You get the call – the producer wants to talk to you about choreographing their upcoming show! But they want you to tell them how much it will cost the company to bring you in, rather than making an offer outright. Now you need to figure out what is a fair and reasonable rate for your work, that won’t undercut yourself or lose you the gig.
Join Jonathan Ezra Rubin, a Theatre Administrator and freelance Fight & Intimacy Director, for this lecture and Q&A on the ins and outs of the negotiation process, the factors to consider when determining your rate and what information to find out about the producing organization ahead of time (if possible), from the perspective of someone who has spent a lot of time on both sides of that negotiation over the past decade. Please note: while this class will touch on SDC contracts, it will largely focus on non-union and union work where you will be asked to set your own rate, rather than come to terms on a pre-existing contract.
Workshop is PWYL. Suggested ticket is $10.
About Jon: Jonathan Ezra Rubin has over a decade of experience in theatre administration and nonprofit executive management, and as a choreographer, working full time in theatre admin and freelancing as a Fight & Intimacy Director throughout the Washington, DC-Metro Area. As an administrator, he served as the Managing Director and then Associate Artistic Director for the nonprofit performing arts company Flying V from the tail end of 2011 through June 2020, helping to grow the company by around $300,000 in that time, as well as helping to position Flying V to be awarded the 2015 John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at DC’s Regional Theatre Awards, the Helen Hayes. Since stepping down from the staff, Jonathan has been an active member of Flying V's Advisory Board, offering insight, institutional knowledge, and advice to the current leadership team. Jonathan also works as the General Manager for the Silver Spring Black Box Theatre, a Montgomery County, MD-owned theatre venue in downtown Silver Spring, managed by the nonprofit Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring, for whom he is the sole full time employee, and where he has been employed since December 2014.
An Advanced Actor/Combatant with the SAFD, a three-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Choreography (Flying V Fights: Heroes & Monsters, Flying V Fights: The Secret History of the Unknown World, Crystal Creek Motel), and WATCH Award Nominee for Fight Choreography (Appropriate), Jonathan works regularly as a Fight & Intimacy Director, having choreographed most of Flying V's shows, as well as at The Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Adventure Theatre-MTC, Georgetown University, Goucher College, and more. He is a proud Associate Member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national professional theatrical union. Additionally, he has been actively studying intimacy direction since 2015, was an Apprentice with Intimacy Directors International, and has continued that training with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators. In 2020, Jonathan was the first Helen Hayes nominee for choreography that included recognition as an Intimacy Director.