Here is an excerpt that was sent to us Washington State troupe leaders. Lots of helpful info in here that I (also being relatively new as a troupe leader) didn't know, including issues with Neil Simon pieces, D.M. Larson, Gabriel Davis, and others.
Fellow Thespians.
There has been some confusion across the state as to what is acceptable material for IE competitions. With this email I hope to add some clarity. I apologize for its length, but please read through to the end.
The biggest issue is with self-publishing authors. One specific author, DM Larson is not an acceptable author on the national level. There are other self-publishing authors that fall in a grey area, which I will address later in the email. The other major issues is the use of Neil Simon material, acapella songs, and gender reversal.
To begin, the following has been available to all teachers/troupe directors since the beginning of the year on the Washington Thespians website:
National Individual Events Guide, 2017-18
From Page 4
- 5. Acceptable material for all NIEs events:
- a. Published scripts written for the theatre ONLY. If the participant is using a piece that is also a movie, the performance must be from the play or musical, not the movie script.
- b. Songs from a musical that have been written for the theatre (regardless of its previous publication as a classical or popular song - e.g., Forever Plaid, Mamma Mia, etc.).
- c. It's difficult to address every situation in this document, but fundamentally, the guide is that the piece must either have: i. publisher permission (NOT author-only permission); or ii. available for sale in a libretto, play, vocal selection, or musical score.
See bold - this is where DM Larson doesn't meet the criteria.
- 5. Unacceptable material for NIEs events:
- a. poetry;
- b. fiction;
- c. scripts or songs from films;
- d. scripts or songs from television;
- e. stand-alone monologues found on the internet or in monologue books;
- f. popular songs not used in a published work for the theatre;
- g. classical songs not used in a published work for the theatre;
- h. props or costumes, including the use of hair, non-prescription glasses, earrings or other personal items.
From Pages 22, 23
- o Samuel French, Inc.: http://www.samuelfrench.com
Monologues and brief excerpts of less than 10 minutes do not require a license or other permission from Samuel French. If the piece is under 10 minutes, there is NO need to ask or pay for the rights.
- o The exception to this guide are works of Neil Simon and the musical Grease.
- If Neil Simon, the rights need to be secured, in advance, EVERY time it is performed (the minimum rate is $125).
- If Grease, a single song is OK, but if any dialogue or scenes are used, you must ask and secure the rights in advance.
- o A license must be obtained through www.samuelfrench.com for any performance of a copyrighted work, including cuttings and excerpts over 10 minutes (this is not a NIES issue, but wanted to share the information in case your chapter has other events). Titles approved for cuttings are marked "Cuttings approved for competitions." A brief summary of proposed cuts or scenes must be included in the appropriate section of your license request. If the piece is over 10 minutes:
- 10-45 minutes - flat fee of $45 is due and payable in advance.
- Over 45 minutes - the same cost as a full production - due and payable in advance.
- At the chapter level, Samuel French has requested that for ALL works over 10 minutes, the Chapter collect and remit a single payment with a list of all the pieces being done (vs. having each student submit separately).
- o For more information, please visit www.samuelfrench.com or for a list of state specific licensing reps: http://www.samuelfrench.com/contact-representative.
These guidelines should not be a surprise to those of us guiding our students in their selections for IE's.
I am a member of the NIES national committee who is charged with reviewing and creating the national guidelines for all events and I can tell you that other states across the nation are facing the same issues that we do in Washington State. After a very long discussion of the committee this weekend it was determined that the language in the 2017 - 2018 guidelines regarding self-publishing materials was not clear enough and as a result a number of authors will be allowed as acceptable selections for this year. This was the consensus of the committee but no one was particularly happy with the result. This will be changed for next year with specific language in the guidelines so that states are not having to make the decisions as to what is appropriate and what is not.
In addition to DM Larson the following partial list of authors will be on next years unacceptable list:
- Gabriel Davis
- Floyd Dell
- GL Horton
- Jennifer Maisel
- Kellie Powell
Two additional issues that are being faced on a national level are acapella songs and gender reversal of participants.
If a song was specifically written for a musical to be performed as an acapella number, and it can be proved, it is acceptable material. An example of this is Mama Let Me In, 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, by Ryan Scott Oliver.
Also there will be no disqualification for gender reversal of roles in selections, so long as none of the text has been changed/altered. If the text is altered to accommodate the gender of the performer then that would be grounds for disqualification.
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Christopher Hamilton
Drama Teacher
Kennewick WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2018 10:27
From: Graci Johnson
Subject: Royalties for Thespian Festival Entries
Hello, community.
I am a brand new troupe director and I ran into a little hiccup when slating pieces to take to our state Thespian festival. Does anyone have a quick list of royalty issues (rules, permissions, absolute nots, etc.) already compiled that you allow your students to look at when slating for festival? I had to pull two pieces at the last minute due to my own ignorance. Or can we start creating an easy document?
Also, in regards to flagging pieces. What is your rule of thumb? I know "adult content" but what constitutes that? Our students are subjugated to so much worse in the hallways and on the internet...
Thank you for your time,
| Graci L. Johnson
Theatre Director
Bentonville West High School |
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Graci Johnson
Theatre Director
Benonville West High School
CENTERTON, AR
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