Production Agreements

Congratulations. Your play has been selected for production. When will it be done? For how many shows? Will you get paid? What rights are you giving to the theater? These and many other questions need to be addressed in a production agreement that clearly spells out the terms.

When one of my published plays is performed, these details are covered by the publisher. Previously, the publisher and I have come to agreement on the terms for my play, such as royalties for the play (usually 50% of what the publisher collects), royalties for copies of the script (usually 10% of what the publisher collects), what rights are being given to the theater company (usually only the performing rights), and many of these other usual items.

However, when a theater company wants to produce one of my unpublished plays, then I have to work the business end (I don't have an agent), and deal with the company directly to detail these out.

Two noteworthy points:

1. Don't have a play produced by anyone without having pertinent information written down and agreed upon.
2. Don't give away a production. Always expect some compensation.

Naturally, all rules have exceptions:

• When I self-produce plays, I don't have a production agreement, but there may be a rental agreement with the facility.
• Many one-act festivals and showcases do not pay playwrights. Even though it seems unfair, it's the way things are sometimes. The best rule is to know going in whether to expect payments.
• If a full-length play is going to be produced by a group for more than one or two performances, then some royalties should be expected.

The agreements I generally use are about one-page long. They generally start out with a few statements of fact, such as:

WHEREAS, Dave Brandl, P.O. Box 234, Denver, CO, 80201 (the "Playwright") has written a play entitled, "The Greatest Play Ever," (the "Play"); and

WHEREAS, Some Theater Group, 123 4th St., Sometown, USA, 00000 (the "Group"), desires to produce the Play, beginning June 1, 2004, and concluding August 31, 2004, (the "Show Dates"); for a total of twenty-five (25) performances; and

WHEREAS, Emma Director (the "Director") will direct the Play.

Don't let the WHEREAS's confuse or intimidate you. They simply state the fundamental elements that are the basis of the agreement. After that, there is a segue statement:

NOW, therefore, the below signed parties do agree to the following:

Then follows the meat of the agreement. Most of it is standard to production agreements between publishers and theater companies.

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic