The Public & Dramatists Guild of America Revise The Subsidiary Rights Agreements

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) and the Dramatists Guild of America (President Stephen Schwartz) announced that The Public will restructure its subsidiary rights agreement, effective immediately, to provide playwrights with greater financial opportunities to profit from their plays.

The Public Theater and the Dramatists Guild began discussions more than a year ago when it became clear that The Public was intent on finding a better way to encourage and invest in the writers they were producing. Under the new agreement, The Public will not collect any subsidiary rights from a play until the playwright has earned a minimum of $75,000 in licensing fees following its Public Theater premiere. The new agreement allows a playwright 10 years to earn that minimum amount from a play; if the playwright has not earned $75,000 during that time period, the agreement will expire and The Public will not earn any subsidiary rights income from the play.

"The Public is here to support the American playwright, not the other way around. We're pleased that this new arrangement reflects the core values of The Public and is one small step in making the American theater a better home for artists, "said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson in a joint statement.

The Public's new policy represents a dramatic departure from traditional subsidiary rights agreements, in which theaters immediately begin collecting a portion of profits from subsequent licensing of a playwright's work. This revised agreement which will be retroactive back to 2008 for all Public Theater main stage shows will allow playwrights to earn substantial income from their work before the theater profits from subsequent productions of a play.

The Dramatists Guild hopes this new model will be a trumpet call for theaters to realize that, in most cases, these revenues contribute relatively little to the theater's bottom line but could be the difference for an author between paying rent or having to leave the industry.

"The Dramatists Guild commends The Public Theater for continuing to be one of the most supportive and nurturing of all American theaters to playwrights," said Dramatists Guild President Stephen Schwartz. "We greatly appreciate their openness to hearing the Dramatists Guild's advocacy for our members, and we applaud this new policy which will allow more playwrights to be able to make a living writing for the theater."

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 52 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; and, most recently, the current Tony Award-winning revival of Hair. www.publictheater.org.

THE Dramatists Guild OF AMERICA, INC. (Stephen Schwartz, President) is the professional association of playwrights, librettists, lyricists and composers writing for the stage. With nearly 6,000 members around the world, the Guild is guided by an elected council that gives its time and support for the benefit of dramatists everywhere and has worked to advance their rights since the Guild's inception in 1912. Membership is open to all dramatic writers, regardless of their production history. The Guild's current president is composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Wicked). Past presidents have included Robert Sherwood, Moss Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Alan Jay Lerner, Sidney Kingsley, Frank Gilroy, Robert Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, Peter Stone and John Weidman.

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