Actors are classified as either professional or amateurs. Professional actors receive at least some compensation for their services. Non-Equity actors are performers who do not belong to Actors' Equity Association, the union or collective bargaining agent for over 40,000 actors and stage managers in the U.S. If you produce or perform under an Equity agreement, you do not need this contract form. (MS Word document)
While most playwrights oppose the recording of their productions, even for archival purposes, sometimes there is an agreement between a theater company and the playwright to do exactly that, since both want a record of their show. Note that the agreement form provided here works only in cases of new works by unknown playwrights. Virtually none of the publisher/royalty houses allow recording one of their productions, for the simple reason that such rights (called mechanical rights) are not theirs to grant; these are typically reserved for the playwright. [MS Word format]
It's not uncommon for a playwright to require the playing of a popular song inside his or her play, even if the show is not a musical. When the musical material is still under copyright, then the composer and lyricist enjoy the same protections as the authors of any other copyrighted works (just like the playwright). [MS Word format]
If you create a production based on real-life incidents that happen to real people, you confront three areas of the law. Any one of them--or all three--could apply to the script: (1) defamation, (2) right of privacy, (3) right of publicity. If you produce a new or original work that has not taken care of these issues, you are liable for lawsuit. A Real Person Release--signed by the real-life individual-- is the best defense against claims that you infringed on the publicity or privacy rights of your real-life subject.
Many stage productions have been adapted from other works, such as novels, short stories, or films. In all these cases, the writers took material created by someone else and transformed it into a new form, a new work. Unless the author of the adaptation is also the creator of the original work, the adaptor is using material owned by another person or owner of the original material. These are called the underlying rights. In most cases, this is not a simple process. In fact, it is fraught with legal peril. Always acquire the underlying rights before you commit a word to paper.
Many stage productions have been adapted from other works, such as novels, short stories, or films. In all these cases, the writers took material created by someone else and transformed it into a new form, a new work. Unless the author of the adaptation is also the creator of the original work, the adaptor is using material owned by another person or owner of the original material. These are called the underlying rights. In most cases, this is not a simple process. In fact, it is fraught with legal peril. Always acquire the underlying rights before you commit a word to paper.
When two or more persons join together to create a work of art, they are entering into a collaboration. In the theater, two or more writers may author a play together. More frequently, a book writer, composer and lyricist will create a musical together. Or a theater company, composed of actors, decides to create a piece, to which all of the members contribute material. [MS Word format]
When two or more persons join together to create a work of art, they are entering into a collaboration. In the theater, two or more writers may author a play together. More frequently, a book writer, composer and lyricist will create a musical together. Or a theater company, composed of actors, decides to create a piece, to which all of the members contribute material. [MS Word format]