Editing Benefit performance (section)

== As a benefit for performers ==
[[File:For the benefit of Miss Jackson.jpg|thumb|''For the benefit of Miss Jackson'' - a  1797 [[handbill]] for a performance at the [[Theatre Royal, Margate]]]]
The concept of a benefit performance originates in England where they were used from at least 1685 to about 1870. During this time, a theater performer{{efn|While the benefit was commonly for a leading actor/actress or one who has fallen on hard times, the ''bénéficiaire'' could be a prominent musician,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243191982 |title=Veteran Conductor |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)]] |issue=17,603 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=14 October 1933 |accessdate=28 August 2021 |page=26 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> director<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199375707 |title=Mr Coppin's Benefit |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=5529 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=10 August 1872 |accessdate=28 August 2021 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}
</ref> or scenery artist,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154857421 |title=Princess's Theatre |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=1,051 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=4 March 1858 |accessdate=28 August 2021 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> etc.}} would be hired with a contract typically stipulating at least one benefit performance a year. For this event, the actor's employer, the theater company, would offer the ''bénéficiaire'' (as the recipient was termed)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207905268 |title=Hudson's Surprise Party |newspaper=[[The Evening Journal (Adelaide)]] |volume=XXIX |issue=8389 |location=South Australia |date=7 October 1897 |accessdate=28 August 2021 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 100% (in the case of a "clear" benefit) of the event's proceeds as a [[Performance-related pay|bonus pay]]. Other forms of the benefit were the "half-clear" benefit in which the artist was entitled to 50% of the proceeds. There were also instances of multiple actors appearing in and benefiting from a single performance.

While the benefit performance was intended to supplement the actor's income, they were also used by theater companies as an excuse to pay actors a lower salary.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The benefit system soon became a strong indicator of an actor's popularity. In some cases, if the ticket sales were low enough, the actor would lose money from the performance.

In the 1860s, the practice of benefit performances began to wane as the theater industry began to change its employment practices. Instead of offering short term contracts, theater companies began to pay actors based on the length of their play's run, which was determined by ticket sales. This allowed managers to pay actors higher salaries so long as plays were profitable.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica
|title=benefit performance
|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60652/benefit-performance
|accessdate=27 September 2014
}}</ref>

The Beatles song ''[[Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!]]'' alludes to a poster for one such event.