A stagehand may not ever experience the blinding light of a spotlight or hear the applause of an adoring audience, but without them, a show would collapse. While the stars of the show take their bows, the stagehands do the less glamorous work that helps the show go on.
Stagehands do many things, from building sets to moving sets during a show to cleaning up after a show. They also assist specialists with installing lights, managing sound equipment, helping actors during costume changes, and more. While some positions require an associate's or bachelor's degree, experience in the fast-paced world of productions is more important.
A stagehand needs to be prepared to do a little bit of everything and to work long hours during rehearsals and a show's run. It is a hard, thankless job that requires a lot of physical endurance and hard work. But for many stagehands, the joy of seeing a show move an audience is worth all the work.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a stage hand. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.52 an hour? That's $32,284 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 156,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many stage hands have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, computer skills and manual dexterity.
If you're interested in becoming a stage hand, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 39.5% of stage hands have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.1% of stage hands have master's degrees. Even though some stage hands have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a stage hand. When we researched the most common majors for a stage hand, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on stage hand resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a stage hand. In fact, many stage hand jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many stage hands also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or internship.