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 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!...

Learn how to use Final Draft® 12 scriptwriting software! Thursday, September 29 Atlantic Time: 8pm Eastern Time: 7pm Central Time: 6pm Mountain Time (D): 5pm Mountain Time (S): 4pm Pacific Time: 4pm Alaska Time: 3pm Hawaii Time: 1pm DG members are invited to a free training session to learn about the new features for dramatists that are now...

Join us for a conversation on the best practices for adapting existing material into a play or musical, in order to avoid infringing on someone else's intellectual property! Thursday, August 18 Atlantic Time: 4pm Eastern Time: 3pm Central Time: 2pm Mountain Time (D): 1pm Mountain Time (S): 12pm Pacific Time: 12pm Alaska Time: 11am Hawaii Time: 9am ...

Back in January, the Regional Affairs committee hosted three Community Conversations that were open to all DG members. Participants met online to share discoveries, discuss concerns, and work to create meaningful change.  The Regional Affairs Committee is continuing the conversation now with a short questionnaire, based on common themes that emerged from these Community Conversations. The committee is looking to find out how and where your work is getting produced, if theatres in...

Recently, there has been some confusion over which copyright application to use when registering a single-authored musical work: the Single Application (with a $45 fee) or the Standard Application ($65). Upon review of the criteria, we have noted that eligibility for the Single Application requires the following: The registration must cover one work;  The work must be created by one individual;   All of the material contained within the work must be...

Did you miss our recent Copyright Clinic, Compensation Panels, Q&A with the Copyright Office, or our Bill of Rights workshop? These career-training and advocacy webinars are now all available for DG members to view on our website.   Do You Know Your Rights?: An Introduction to the Dramatist's Bill of Rights...

If you have a claim under copyright law, you may want to consider filing it with the Copyright Claims Board rather than in federal court. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 is a recent federal law that established the Copyright Claims Board (“CCB”). The CCB is a voluntary arbitration procedure within the Copyright Office that offers copyright owners an alternative to bringing a claim in federal court.  Before the establishment of the CCB...

Join us for a series of Production Compensation Panels exploring music royalties, grand rights, small rights, and more!   Thursday, June 16 Production Compensation Part Three: Music Compensation Register...

Join us for a series of Production Compensation Panels exploring commissions, production royalties, subsidiary markets, and more!   Friday, May 6 Production Compensation Part One: Advice for Theatre Writers on Commissions, Advances, Royalties from Theatrical Productions ...

Join the Dramatists Guild at  the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference for a panel discussion on Native & Indigenous Structure & Dramaturgy in Playwriting. Thursday, March 24 Eastern Time: 9am - 10am This event will be held both online and in-person. This panel discussion,...