Playwrights have to eat too: Plays, portfolios & copyright

Posted on: March 7, 2007

While television and film actors usually rely on the simple headshot and resume combo, more and more stage actors are turning to web portfolios to showcase their talent, as well as their looks and experience. Most acting web portfolios offer multiple headshots, a downloadable resume and short clips of past performances. Including video samples of your acting in action is a great strategy, but, it can also be illegal if you're not careful.

Most playwrights, with a few major exceptions, own the copyrights to their work. This means that before anyone can perform anything from the play in front of an audience (including a web audience), the playwright has to get a cut of the action. Broadcasting even a short scene from a work under copyright can get you sued.

Please note, however, just because it "can" get you sued does not mean it absolutely will. "It's murky," says William Rattner of Lawyers for the Creative Arts, "It is technically an infringement, however, there's no hard and fast rules." Most times these issues are judged on a case-by-case basis, but, there are a few easy ways to keep yourself from getting a cease-and-desist letter.

Check to see if the work is copyright protected. Some works, including anything first published before 1923 when the law was established, are "public domain" meaning anyone can use that play free of charge. Works you might recognize in the free category? Anything by Shakespeare.

If the work is protected, find out who mediates the rights. FINDaPLAY will tell you who the publisher is; the publisher will is usually the one who can grant you the rights. Apply for the rights and be explicit about what you are planning to do, i.e. "I will perform a 2 minute scene from Act II, Scene 3, Lines 45-102 to be broadcast on my online portfolio." You can expect to pay between 50-200$ to secure the rights for these purposes.

There are certain plays you should consider off limits, often called Red Light Plays written by "Red Light Playwrights," such as Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Samuel Beckett and Thornton Wilder. Notice a trend? The big guys (or gals) don't sell their rights for these purposes and asking will get you nowhere. Most playwrights in these categories don't even own their rights anymore- production companies like Paramount and 20th Century Fox do. You want to get yourself in a mess of trouble? Use anything on the red light list and wait for the lawyer's call.

However, when you plan to use a Green Light Play, most times the publisher can grant permission. In select cases, the playwright gets the final word. The publisher will usually pass along the request, however, there are a few things you can do to help your case. "Playwrights usually consider password protected sites more favorably," suggested the law counsel for Samuel French, one of the largest play publishers in the world.

Once you have permission, be sure to post your letter of permission on your website, one click away from the video clip. That way anyone who's interested can verify you followed the rules.

After all this, however, there's still a chance you might find yourself on the receiving end of a cease-and-desist. What to do then? Get yourself a lawyer. The Lawyers for the Creative Arts work pro-bono and can probably help you.

All this trouble for a 20-second clip? Who has the time? Who has the $50-200? If this is your attitude, consider asking a friend with an interest in fiction writing to work on a piece for you. They can grant you the copyright as fast as they can sign the letter and there's no danger of them coming after you. Unless of course, they become rich and famous- but, by then you'll probably be rich and famous too.

Emily Easton is a Coordinator in the Portfolio Center of Columbia College Chicago.