A bit more on reviewing.
I loved this piece by a bloke who reviews community theatre in Baltimore, USA.
The sums are interesting: he's reviewed 123 plays, and gets $55 per review.
If you read his piece, his most recent review worked out to about $6/hour.
Clearly not all freelance streets are paved with gold, or even fair emolument.
But he needs the money.
"Yes, there's a little bitterness. I have bigger visions of my role as a critic. But my critics seem to think that somehow it's my role in life to drive out there, 50 miles or so (including detours and retreads), because they have something special to show me. The world doesn't care what I write or how I write it; the actors just want the thumbs up. I can't give it to them every time..."
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3 comments:
Okay, so it is not exactly good being resigned to this place in a writing career. But being in the position we are already, hey not being paid much for a side job... not too out of the ordinary at this moment.
Is this for a blog or an article? The whole thing irked me a lot, as it just seemed rather whingey for a whole article. Blog... I could almost understand (and reminds me again of why I dislike blogs)
Or are the two being blurred now? Now, there's a frightening thought.
$55 per article? Sounds very much like the pay I get from a certain WA magazine... *Sigh*
I liked this piece. I mean, the writer has clearly got a nice style, not too complicated, but still kind of practised and proffessional. I think he is just venting a litle in this article, not whinging so much. I too would probably feel a tad sullied if all of my efforts where going rather unrewarded, not just by the rate of my pay, but also by the absence of any appreciation. As someone who may be referred to as an apathetic theater goer, I share Barry's frustrations with a complicated plot and boring set. I also expect that his compassion towards local theatre may have had an outlasting affect on his languished career. ZC
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