Open Forum

I know that the same original group did "Peter Pan Goes Wrong." It may be what you're looking for.


Original Message------

Dear Educator Friends,

I agree with your estimation of Samuel French's royalty fees.  Every other company is a max of $125 per show.  I requested royalties for our Varsity show for 4 performances and they quoted $1220.00.  A representative from Samuel French commented on here that they will gladly work with us to reduce the rates.  Yes, gladly after you prepare an affidavit signed by your principal...it will then take us 2 weeks....then IF you qualify.....etc. etc.

After that, I appeal to you to help me find a replacement, quickly!!!  I had picked the play, Play On which is a play withing a play that my students and I read and loved.  It is similar to The Play that Goes Wrong which is currently on Broadway and that my students and I saw in June.  Do you know of any other plays like that ( not Noises Off-too complicated a set!!).  They are rehearsing and the set isn't finished, the director is going crazy with the actors not knowing their lines, the tech person keeps hammering when they are rehearsing and getting yelled at......etc.

Thank you so much,

Vici Anderson

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX

Long ago, as a up and coming theatre arts major at CSULB I used SF exclusively and loved going to their store in Hollywood.  Now, as a person who contracts two shows a year, I have found their contracts to be too restrictive and their reps less than friendly. I stopped using Samuel French because there are plenty of other places to go.

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Valerie O'Riordan
Drama Director, MFA, AEA, Russi House Provincial
Archbishop Riordan High School
San Francisco CA voriordan@riordanhs.org
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2017 16:56
From: Vici Anderson
Subject: Samuel French

Dear Educator Friends,

I agree with your estimation of Samuel French's royalty fees.  Every other company is a max of $125 per show.  I requested royalties for our Varsity show for 4 performances and they quoted $1220.00.  A representative from Samuel French commented on here that they will gladly work with us to reduce the rates.  Yes, gladly after you prepare an affidavit signed by your principal...it will then take us 2 weeks....then IF you qualify.....etc. etc.

After that, I appeal to you to help me find a replacement, quickly!!!  I had picked the play, Play On which is a play withing a play that my students and I read and loved.  It is similar to The Play that Goes Wrong which is currently on Broadway and that my students and I saw in June.  Do you know of any other plays like that ( not Noises Off-too complicated a set!!).  They are rehearsing and the set isn't finished, the director is going crazy with the actors not knowing their lines, the tech person keeps hammering when they are rehearsing and getting yelled at......etc.

Thank you so much,

Vici Anderson

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX

This is interesting. I've done Play On - twice. Each time I paid royalties for 2 performances and if I remember correctly they were minimal costs. I can look in my records if you want me too. Are you sure they don't have your school confused with another group? I've had that happen. We were associated with another Northridge High School that was much bigger and did more performances. Most of the time royalties are based on theater size and amateur status. I would check for something that's been submitted incorrectly.

------------------------------
Ellen Augustine
Language Arts Instructor/Theater Director
Goshen IN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2017 16:56
From: Vici Anderson
Subject: Samuel French

Dear Educator Friends,

I agree with your estimation of Samuel French's royalty fees.  Every other company is a max of $125 per show.  I requested royalties for our Varsity show for 4 performances and they quoted $1220.00.  A representative from Samuel French commented on here that they will gladly work with us to reduce the rates.  Yes, gladly after you prepare an affidavit signed by your principal...it will then take us 2 weeks....then IF you qualify.....etc. etc.

After that, I appeal to you to help me find a replacement, quickly!!!  I had picked the play, Play On which is a play withing a play that my students and I read and loved.  It is similar to The Play that Goes Wrong which is currently on Broadway and that my students and I saw in June.  Do you know of any other plays like that ( not Noises Off-too complicated a set!!).  They are rehearsing and the set isn't finished, the director is going crazy with the actors not knowing their lines, the tech person keeps hammering when they are rehearsing and getting yelled at......etc.

Thank you so much,

Vici Anderson

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX

Ellen,
Our venue is 1050 seats because it was built as a huge concert hall for our band and a competition site site for our district's band and orchestras. Our theatre audiences however; are between 150 and 200. Most companies take that into consideration on the initial application and don't have to deal with it later. It would have been less hassle for me to have just lied and told them the venue was 200, but that's not really a good idea. That's why they now want me to submit something signed by the principal that we will cap it at 200 and submit that for them to consider for 2 weeks then if......now it's too late for my show. So I just moved on to a different show that has a similar premise and is 1/10 the cost!! Problem could be solved by them adding one simple question to their license request.

Sent from my iPad

.


Original Message------

This is interesting. I've done Play On - twice. Each time I paid royalties for 2 performances and if I remember correctly they were minimal costs. I can look in my records if you want me too. Are you sure they don't have your school confused with another group? I've had that happen. We were associated with another Northridge High School that was much bigger and did more performances. Most of the time royalties are based on theater size and amateur status. I would check for something that's been submitted incorrectly.

------------------------------
Ellen Augustine
Language Arts Instructor/Theater Director
Goshen IN
------------------------------

Look into "See How They Run" by Phillip King

------------------------------
Brendan Wahlers
Bayonne NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2017 16:56
From: Vici Anderson
Subject: Samuel French

Dear Educator Friends,

I agree with your estimation of Samuel French's royalty fees.  Every other company is a max of $125 per show.  I requested royalties for our Varsity show for 4 performances and they quoted $1220.00.  A representative from Samuel French commented on here that they will gladly work with us to reduce the rates.  Yes, gladly after you prepare an affidavit signed by your principal...it will then take us 2 weeks....then IF you qualify.....etc. etc.

After that, I appeal to you to help me find a replacement, quickly!!!  I had picked the play, Play On which is a play withing a play that my students and I read and loved.  It is similar to The Play that Goes Wrong which is currently on Broadway and that my students and I saw in June.  Do you know of any other plays like that ( not Noises Off-too complicated a set!!).  They are rehearsing and the set isn't finished, the director is going crazy with the actors not knowing their lines, the tech person keeps hammering when they are rehearsing and getting yelled at......etc.

Thank you so much,

Vici Anderson

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX

​I understand about your set fears in doing Noises On.  We did Nooses On - obviously a spoof - by Don Zolidis last spring and it was hilarious and perfect!  I am basically a one-man army when it comes to our spring show and I just happen to have a handy husband.  He built me three doors on independent platforms (that were able to turn at intermission).  I used a set of existing stairs and set decorations to give an illusion of a second floor.  We tweaked some of the lines (instead of saying My room is upstairs on the left?  we said My room is down the hall on the left?) and some of the actions and it was PERFECT!  If you want, I can email you some photos of the set.  Totally doable!!

------------------------------
Amber Hugus
Harmony PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2017 16:56
From: Vici Anderson
Subject: Samuel French

Dear Educator Friends,

I agree with your estimation of Samuel French's royalty fees.  Every other company is a max of $125 per show.  I requested royalties for our Varsity show for 4 performances and they quoted $1220.00.  A representative from Samuel French commented on here that they will gladly work with us to reduce the rates.  Yes, gladly after you prepare an affidavit signed by your principal...it will then take us 2 weeks....then IF you qualify.....etc. etc.

After that, I appeal to you to help me find a replacement, quickly!!!  I had picked the play, Play On which is a play withing a play that my students and I read and loved.  It is similar to The Play that Goes Wrong which is currently on Broadway and that my students and I saw in June.  Do you know of any other plays like that ( not Noises Off-too complicated a set!!).  They are rehearsing and the set isn't finished, the director is going crazy with the actors not knowing their lines, the tech person keeps hammering when they are rehearsing and getting yelled at......etc.

Thank you so much,

Vici Anderson

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX