Tags: collaboration

Advocacy Newsroom

When Should I Give Someone a Co-Writing Credit?

With our members hard at work writing and revising pieces for End of Play.®, the Guild has received a number of inquiries asking when it is appropriate to give someone a co-writing credit. To answer that question, first it is important to understand one of the basic fundamentals of copyright law: the idea/expression dichotomy. Under copyright law, only an author’s original expressions that are fixed in a tangible medium (i.e. written down or...
Business Article Archive

Childress v. Taylor

In 1985, actress Clarice Taylor (who had portrayed comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley in a skit off-off-Broadway ten years earlier) contacted playwright Alice Childress about writing a play about Moms Mabley.
Business Article Archive

The Guild & Dramaturgy

I (Ralph Sevush) wrote the following letter to Suze Allen, the Guild’s regional representative in San Francisco. She had contacted us to ask about our position on dramaturgs and dramaturgy, in response to a query she received from a dramaturg, Todd Gutmann, who raised questions on his blog about the Guild (See http://opendramaturgy. blogspot.com/).
Business Article Archive

“Speak the Speech, I Pray You”

The relationship between author and actor has a sordid and glorious history. There is a natural tension in the collaboration between those writing the words and those speaking them, perhaps borne out of helplessness and necessity, each for the other. Sometimes this tension creates profundity… and sometimes lawsuits.
Business Article Archive

Joint Statement by Dramatists Guild of America & Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

In recent years, members of both SDC and Dramatists Guild have raised questions regarding director participation in subsidiary rights. In an effort to examine the issue, Guild President Stephen Schwartz and SDC President Karen Azenberg suggested that an informal group composed of an equal number of writers and directors convene to discuss the practice.
Business Article Archive

Contracts 101: Collaborations

Tari Stratton: I’m Tari Stratton, Director of Education and Outreach here at the Dramatists Guild. I’d like to welcome you all here for the second in our series of seminars called Contracts 101. I am very happy to introduce our Executive Director of Business Affairs, Ralph Sevush, who will be your guide.
Business Article Archive

A Word To The Devised: Devising A Legal Strategy For Authors Of Devised Theatre

Although devised theatre is now well established, there has been little discussion on the legal issues it has generated relating to authors’ rights. This article outlines those issues, discusses a legal framework, and suggests approaches by which authors involved with devised theatre productions might better protect themselves and their work.
Business Article Archive

“A Marriage of Inconvenience”

The creation of a dramatic work with a partner can be a very personal and intimate activity. At the beginning, it’s all hearts and flowers… the first blush of creative synergy fairly bursting off the page. The collaboration is in the honeymoon phase, and no one is thinking of contracts or “what if” scenarios.
Business Article Archive

Working Together: A Compendium on Non-Authorial Collaboration

On the cusp of a new year, we look back at 1998 with pride and regret. While the Guild is proud of its accomplishments on behalf of its members, we regret that some of our actions were made necessary by circumstance and that circumstances continue to justify vigilance about certain important matters. 
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