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“It really changed things,” Mr. Manilow said. “We were able to have our dogs with us, and to have those creatures greet you at the door. We were out of town, but every night after the performance it felt like I was coming home.”
The precise nature and quality of a performer’s temporary residence are part of the compensation package. “These deals are negotiated on a case-by-case basis,” said Ryan Conway, the owner of Architect Theatrical, a Broadway and Off Broadway general management firm.
During the pandemic, Mr. Conway said, a lot of actors moved out of New York with their families and put down roots elsewhere. “If they get cast in a show that will bring them back to New York, a housing stipend becomes pretty important,” he said. “They may not take the job unless it makes sense to support two households. I’m having more of those conversations now.”
It’s one big headache for out-of-town actors who don’t have a lot of money or bargaining chips and find that a stipend won’t take them very far. Couch surfing puts a strain on backs and friendships. Rentals of less than a year are hard to come by, and rentals of less than 30 days are legally problematic. Working with a real estate broker often means paying a fee. (For perspective, most actors are not rich. The median wage for actors was $23.48 an hour in May 2021, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
These days, many actors and other entertainment professionals turn to the Lee List, a by-invitation-only peer-to-peer platform that posts ads for the apartments and houses that its members are offering for rent in cities around the country and around the world. New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville, Santa Fe, N.M., Vancouver, B.C., Paris, and Tel Aviv (and Milford, Conn.) are just some of those represented.
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