Open Forum

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

^{I concur with Kenneth. I, too, have produced work I've written or adapted. It's anot invaluable process for both you the writer and the student actors. Developing a show, and essentially workshopping it, is a process most students won't experience any other way. And there's no reason to use a pseudonym, as long as the focus is on the students and the literature, no one should object to who wrote it.} 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

^{I concur with Kenneth. I, too, have produced work I've written or adapted. It's anot invaluable process for both you the writer and the student actors. Developing a show, and essentially workshopping it, is a process most students won't experience any other way. And there's no reason to use a pseudonym, as long as the focus is on the students and the literature, no one should object to who wrote it.} 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

^{I concur with Kenneth. I, too, have produced work I've written or adapted. It's anot invaluable process for both you the writer and the student actors. Developing a show, and essentially workshopping it, is a process most students won't experience any other way. And there's no reason to use a pseudonym, as long as the focus is on the students and the literature, no one should object to who wrote it.} 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

When I was teaching full-time, I wrote a pair of short plays as "curtain raisers" so that we could involve more students in the production (one of them was Twisting Carol, which was mentioned on the board a few weeks back). We did premiere a full-length play of mine, War of the Buttons, but that was done by the other drama teacher, not me.

I think if the play is legit, there's nothing wrong with mounting an original work you've created. But there's another concern to consider: while there are certainly examples to the contrary, many/most playwrights think it's not necessarily a great idea to direct your own work, particularly the first production of it. The problem is that certain things are clear to you about the play because you wrote it, but they may not necessarily be as clear to an audience--only you won't know what they are. An outside director (i.e. someone who didn't write the thing), on the other hand, will see those things the way an audience might, and therefore will know what needs to be explicated better via the production. It's why I've almost always avoided directing the first productions of my own work (except for that time when I was freelancing and I needed those directing stipends to make rent!).

The one time I did it with one of my full-lengths back in college, a friend who was a very experienced director assisted me, basically standing over my shoulder and periodically telling me, "No, that doesn't work." So my suggestion would be if you do it, if you've got a colleague--or a student who has shown an interest in directing and a good eye--who can periodically stand over your shoulder, that would be wise. (While a student cast can tell you how they respond to the play, they can't tell you in a production if it's working, because they're IN it.)

In any case, break legs.

Cheers,
Jonathan

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts? 

So I'm working on finalizing my school's season for the year, and we're having a hard time picking a play for the spring to do. I've written plays in the past and have a couple that I feel would be fun for my students; however, I wasn't sure if doing that is something the theatre education community would approve of. 

My thinking was that if I did this, I would in no way pay myself any "royalty fees" and I would use a pseudonym. 

For some context, in the fall we do student written plays, so they also have an opportunity to create their own shows. 

What are people's thoughts?