Hi All,
Thanks for writing about this.
I have a full-length play that I have just recently published on Amazon through Create Space. Before the play's first production, it was workshopped thoroughly, went through several rewrites, and was edited closely. It has had several successful runs in high schools in California, New Mexico, and Connecticut; and this winter there will be productions in Washington and Texas.
It was just approved for UIL One-Act competition in Texas. The teacher at the school asked my permission to make a one act cutting of the script. She is also paying performance rights. UIL also contacted me to verify that I gave approval for the play to be cut and performed for competition.
I would hope that Phillip is correct in writing that the insistence of the piece being published is to prevent self written works, or to verify that the work is from a full length piece. The play I have written addresses the crucial and relevant topic of teen mental illness, and it would be a shame that students could not have the experience of working on this subject matter simply because the play is not published through a traditional publisher.
This teacher from Texas took a chance on the play, and submitted it to UIL for approval, knowing there was a chance it may not get approved since it is self published. Ultimately UIL did approve the play, and I am grateful to everyone involved for trusting the power and merit of the material. I'm especially excited for the students in Texas. I know they will grow as artists and people through working on this play.
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Josh Adell
North Hollywood CA
Original Message:
Sent: 12-06-2016 09:02
From: Phillip Goodchild
Subject: published plays
It is a slightly grey area that may not be entirely up to date with the huge ramp up in self-publishing, made easier by sites like CreateSpace.com and others. These sites technically allow you to 'publish' your work, with an ISBN number for your book and everything.
For IE competitions, as an adjudicator, this issue is probably the slipperiest (?) slope of all the other requirements. You can tell if a performer is wearing a costume. You can tell if a performer runs over time. But sometimes, it takes a hot minute to establish if the play they are performing from is a published text. I always thought the insistence of the piece being from a published play was to prevent self-written monologues, or monologues that are just monologues and therefore not from a full piece. Presenting a copy of the text is a way of making sure that playwrights are paid at least something for presenting their work at a competition, though with the advent of digital devices, the rule has opened up that if students have a copy on their phone, then it's permissible. This doesn't ensure that folks have purchased a digital copy, as I have seen kids presented just a screenshot of the page they're using, which in my mind would contravene the rules. It's not clear at this point, so there is a need for better clarification - the screenshot of the page would be the same as the student presenting a photo of the page they're working on, or a photocopy.
Oh, the joy!
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Phillip Goodchild
Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
Ruskin FL
Original Message:
Sent: 12-02-2016 13:35
From: Amy Sando
Subject: published plays
IEs need to come from published plays, but I have some questions about playwrights who have web sites and publish their copywrighted plays through there, so they are the publisher also. Do those count for IEs?
Amy Sando,
Douglas High School Drama
392-1543
"Whether you think you can or can't, you're right!" Henry Ford