CMU School of Drama


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Stage Crew

Craigslist: "stage crew needed for traveling show. we are specifically interested in hiring 3-4 people for a 3-4 month period on the road this coming summer."

5 comments:

Calvin said...

I realize this is a craigslist ad and not really a valid article, but I find it very interesting that this ad was placed on craigslist. A few years ago there were so many other standard ways to put out this job offer, such as in the newspaper or maybe special websites dedicated to job searching. But now craigslist is just as standard as any other way to look for a job. Also, this ad is horribly worded and the grammar is terrible. Its appalling that this company would put this out there as a representation to their group.

Cody said...

This sounds like a sketch gig. "must be able to take direction at all times." They don't want anyone to be able to think for themselves or solve problems? Also, there is a tremendous amount of information missing: Where is the tour going? What kind of show is it? Are you expected to drive a bus? "experience with staged performances a plus," what kid of staged performances? Anyone in their right mind would not respond to this add. Not to mention the grammar is atrocious. They are going to hire a bunch of crazy people, and they are all stuck together on this tour... Sound like fun to me... There are just too many technical things wrong with this add to be even remotely safe. At least there is no company name in it, so no one is embarrassed by their staff.

Tom Strong said...

I've seen much worse job listings in more official and accepted lists. Just because it's on craigslist it seems to pick up a certain sketchiness, but it could still be a legitimate job. $1000 a month plus room and board isn't the worst pay out there, even if it might not be enough to support yourself with rent to consider when that's removed as well as food then most of that $1000 can go to incidentals and savings. The biggest thing that concerns me about the ad is that "so far" that's the pay rate, it makes it sound like a lot of this is up in the air still and might turn into $50 a month when they run short on funds.

Katherine! said...

Being a craiglist posting does give this an added sketchiness, though if this exact text was posted somewhere else, in a ore official location, it would still be pretty sketch. The thing that gets me the most is that like Tom mentioned, the pay is "so far" $1000. The actual pay will probably be a lot less, especially when funds run out. I also want to know where they are touring, not knowing makes me feel a little uneasy about such a gig.

Liz Willett said...

I agree with Cody. This does sound like an extremely sketch gig. They don't give enough details of what the job will actually entail. Where's the tour going? Who are you working for? This ad was obviously not put together with great care.

This speaks to the quality of the work you would expect to find at this place. They don't have a solid pay rate, they don't have references for you to check and make sure that they're actually a legitimate company, and they give you NO information about the show they are trying to produce. It almost seems as if this was done on a whim, to see how many people they might be able to get to come out for this gig.

This might seem great at first glance, but when you actually start thinking about it and examining the nuances of the ad, it detracts from the seemingly attractive nature of the job.

Also, there is a reason that a road crew position is not usually listed on craigslist. It might be the nature of craigslist, or it might be the nature of our industry. You really need to know who you are hiring, you need to know how they operate. You really cannot get the essence of someone as a worker and individual from bio and resume on craigslist.