How to get mo' money?

Be aware that usually, the person that hires you is not the same as the one that negotiates your salary. So there is no reason to be afraid to ask for more money. A common practice is to ask what they want to pay before you give your number. If they ask you to state your rate the hack would be to decline that question and turn the deal around. When you found out what they could offer,try to get a third more than that. You should be a little bit resilient because every theatre will tell you that they don't have money, but you don’t either. In Germany, the LAFT(Berlin State Association for the Independent Performing Arts e.V.) figured out that the least amount you should ask for is more or less 2.500 Euro per month depending on your health insurance. These numbers are for independent theatres. Therefore your number should be higher because the Staatstheater gets more public funding. If you have more than three months before the start of your rehearsals, you can use your laptop to communicate otherwise, use your phone. Make sure your contract is signed before you start working and make sure you get the first half of your money by the beginning of the project and the rest after the opening night. Sounds logical and should be common practice but reality tells a different story.