What were actors paid in Shakespearean times?

Question

What were actors paid in Shakespearean times?

Answer 1

It was a penny to go watch at the globe theatre and higher class folks would pay 2 or 3 pennies to get good seats. But to answer your question.

Im not sure

Answer 2

I can't give details of actual earnings in cash, but although officially counting almost as rogues and vagabonds, successful actors (Shakespeare, Alleyne, Burbage) did very well out of the theatre and could make a fortune which eventually ranked them as prosperous gentlemen. At the bottom of the tree were the poorer companies, perpetually touring, dependent on the tolerance of the towns where they performed, who made very little.

The structure of a theatre company was rather like a modern solicitors firm. The actors fell into two classes: the "sharers" who owned a share in the company and worked for a corresponding share in the profits, and the lower-ranking ones who worked for wages. This is referred to in "Hamlet" when Hamlet himself, showing off his skills to Horatio, claims to be worth a whole share (not half a share) to a company.

Other workers (maintenance men, costumiers etc.) were paid by the piece for work done, or got a weekly wage.