Jonathan Ahl/St. Louis Public Raido
by Chris Peterson
Ozark Actors Theatre in Rolla, Missouri, wanted to produce Dracula. With licensing costs putting pressure on its budget, the company hired a local writer to create a new adaptation.
According to St. Louis Public Radio, the company commissioned high school English teacher Lesley Pitts to adapt Bram Stoker’s public-domain novel. Pitts was paid for her work, and the theatre can perform that adaptation indefinitely without additional licensing fees. She can also license it to other companies and keep the income.
I’d love to see more theatres consider arrangements like this.
Artistic director Blane Pressler told STLPR that avoiding licensing expenses frees up roughly $10,000 for things including compensation, sets and costumes. That’s money an audience can see onstage and money the people doing the work can take home.
If you’ve ever sat through a production meeting trying to figure out what you can afford to cut, you understand why that’s appealing.
I believe writers deserve to be paid. That’s part of why I like this particular arrangement. Pitts received a commission and has the possibility of future income from other productions.
For anyone who has worked in community theatre, we know how easily we can get stuck when choosing a season. We have the shows we know and the ones somebody has been asking us to do for years. Eventually, the conversation becomes which of those titles we can afford.
I’d like more room in that conversation for the writer down the street.
Of course, commissioning a script takes work. I wouldn’t pretend every company has the resources to jump into that tomorrow.
But I’m rooting for this production. And if you’re nearby and want theatres to take chances on new writing, buying a ticket would be a good way to say so.