Your work cannot be performed without your permission. And it is never okay for someone to change your words, lyrics, or notes, without your approval.  This rule applies whether the desired alteration is a significant change to the text, such as rearranging scenes, adding lines, cutting an entire monologue, or removing an explicit word. It also applies to changing the setting or casting requirements. Casting requirements and settings are a part of an author’s work; if any defining...

Join DG Copyright Management for National Estate and Legacy Planning Awareness Week 2022! Monday, October 17 - Sunday, October 23 Register Having a plan in place for the long-term care of your plays, songs, and musicals is the best way to ensure that your...

The Dramatists Guild, Theatre Communications Group, and Shakespeare Theatre Association are joining together to stand with Nataki Garrett and condemn in every possible way the unconscionable harassment and death threats that she has received as Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Nataki’s expertise and vision steered OSF, one of the most prominent regional theatres in the country, through the pandemic, surviving under unprecedented financial pressure caused by an...

DGF Emergency Grants from The Dramatists Guild Foundation are currently available to dramatists in Puerto Rico and Mississippi who require immediate financial assistance. Hurricane Fiona Emergency Grant   Playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists who are based in Puerto Rico, and who are in need of assistance due to Hurricane Fiona, are eligible to apply for a one-time, $500 emergency grant from the Dramatists Guild Foundation. Apply...

The Dramatists Guild Foundation is now offering free space for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists to use to rehearse, work, and collaborate! Three separate spaces (the Music Hall, the Composers Corner, and the Writers Den) are available for use, all of which are located at the Foundation's offices in midtown Manhattan. These spaces are open to all dramatists, regardless of DG membership status. Scroll down to discover the Foundation's three spaces for writers!...

On Friday, the Dramatists Guild co-signed and supported the Authors Guild in an amicus brief for Hachette v. Internet Archive, supporting the publishers in their fight against Internet Archive's unauthorized uploading and sharing of books (which may include published plays and musicals) via their Open Library platform. As put forth in the online statement...

The Dramatists Guild condemns the Door McAllen Church for its unauthorized production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton, performed on August 5 and August 6, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. In addition to performing the show without a license, the Door McAllen Church changed lyrics and added text without permission. We hold up the Door McAllen Church's brazen infringement to shine a light on the problematic pattern of some theatrical organizations performing...

#DGuKnow that the Guild has four new DG Guides for Dramatists?! These guides address a myriad of different writer's needs, from submitting your work to contests or festivals to negotiating contracts with theatre companies to understanding the Guild's Approved Production Contract to creating a piece of devised theatre. Scroll down below to learn more!   Art of Negotiating Theatre Contracts It can be daunting to negotiate with a...

Have you heard of idoc.pub? This website hosts a wealth of scripts, sheet music, and other forms of copyrightable material. Even if you have never posted your work on Idoc.pub, someone may have done so without your permission.  The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund (DLDF) is currently collecting information from playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists who have had their work published on this site without...

On July 14, the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling in the case Starz v. MGM that is a significant win for writers nationwide. The Court upheld the right of all copyright owners (including dramatists) to sue for damages for copyright infringement beyond the statutory three-year period, when the infringement was -or reasonably should have been- discovered by the owner only after the three-year period had expired.  In the case, MGM had argued that copyright holders should...

Dramatists Guild Foundation Emergency Grant applications are open to playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists in...

When is it appropriate to pull the rights to my show? We all recognize that the theatre industry is not perfect and often theatres and theatre companies that are intended to be safe spaces for collaboration turn into the exact opposite. We are also living through a time in which theatre-makers of all kinds are more empowered to speak up than ever before in response to violations of their rights while working in...