December 2021
April is National Playwriting and Composing Month
End of Play.
End of Play 2022

All you need to do is Google “writer’s block” to discern that often the hardest challenge for a writer, regardless of their skillset or experience level, can be finding the time and motivation to sit down and write. Life gets in the way, a new piece may offer unforeseen creative roadblocks, certain feedback or criticism may lead to doubt… the list of the struggles that leads to this place is endless, really, and anyone who has written for long enough has probably heard or shared countless variations of these experiences.

In the beginning of 2020, the Dramatists Guild posed the question: “Who thinks they can write the first draft of a play in a month?” From that question, End of Play.® was born: a program with the goal of inspiring the creation of new plays through motivation, connection, and a shared goal.

So far, approximately 2,000 dramatists from around the world have participated in the challenge over the course of two years.

What Is It?

End of Play is an annual initiative created by the Dramatists Guild to incentivize the completion of new plays, scores, or songs over the period of one month. Each year, participating writers take a pledge to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of writing the first draft of a new play...

...End of Play launched in March 2020, as the world was grappling with a new normal and shifting away from in-person gatherings. During this time, the roughly 800 dramatists who had registered for the challenge powered through to continue writing towards their goal. Our events coordinators seamlessly shifted writers’ groups and meet and greets that were scheduled in regions all across the country and abroad to an online format when gathering in person became impossible. This led to 33 events offered throughout the month by volunteer events coordinators.

As the world shut down and events, theatre, and social gatherings began to be cancelled, End of Play kept going. Many dramatists were as engaged as ever and searching for a group of people to connect with.

The first year of End of Play became a surrogate for finding a community when the COVID-19 pandemic was forcing communities apart. “This was a perfect way to connect to new writers, and to simply connect in general, at a time when we have been so disconnected due to the pandemic,” said Carol German, 2020 Volunteer Event Coordinator.

In its second year, End of Play saw an uptick in engagement to 1,200 dramatists and a wider array of folks becoming volunteer coordinators. One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, online experiences had become the new normal for many, leading to an offering of 137 events across the country for End of Play participants to choose from.

As a result of the essential need to breathe life into new work and connect with other creatives, participants of End of Play in these first two years helped make it the truly heartwarming global support network for writers everywhere it has evolved into today.

All of the events offered during these months were organized, conceived, and moderated by volunteer event organizers, including a large faction of DG Regional Representatives and Ambassadors. Some of these event coordinators have offered reflections on their experiences with us...
Community
DG Futures
Town Hall with The Black List founder, Franklin Leonard

January 26, 2022

The Black List founder, Franklin Leonard, joins us to answer questions about how The Black List can be valuable for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists. They have exciting theatre industry news you don't want to miss.

The Black List, founded in 2005, began as an annual survey of Hollywood executives' favorite unproduced screenplays. Since then, over 440 scripts that have appeared on the Black List have been produced, grossing over $30 billion in box office worldwide. Those films have gone on to win 54 Academy Awards from 267 nominations, including four of the last twelve Best Picture Oscars and eleven of the last 28 Best Screenplay Oscars.

In October of 2012, the Black List launched a unique online community where writers could make their work available to readers, buyers and employers. Since its inception, it has hosted nearly 80,000 screenplays and pilots and provided more than 130,000 script evaluations. As a result, hundreds of writers have found representation at major talent agencies and management companies, as well as sold or optioned their screenplays.

Several films have been produced from scripts showcased on the website including Golden Globe nominated NIGHTINGALE, starring David Oyelowo. Currently, the Black List hosts over 5,500 screenplays and pilot scripts by approximately 3,700 writer members. These scripts are available for download by industry professionals ranging from agency assistants, to studio and network presidents, to A-list actors and directors.

Atlantic Time: 8pm - 9:30pm
Eastern Time: 7pm - 8:30pm
Central Time: 6pm - 7:30pm
Mountain Time: 5pm - 6:30pm
Pacific Time: 4pm - 5:30pm
2022 DG Regional Community Conversations

January 29 - February 5


In previous years, Dramatists Guild sponsored town halls have been action-packed events, loaded with information about all of the great resources and happenings within the Guild. This year, we’re asking YOU to do most of the talking!

At Community Conversations, we'll be posing questions about what’s happening in your community and about your engagement with the Guild, its services, and resources. And, of course, you’ll be able to connect with each other as well. 

You are welcome to participate in any of the three online Community Conversations. Sure, we’re organizing them geographically, but please pick the event that best suits your schedule. We’ll share a few essential news items, and then break out into discussion groups for a conversation that’s driven by YOU. 

These events are being presented by your elected Regional Council members, together with your Regional Reps and Ambassadors.

Southern California/West

Saturday, January 29

Pacific Time: 2pm-3:30 pm PST 
Mid-Atlantic/Midwest/Northeast

Sunday, January 30

Eastern Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Central Time: 5pm-6:30pm
South

Saturday, February 5

Eastern Time: 4pm-5:30pm 
Central Time: 3pm-4:30pm
Don't know which region you're in? CLICK HERE
Dramatists Guild National Silent Writing

January

Registration is now open for all January 2022 dates. How does it work?

With evenings, mornings, weekdays, and weekend slots all available, simply find a time slot that fits your schedule, register, and sign in to write silently, in community with others, all across the nation.

Dramatists are welcome to register for any time slot of their choosing. The sessions are only organized by region to show who will be moderating during that period of time.
2022 Authors Coalition Survey

Due January 31, 2022

More survey responses will translate into more resources for us to use to advocate for your rights and opportunities, as well as for those of all theatrical writers in the United States, including all Guild members. 

As in years past, the Dramatists Guild continues to work with the Authors Coalition of America to compensate American dramatists for non-title specific royalties earned from the photocopying abroad of published works. Your prompt and accurate responses in the survey below will determine how much money we receive for the coming year.

Please fill out the survey and return it to us by January 31, 2022.
The Dramatist - The Motivation Issue (Vol. 24 No. 3, Jan/Feb 2022)
Your new year's motivation is in the mail!

The newest edition of our bi-monthly magazine ships in early January 2022. In this latest issue of The Dramatist, Blossom Johnson, Jeremy Geragotelis, Brianna Barrett, TS Hawkins, and Psalmayene 24 reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting impact, while Amelia French concocts a recipe for motivation.

Guild members take to Twitter to share what keeps them motivated, and Chisa Hutchinson moderates a roundtable featuring S.M. Shephard-Massat, Carson Grace Becker, MJ Kaufman, Guadalís Del Carmen, Ben Krywosz, and Amrita Ramanan, who have made it their mission to provide dramatists with the tools, space, and resources they need to create art.

Also in this issue, Lily Dwoskin and Jordan K. Stovall look to the past and future of End of Play.®, Keenan Scott II answers “Ten Questions,” Anita Gonzalez discusses “What I'm Teaching Now,” and Larry Dean Harris explains “Why I Joined the Guild.”

by Blossom Johnson, Jeremy Geragotelis, TS Hawkins, Brianna Barrett, and Psalmayene 24

by Amelia French

by Guadalís Del Carmen, Carson Grace Becker , MJ Kaufman , Ben Krywosz Amrita Ramanan , S.M. Shephard-Massat, Chisa Hutchinson
New Regional Representatives
Please join the Dramatists Guild in welcoming three newly elected Regional Representatives!
The Carolinas
Succeeding Jacqueline Lawton

Hello North and South Carolina! I’m so excited to embark on this next journey with you as your Dramatists Guild Regional Representative. We’re a diverse group of dramatists who actively engage in new work development across our states. We seek out opportunities to push new voices into the forefront of our various communities. And, we’re telling stories that engage, inspire, educate, entertain, and challenge our audiences to see the world through new perspectives. This is why we became dramatists. It is my hope to build on this foundation that our past leader Jacqueline E. Lawton, and our returning Ambassadors Triza Cox (SC) and Erica McGee (NC), worked tirelessly to shape. Over the next three years, I’d like to see us continue to develop and produce new work, engage in dialogue about our craft and industry, and open doors to diverse voices ready to be heard. Lastly, I welcome your ideas as well as news on what’s happening in your communities. Please email me any updates, questions, and wish lists. 
Ohio
Succeeding Les Hunter

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to represent Ohio as the Dramatists Guild Regional Rep. The Reps who have preceded me have been dedicated and I hope to also contribute to the service of our playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists. My role will be to listen and support.

I know there will continue to be some limitations on our in-person visits and connections, but please know that I am a comfortable virtual journeyman. I want to hear from you about your work, and any ways that we might support you in the coming years.  There are ideas out there that I haven’t even conceived, and I want to hear them and discover which of these new ideas can effectively serve our region. Please contact me at ohio@dramatistsguild.com.

I hope to meet you soon.

Southwest
Succeeding Elaine Romero

We are living in a time where isolation and disconnection feel too common, even as we stay digitally connected and do our best to navigate the cautious, yet burgeoning reawakening of live performing arts. I am excited to serve as our Southwest Regional Rep during this time of change and hope. I will work to build connections and community throughout our vast landscape, and raise awareness for our theatres about the playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists who make up our Region. I’m ready to get to work. If you have any questions or ideas on how the Guild could serve you and your community, please reach out!
National Reports
DG Webinars
Dear Business Affairs
We want you to be informed, educated, and well-equipped when you navigate the business side of theatre. There are so many questions that writers have about this industry; we want to bring those questions and answers directly to you. Dear Business Affairs features DG members' most pressing questions, answered by staff in our BA department. 
Question: Does the Guild have contracts to use for live stream productions?

A new market is emerging, and it lives online. Virtual rehearsals, readings, and performances seem to be a way of life now. Even as theatres resume live performances, our research makes one thing clear: the marriage between live theatre and new media isn’t ending anytime soon. Therefore, the DG wants to ensure that the rights of playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists are being protected in the digital sphere.

Even when a work is being streamed online, its authors are still entitled to fair compensation, copyright ownership, and creative control of their own material. Furthermore, the digital arena poses new challenges and concerns; for example, writers are entitled to have their work presented on a secure online platform and to request the deactivation of viewing links after the agreed upon production dates.

The Guild has therefore crafted three new contracts that address the specific needs of dramatists as they navigate the landscape of digital and streaming theatre:

1. DG’s Online Licensing Agreement is a model contract that enables dramatists to grant a producer the right to present stock and amateur live streamed productions. NOTE: Our new Online Licensing Agreement will be available in early 2022.

2. Dramatists who require a more extensive model contract to deal with the commissioning and production of new works are advised to use the DG Digital Rights Agreement, instead of the Online Licensing Agreement.

3. Dramatists who have already entered into a stage production agreement, and who wish to either replace it or extend it to include live streaming rights, are advised to use the DG Live Stream Addendum instead of other model agreements.
Need Business Advice? The Business Affairs Help Desk is DG's support portal that allows us to answer your business related questions more quickly and efficiently. You can submit a query, or request a contract review, via our ticketing system. 
The DG Glossary
We are writers; what we love to do most...is write! Second to that, we might love rehearsing in the room with performers or getting to see our work fully realized and produced.

However, as writers, we will inevitably have to deal with the non-creative, not-so-fun, but very essential part of our industry-- the business. We might come across some complicated looking terms, such as subsidiary rights, copyrights, or collaboration agreement.

What do these terms mean, and why do we need to know them? The DG Glossary will be your handy go-to guide on important terms that every writer of the theatre should know.
Royalties

  • Royalties are the licensing fees that a producer or publisher pays to an author for the use of their intellectual property;

  • These fees are calculated based upon a percentage of the Gross Weekly Box Office Receipts (GWBOR) of a theatrical production;

  • The GWBOR is generally based on the standard definition incorporated into the Guild’s Approved Production Contract (APC), which specifies the particular deductions that can be taken from the GWBOR prior to the calculation of author’s royalties;

  • Sometimes, if all the royalty owners agree, royalties may be paid based upon Weekly Net Operating Profits (WNOP) instead of on GWBOR;

  • A royalty structure that utilizes the WNOP instead of the GWBOR generally requires all of the royalty owners to share a fixed percentage of the show’s WNOP, with this fixed percentage called a Profit Pool;

  • Whether based on GWBOR or WNOP, royalties often have at least some weekly minimum guaranteed payment (WMG) due to the royalty owners;

  • Under certain conditions, an author may receive either a flat fee or a “per performance” fee, in lieu of receiving royalties based on either the GWBOR or the WNOP. This is generally only applicable to amateur productions (like schools, camps, etc.), or otherwise when admission to a performance is free.

  •  Authors typically receive upfront payments, referred to as “options” and “advances,” payable when a contract is signed or when a show goes into rehearsal. These payments may be later recouped by the producer from the author’s future royalties. Such amounts may be based on some percentage of the show’s production budget or of its total potential GWBOR [i.e., (# Available seats) x ($ Maximum ticket price) x (# Weekly performances) x (# Weeks of production)].


Need Business Advice? The Business Affairs Help Desk is DG's support portal that allows us to answer your business related questions more quickly and efficiently. You can submit a query, or request a contract review, via our ticketing system.