Non-royalty Plays

[halden]

I would like to know, what year did royalties for plays start? Also, do you know of any good non royalty classic plays for a teenage theater group that's just starting up?

ANSWER: Hi Lindsay,

The question of what year royalies for plays started is a far more complicated legal question than you might have thought.  

Royalties are, essentially, simply a rental payment for the use of copyrighted material.  Which means that your question relateds primarily to when "copyright" law began.  A "copyright" is a legal acknowledgement of ownership of an artistic work or invention.  Contracts regarding the use of those works may indicate that a particular fee - or royalty - must be paid for the privilege of using that work.  Generally the copyright for a particular work - and therefore the royalties connected with it - is limited to a specific number of years.  Once that time limit(see below) is reached, the work generally will fall into what is called "public domain," which means that, in the case of plays, they can be produced without paying royalties.

England established copyright laws back in the 1700's, although at that time, I don't believe that plays were actually copyrighted.

The basic authority for American copyright laws is expressed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution:  

"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

Not only is that in our Constitution, it is in the first article, which includes major concepts about Congress, taxation, declaring war, providing military forces, and more.  Our  nation’s founders believed so deeply in the rights of creators of "useful arts"—"authors" now means "artists"—that they crafted this language in the Constitution. Congress has repeatedly lengthened the terms of copyright.  In 1790 copyright lasted only 14 years.  It currently is 70 years after the death of the creator; works owned by corporations are protected for 95 years. The result is increased protection for the creators and their heirs.  

Copyright protection begins at the time the work is finished in a fixed form — immediately, emphasizes the Copyright Office in rare boldface type — and it is the property of the author who created it.  In the case of authors of a joint work, all are co-owners unless there is an agreement to the contrary.  Copyright protection extends not only to published works but also to unpublished creations . Quite often artists assign rights to a designated agent. Playwrights can assign rights to a play publisher-leasing agent, such as Samuel French or Dramatists Play Service, which will represent the playwright and is empowered to publish and sell copies of the script, handle requests for performances, collect royalties, and actively protect the dramatist’s rights, if necessary vigorously through legal recourse.  

So, while that doesn't really answer your first question directly, it addresses what I think is the real question you are asking.  

I think you want to know how old a play has to be to able to be produced without paying royalties.  And, as you see above, when royalties were created really makes no difference.  What matters is how long it has been since its playwright died.  So most plays written before the early 1900's would be in the public domain and available to produce without paying royalties.  Some later works, depending on the time of the playwright's death, might also be available.  Be careful too, since a play written originally by a non English speaking playwright - such as Chekhov, Moliere, etc. - may itself be in the public domain, but specific translations by living playwrights might not be.  Each case is different and you'd have to check specific to be sure.  

The best place to find non-royalty plays is to check with the individual publishers - Samuel French(www.samuelfrench.com) and Dramatists Play Service(www.dramatists.com).  French's catalogue lists full-length non-royalty plays, but their web site doesn't seem to, only listing one-act non-royalty plays.  You might want to contact them directly to see if they can send you a catalogue or a list of non-royalty plays they carry. Both publishers also have a downloadable catalogue available online.  Whether they have their non-royalty plays listed in them, I'm not sure.  The easiest thing would be for you to email them to ask them what they have available and where you might find it.  

Of course the original versions of Shakespeare and other plays from the 1800's and before are in the public domain, as long as you are not using recently translated or adapted versions of them.  

And, by the way... when you are asking for suggestions for plays, I suggest that you also include the size of your group, the kind of plays you are looking for, the balance of male and female actors in your group, what size cast you are looking for, and the kind of facility you will be performing in.  There are thousands of plays out there, and without knowing some details it is impossible to guess at whether any specific play might be appropriate for you.  

I hope this helps a little... Best,

Arlene(MsDirector)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Our group is pretty small, about 10-20 people is our range, and we do need stronger female parts if possible. All of the people in our group are teenagers.

Do you know of any non-royalty plays that would be appropriate?

[Luiginw]

Hi Lindsay,

As I said, there are LOTS of non-royalty plays out there.  I really can't tell what would be "appropriate" for your group.  Every group is different and what one group might consider appropriate might be totally wrong for your group.  Your best bet, as I said, would be to check with the publishers and do your own research on what might be right for you.

Sorry I can't be of more help, Lindsay, but I simply don't have enough information(or time) to be able to do this research for you.

Best,

Arlene(MsDirector)