NYC
An actor/producer showed up with questions aimed primarily
for guest dramaturg Alexis Williams, who works at Bret Adams, Ltd and ably
fielded queries about writer contracts, royalties, and commissions.
I was delighted to talk with a producer working on a
relatively small scale, and still so committed to paying his writers fairly,
treating them well, and planning in advance how to do so. And I was glad to
see that people are coming in order to meet the superb guest dramaturgs who
have been donating their time.
Most of Alexis’s answers were specific to the questions
being asked, although for anyone with questions about writer contracts, the
Dramatists Guild is a good place to start (http://www.dramatistsguild.com/businessaffairs/).
Or, reaching out to a staff member at a theater company that regularly produces
new work.
One more widely relevant point that came up: in response to
the producer’s questions about any general things to keep in mind as he is bringing
a new work to the stage, we talked about keeping writers involved in all
aspects of the production, even those over which their contracts don’t dictate
approval.
Playwright/creator approval of cast, director,
creative team is standard. But involving the writers/creators in other
discussions can help build a trusting collaboration between them and producers.
For example, it’s beneficial for all involved to invite the generative artists
into marketing conversations at specific points. Aside from any great ideas
that might arise about how to sell their work to the public, it’s an additional
way to establish trust, open communication, and unity in the way the production
is built/viewed/discussed. Good intentions aside, when these conversations don’t
occur, surprises can disrupt the creators’ real work of just making the play
and sharing it with an audience. I’ve heard about everything from unfortunate
plot spoilers in the marketing language, to public access being granted to
artistic rehearsal/process without artist awareness.
One of the best books I've ever read about collaboration, and
about good communication in general, is Making Plays: The Writer-Director
Relationship in the Theater Today by Richard Nelson and David Jones. It’s out
of print, but if you can track down a used copy or one at a library, I’d highly
recommend it. It speaks a lot to the vulnerability of the process, and how to
navigate collaboration by finding ways to stay in great communication and aware
of the many distinct but interlocked roles in the process.
Take care,
Jeremy
***
Philadelphia didn’t have any open office hours this week.
***
Baltimore’s open office hours facilitator Catherine María
Rodríguez opened a show this week, so her blogging time has been limited. But
you can follow her live-tweeting of this past week’s session, along with the
full Twitter conversation at http://sfy.co/rgxG.
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