It was more research yesterday. I found the Actors Equity union website, and as luck would have it, they have their contracts posted in PDF files! Yea! So now I have a general idea what kind of money my heroine would earn as a dancer. That's a huge help because I was absolutely clueless and this will play a role in what kind of home she owns.
I didn't read the entire contract, but it was really interesting to see what kind of things it covered. Costumes, who cleans them, how often they're cleaned, who provides dance shoes, etc. One of the really surprising things for me was how little these performers make. I really thought that if they were good enough to be hired at that level that they'd be earning more. Wow.
But that's really good information to have. Now I know that my heroine isn't going to have a lot of extra money and that this probably isn't a job she's going to stay at forever. Of course, now I need to figure out what position a Polynesian dancer would aspire to hold.
More research to follow. :-)
