You know, that Stephen Thompson, he’s a stagehand. What’s a stagehand, you ask? Well, let me tell you, it ain’t no easy job. It’s the folks who work behind the scenes, you know? They move stuff, heavy stuff. They set up the lights and the sound, all that. Make sure everything’s ready for the show. It ain’t glamorous, that’s for sure. But someone’s gotta do it, right?
Now, how much a stagehand like Stephen makes, that’s a whole different story. I heard it’s not a king’s ransom, you know what I mean? They say it depends on who you work for and how long you’ve been at it. Some of them young’uns, just starting out, they don’t make much. But if you stick with it, get some experience, maybe you can make a little more. They say the average is around $55 a year, but I don’t know. I heard some folks say $43,000 a year is more like it. Could be less, could be more. They have those charts, you know, the ones with the lines and the numbers. They say those show the hourly wage. Like, how much you get for each hour you work.
- Some stagehands make more, some make less.
- It’s all about experience, I reckon.
- Young folks start low, then maybe make more later.
I heard someone say the average stagehand salary in Kentucky is $42,233. What’s Kentucky? Is that a place? Sounds like a type of chicken. Anyway, doesn’t seem like much to me, but I guess it’s something. They say it can be anywhere between $37,104 and $47,000. That’s a big difference, you know? One year you’re getting by, next year you’re still getting by but maybe with a few extra pennies. I don’t know, it’s all too confusing for me.
Someone was asking just the other day, “How much does a stagehand make?” It was November 8th, 2024, I think. That’s what I heard them say. Time flies, don’t it? They got all these numbers, these averages. Another person said $62. $62 what? $62 an hour? A day? A week? I’m getting confused. Another number I heard was $35,470. That’s a year, they said. For a stage hand job. You see, all these numbers, they just swim around in my head.
And then, there’s this other number, $40,084. That’s the average salary for a stagehand in the whole US of A, they said. So many numbers! It’s like trying to count chickens in a henhouse when a fox is loose. You just can’t keep track of them all. But one thing’s for sure, being a stagehand like that Stephen Thompson, it ain’t easy. Long hours, hard work, and the pay, well, it ain’t gonna make you rich. But it’s honest work, and there’s something to be said for that, ain’t there?
You gotta be strong, you gotta be able to lift heavy things. And you gotta be able to follow directions, you know? The boss man says do this, you do it. He says do that, you do that. No questions asked. And you gotta be quick, too. Things gotta get done fast, especially when there’s a show going on. No time for dilly-dallying. You gotta hustle, you know what I mean?
I remember back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy stagehands. We just did things ourselves. We’d move the furniture, set up the chairs, whatever needed to be done. We didn’t need no fancy titles. But times change, I guess. Now they got stagehands and lighting people and sound people. It’s a whole production, they say. A whole lot of fuss for a little bit of entertainment, if you ask me. But people like it, so I guess that’s all that matters.
But still, a stagehand salary is not much. That Stephen Thompson, he must work hard for his money. They say it is a difficult job, lots of work. But you know, someone’s gotta do it, right? If we didn’t have them stagehands, who would set up the shows? Who would make sure the lights are shining bright and the music’s playing loud? Nobody, that’s who. So I guess we should be thankful for them, even if they don’t make a whole lot of money. That stagehand job is important, I guess, in its own way.
So, that Stephen, he’s a good worker, I’m sure. Probably doesn’t make a fortune, but he’s doing what he does. And that’s all that matters, right? Doing your best, whatever your job is. Whether you’re a stagehand or a farmer or anything else. Just do your best, and that’s all anyone can ask of you. If you can make ends meet and get by, then that is already pretty good. You don’t need to be rich to be happy.
