Unfortunately, this is not an acceptable way to skirt the legality of the issue. Any time you are performing in front of an audience, you need to secure performance rights for material that is not 100% original or in the public domain (like Shakespeare). It does not matter if the audience is paying of non-paying, if they are students in a classroom or audience members in an auditorium. If there is an audience of any kind - meaning people viewing the presentation who are not part of it - you need to be acquiring permission to perform.
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Matt Curtis
Content & Marketing Director
Educational Theatre Association
OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-09-2021 11:39
From: Marta Carvalho
Subject: question about performance rights
What if it is presented as a class presentation? Audience would be grades 11 and 12, no tickets sold, and during the school day. The kids are wanting to use this a way to receive CAS hours (IB program). Thanks!
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Marta Carvalho
Drama Director
Carlucci American International School of Lisbon, Portugal
Original Message:
Sent: 11-09-2021 10:43
From: Ellicia Elliott
Subject: question about performance rights
Yes - and the rights are not available; they don't exist for adapting or performing. Ian Doescher (of Star Wars Shakespeare fame) wrote a Shakespeare version of Mean Girls, but his agent and him have a very close working relationship, and a lawyer, to secure rights for what he is creating. Even then, one of the caveats is that his books based on movies cannot be produced as performances. The musical is currently on tour and the rights are not available yet for schools to perform.You never want to adapt and perform a movie script as a public performance - that's playing with fire. Some schools have gotten away with it (i.e. the school that did Alien a few years ago), but many do not. A local high school produced The Breakfast Club in 2004, and it was an absolute nightmare for the school once the production company found out.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. This is something I'm very passionate about because I've seen firsthand what can happen.
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Ellicia Elliott
Artistic Director
Richland WA
Original Message:
Sent: 11-08-2021 10:22
From: Marta Carvalho
Subject: question about performance rights
Hello busy, passionate, creative people!
There is a group of students at my school that want to perform an adapted script of Mean Girls. They would adapt the script... Would we still have to pay performance rights?
Thanks!
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Marta Carvalho
Drama Director
Carlucci American International School of Lisbon, Portugal
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