Seeking info from University Staff Scenic Charges

[Lori Bollinger]

Hello!

I am currently the staff Scenic Charge for a higher education performing arts program. I am on the hunt for job descriptions from Scenic Charge Artists at other universities–bonus if I can get salary range info as well. Contract negotiations are on the horizon and I would like to have info for the sake of comparison. The recent UT Austin job post on the guild Job Board is a perfect example of what I am looking for.

If you don’t feel comfortable sharing here in the forum, feel free to email me at llbollinger.art at gmail.

Thank you in advance!

[Angelique Powers]

Happy to help!

The following is from my job description –

I used to be just an hourly part-time worker for way too many years. When I started talking about leaving for a job with more pay and benefits, I suddenly got a 10-month contract with great benefits.  — I charge all of our shows with student workers as my “staff.” I  also mentor Design students about how to communicate with Scenic Artists, and teach one class in the spring semester.   I started in the low 50k range which is fairish for 10-months

I’m not listing the job qualifications, but if you need them, please don’t hesitate to let me know.  I worked with my supervisor and department administrator to list out all the things I do –

Scenic Charge Artist 50%
 Liaison between scenic artists and TD / ATD / Scenic Designer regarding daily shop work, courses,
creation of stage and set for performances  Monitor scenic artists’ daily activities and provide TD / ATD with feedback on their progress  Participate in safety workshops, training, daily concerns
 Manage paint shop’s materials inventory, including but not limited to:
o Assist with tracking inventory use
o Help ensure inventory items stay properly stocked
o Help ensure inventory stays organized  Ensure paint shop tool inventory is in working order  Ensure paint shop is cleaned and organized
 Paint Shop work flow / progress  Paint Shop efficiency: delegate specific duties among all paint shop employees; provide feedback on
areas for improvement among paint shop employees; provide feedback on those employees excelling at
these tasks
Teach undergraduate and graduate courses (25%)
Teach undergraduate and graduate courses, one course per academic year
Prepare for and conduct classes, hold office hours, turn in grades, respond to student and department inquiries,
submit an activity report, attend meetings, and turn in student evaluations
Shop Floor Manager (25%)
Address shop safety issues/concerns
Address student concerns
Assist students in daily work in shop
Other
Attend required program and department meetings; other duties as assigned

[Juliana Gessner]

My old position at UW just got posted, here’s the listing: https://jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/teaching-specialist-scenic-artist-madison-wisconsin-united-states

For transparency, I was making ~42k when I left. I was a student who’d worked in the shop before I graduated, then ~8 months after graduating I was hired on a 2-year waiver for, if I remember correctly, 37k. UW has an undergraduate theatre program but no grad program, does 4 shows a year, and the position is very much a teaching position because of the hands-on practicum courses that require hours working in the scene studios on productions. It’s also a full-time position.

If you’d be willing to make your findings public, I’d love to see how other universities compare!

[Lori Bollinger]

Thank you, Angelique and Juliana! I appreciate you taking the time to share your info with me!

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