Career in Broadway?

Question:I LOVE LOVE LOVE broadway, but i can't sing or dance. So I want to do something with broadway that would entitle me to be behind the scenes or smething like that. I love NYC and it would be a dream of mine to work in broadway and live in NYC when im older. I am only a freshman in highschool but I like knowing what my options are. I was also wondering if people who are within broadway but do backstage things or offstage things get paid good?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I LOVE LOVE LOVE broadway, but i can't sing or dance. So I want to do something with broadway that would entitle me to be behind the scenes or smething like that. I love NYC and it would be a dream of mine to work in broadway and live in NYC when im older. I am only a freshman in highschool but I like knowing what my options are. I was also wondering if people who are within broadway but do backstage things or offstage things get paid good?

Casey's answer is great.

However, you could also look at becoming a stage manager, which involves starting out as an assistant S.M. to learn the ropes. Stage managers are backstage and call the cues for the show, from actor presets to light, sound, and set-piece cues. Because of their vital importance to the performance -- since no crew members do any of the light, sound, or set cues until the S.M. tells them to -- stage managers are better paid than most of the stage performers. And though actors can be vicious to each other in Broadway productions [and I know this from personal experience], they are always very nice to the crew.

There are many things you can do backstage from costumes and props to lights and sound. Are there any community theatres around that might let you follow someone around who knows what they're doing? If your highschool has a drama club you should ask there too. I'd suggest Yahooing or Googling jobs backstage to find out exactly what people are looking for because there are soooo many things that need to be done. Find something that sounds interesting and go from there. You can also look for books in your local library that have to do with backstage work to learn a little more about each thing.

As far as the pay goes, I think it really depends on the theater. There's actually a strike threat in NY right now because the techies don't like their new contract arrangements with the Union, but it seems like it'll be cleared up.

You don't sing or dance, but do you act? You could look into doing plays, which are also on Broadway, instead of musicals.