Overhire

Overhire : in theatre, a crew member, not part of the company’s regular staff, brought on to meet the extra demands of a particular production

I first heard the word in a Petworth café, over a late-lunch get-together for neighborhood freelancers and people working from home.

“I’m an overhire,” Abby said, talking about the technical theatre job she was leaving so she could attend an arts-management graduate program in New York City.

Job boards for theatres sometimes include posts for “Overhire Carpenters,” “Overhire Electricians,” and the like. Overhire means temporary work. Though Abby left for New York, she noted that DC was the second-best theatrical job market in the country.