate in this bracket is 28% or @ $27,000. As I’ve mentioned previously in this blog your child’s representation could take 10-25% of his/her take home depending on which representation path you chose. An agent collecting 10% would lead to @$9,800 further deducted from the take home. The trust required for a child actor to be permitted to work in NY moves 15% or @ $14,700 into that account. Equity working dues would move another 2.25% or @ $2,205 from the take home. Finally, housing in the city. A small one bedroom in midtown with utilities will cost at least upwards of $30,000 for the year. When you add all of these deductions up you are left with @ $7,300 of the original $98,000 salary. Obviously this is just an approximation. There are an infinite number of different scenarios that could be played out with these factors and this is merely an example to allow for some perspective. There are also all the factors that would include the differences between touring and being on Broadway, but again, this is just an example.
For our family we did have to factor in the loss of my salary while I am out on tour with Zack. Before we even agreed to take on the tour role we had to sit down with our 12 year old and make sure that he understood that the money left over after all of these deductions would have to become “house” money to make up (in part) for my missing salary in order for us to afford him this opportunity.
The good part in all of this, at least in our opinion, and aside from the excellent credit on Zack’s resume, is that 15% going into his trust. That absolutely is money in the bank that is available to him when he turns 18 to be used either for college or to take him in another direction of his choosing as he moves into his adult life.
Let me talk a little about the trust account needed and the work permit process. The need for a trust began way back in the days of Jackie Coogan and Shirley Temple. There was a great concern for kids in entertainment being used by their parents to generate income, and being left as young adults without any financial benefit from all of their hard work. We have gone through this process with Zack as residents of New Hampshire obtaining a child labor permit for New York. Zack has also needed to acquire permits in the other states requiring them that the tour traveled to and the paperwork was very similar. Not all states require permits. New Hampshire, for instance, does not nor does Massachusetts or Maine but New York does. New York has made the process of acquiring the permit fairly straight forward. The two pieces parents can find most difficult are getting the school to sign that the child is a student in good standing, this is particularly true in the case of home schooling, and the establishment of a trust account. We could not find a bank local to us in NH that would offer a Coogan account for Zack. Fortunately there were several that offered an UTMA account which is also acceptable for a NY State child performer work permit. If the state that you are seeking a permit in requires a particular type of trust account, California does require the Coogan, and you are having difficulty finding access to one then call your local actors union office. They can be a great resource of help in finding an institution that will offer one of these to you.
As for obtaining a NY State child actor work permit there is an excellent website that is most easily accessed by searching “child labor permit NY”. This will bring you to a page on the website labor.ny.gov and offer you prompts to work through the process.
Most people, ourselves included, have an immediate need for a child labor permit due to their child being hired for a job.
On the website you follow the prompts that allow you a one time only 15 day temporary permit. This is truly permitted only one time per child. This will allow you to immediately print off and use the permit for work happening immediately. Since it is only good for 15 days my suggestion is that you do not go through the process of obtaining the temporary permit if your child has work pending unless/until you are sure that the work is going to happen within that 15 day window. You must complete the process of the temporary permit at a device from which you can print as it will not be something that you can print later. Aside from the temporary permit it will also generate the paperwork/ forms needed for you to acquire your child’s 12 month permit. This includes a health form, a school form, a trust form, and also a list of other documentation that needs to be included.
When you print this out it is my suggestion that you get to work immediately assembling the rest of the packet and send it in ASAP as you do not want to miss job opportunities due to a lag between the temporary permit expiring and the receipt of the 12 month permit.
The first time you submit for the 12 month permit is the most difficult. The state requires less documentation for renewals barring changes to your child’s situation. I also recommend keeping copies of everything you fill out and mail in to the state each time that you submit or renew. Things have been known to get lost or delayed. The good news is that aside from the cost of a stamp there is no fee for the permit!
Sorry to disappoint anyone who thought that musical theater was going to allow them to retire early 🙂 If you find a way to make that happen PLEASE do share here with the rest of us!! We have done much less work in print and film however, in just the little we have done, there certainly does appear to be some better opportunity for financial improvement in that line of work.  I am scheduled for another brief reprieve at home during the next week or so. If my blog does not pop up on Friday the 15th and you are anxiously awaiting it 😉 don’t worry…it will get there…just may take a few days.
Have a great week everyone!