You call up an actress/producer for plays and ask her if she needs a writer. She eagerly says yes, she is budding with ideas all the time and often she hires writers because she doesn't write. You say you do. Great! Now what?

You go see one of her production plays. Her market is an ethnic niche one. She draws huge crowds within that market. You live in the west, she lives in the east and she's super busy to have a phone convo.

What would be your strategy?
A writer for hire for plays, what's their pay range and how does it work?
What are the various offers you would present her with?
etc
  

Not sure how much this will help you.

I asked this budding director who I've had a lot of contact with for any ideas.  He gave me an idea, I wrote it up the following week and posted it online for him to read whenever he has the time.  Now as we are meeting for another project altogether, he has a diary to manage his hectic schedule which I can imagine this producer has.

Ask her if she can squeeze you in for say 30mins some day in the next few weeks, listen to what she has to say and don't give her any false hopes.  She may have a ton of ideas but we the writers have to develop the idea.  And if it stinks, will you want to write it?

This might work.  Plus any work you can show her will be a huge plus.  Anything to show off what you can do is good point to make to this producer.

30 mins is not a bad idea at all. I would have loved to call her tomorrow but it'll be 'Canada Day' so thursday...
any more ideas?

I was hoping people would speak of what it's like (paywise) as a writer for hire or other suggestions, but I guess folks around here are not as forthcoming...

Quoted from JamminGirl I was hoping people would speak of what it's like (paywise) as a writer for hire or other suggestions, but I guess folks around here are not as forthcoming...

There aren't many people here that are familiar with how plays work.  It's different than it is with films.

I believe playwrights mostly get percentage of box office by way of salary.

Try the "Works" section on this site: http://www.playwrights.ca/index2.html

Shelton, yeah, but I thought among all the writers here there must be some with a bit of that knowledge. (Guess I was wrong?)

Thanks for the link Lakewood. A thousand dollars for small theartre is not much but you have to start somewhere, I guess...
I'm scouring the internet but boy, not alot of info out there...

Quoted from JamminGirl Shelton, yeah, but I thought among all the writers here there must be some with a bit of that knowledge. (Guess I was wrong?)

The only ones I can think of that have done any kind of play work are myself and George, and I believe they were both on a voluntary basis.  Mine definitely was.

The only thing I could tell you, and it's not even related to money, is that playwrights get a lot more say in the creative side of things than screenwriters do.

Quoted from JamminGirl ...and often she hires writers...

Well, heck -- if anybody should have an idea of what she considers reasonable reimbursement, it should be her.

Ask her -- but do not expect the moon -- and be accommodating.

Yeah, I have to be accomodating with this being my first time and all...
I'm going to the library, maybe something there can help me prepare.

My play was for a local theatre and I was supposed to get $50 for it (whoot!). However, as it was part of a night of three one-acts, they gave all the money to one guy who was supposed to dole it out...never saw him again. So mine ended up being voluntary, but hey, I can say it was produced.

I know I've tried passing my stuff around local theatres, and it was only at this one that I had any luck at all, and that was after I wrote something for their space within a playwrighting group that met at their building. All the other ones were not interested in original work.

I do wish you luck in this, though, because theatre is a different animal than film. It's a whole lot of fun in a completely different way than film is.