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Salary of a Theatrical Technician

Theatrical technicians include the many people whose names are listed in the program for a play or musical but are never seen on stage. The work of a theater technician starts well before rehearsals begin, as design staff must already have created set and lighting concepts that can be constructed before the show opens. Salaries for theater technicians can range from about $40,000 to $55,000 per year for both design staff and construction staff.

  1. Technical Design

    • Theater technicians are employed in a number of technical design roles to design the technical elements necessary to perform a show. Set designers work with a theatrical director to design a setting concept that is appropriate to the place and time period of the play or musical. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, set designers in the theater company industry earned an average 2010 salary of $39,620 per year. Audio, video and sound engineering technicians typically earn higher salaries than set designers. Federal statistics report that audio and video equipment technicians in the theater industry earned an average salary of $45,020 per year as of May 2010. Sound engineering technicians, who record the tracks needed to be used during a theatrical production, earned an average salary of $47,110 per year in 2010.

    Construction Jobs

    • Construction technicians are employed by theater companies in order to create the sets, lighting plots and sound design constructed by the design technician staff. Carpenters and electricians involved in theatrical construction both earn better average salaries than technical design staff. Federal statistics reported that the average 2010 salary for carpenters employed by theater companies was $51,800 per year, while electricians earned $55,730 per year. Painters employed by theater companies earned much lower salaries among construction staff members, averaging $30,930 per year as of 2010.

    Responsibilities

    • The job responsibilities of a theatrical technician are largely focused on creating the highest quality stage conditions for actors, singers and musicians to perform. Technicians not only have to design and construct various technical production aspects but must create them for a production in a timely fashion. Theatrical technicians are also responsible for load-in, which is the installation of design elements in a theater prior to the production, and strike, or the removal of design elements from the theater after the show finishes. Technical staff also generally perform run crew duties during a show, operating the lights, sound board and other technical equipment.

    Advancement

    • The basic educational requirements necessary to earn work as a theatrical technician are usually a high school diploma or GED equivalency. Technical theater degree programs are available through two-year and four-year degree programs at colleges and universities; a technical theater degree is usually required for design staff who don't possess much professional experience. With experience, a theatrical technician can advance from construction and load-in staff to design positions, or even a technical director position if he can handle the responsibility of coordinating the entire technical side of a production.

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