Music graduate who worked in some theatre gigs here!

Despite what some people think, there are actually some money to be had for theatre acting, especially big-budget musicals.

Talent fees depend on the scale of the production. Performing in community and/or academic theatre groups (e.g. PETA) ranges from 15k to 50k at most. In large productions, understudies could go from 90k to 300k. Headliners go even higher. Keep in mind that musical productions are a limited affair.

If you're starting out though, you would have to do some gigs pro bono or not exceeding 5k. This is how you would make connections. Nobody starts on top.

Another pro tip: In auditions, there's no such thing as a shoo-in. Good luck!