While listening to several podcasts for my entertainment
business course, I noticed a common thread that pertained to my focus on
theatrical productions. The use of others written works without permission is
illegal. This of course seems to be common knowledge for music lovers that
download unlicensed work or for those who find just released movies to download
on the Internet. This practice is called piracy and it is illegal for those who
don’t know. However, this is not so black and white in the theatre world. Although,
it is still illegal to produce a theatrical work and charge for admission if
you do not have permission, it is acceptable if you “purchase the rights of
performance.”
While listening to Lawrence Lessig’s podcast,
Laws thatchoke creativity, for
TED.com, I was stuck by a thought that I have conflicting
emotions on. How do you draw from the past, and inspire creativity while
creating and re-creating something new and not break the law of copyright?
As a theatre director, I would not even consider doing a
show without finding out who owns the rights and how much does it cost to get
it? Sometimes this can be an extreme hassle because you can’t easily find the
owner or it’s too expensive. A problem could also arise because of the inexperience
of your actors or company, in turn permission may not be granted. This means that if you have a three-month-old
company with a $1,000 budget, you probably can’t produce
Titanic: The Musical.
Your company is then turned down for the rights to perform.
Then what do you do without the risk of being sued? Can you
change the script but have the same names of the Titanic characters? No, you
can. That is still and issue and a possible liability.
Lessig discusses that there are two extremes when it comes
to the license of creativity. He tells three stories that all lead to one understandable
conclusion. How can today’s creators create or re-create with so many licensing
and copyrighting infringement possibilities? To be honest, he gives no clear
resolution. Lessig explains that he tried to tackle this head on through the legislative
process but that battle was lost before it even started. Who then do you take
this issue?
My answer to this is to create your own works. Just recently
my new company,
Church Girlz Productions is about to produce its first stage
show, Time Travelers: An American Experience. Before writing one word, I spoke with
my fellow writers and told them that every line in our play will be original.
With regard to certain music used in the shows, we do have a certain license to
use in our show’s transitions. We are limited to a short amount of time but can
still use the music without purchasing a license.
Copyrights and permission to use others works is a big
concern in the theatre when there is a demand for theatrical works that are not
available in all parts of the country. Everyone can’t travel to California and/or
New York to see a popular show. Local theatre companies love these works and
want local communities to see the valve of investing in the arts. The only way
to do this is for those local communities to see the works of others. There is a solution to limiting these
liability issues and still being able to produce popular works. It is a good
idea for smaller companies, as well as larger ones, to invest in memberships
like the
Musical Theatre International (
http://www.mtishows.com ) offers. These types of
companies, do not owns the rights to the work but have be granted permission to
license the works based on company size, operating budget and reputation. It
could be pricey but in the end, it is an investment worthwhile.
For more information please visit the following links:
