On Demand
Regional Theater
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
We look into the role of regional theater in America today, and its contribution to the development of new American plays and playwrights. Director Bartlett Sher is Artistic Director at the The Intiman Theatre Company in Seattle; Kent Thompson is Artistic Director of the Denver Center Theatre Company; and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel is a professor at Yale School of Drama.
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Please ask your guests about their thoughts on regional theaters taking a percentage of playwrights' royalties. Does the Intiman or Denver Center practice this with their commissioned plays?
A comment on exacting NYC audiences: My husband and I (supposedly part of the much-prized suburban audience demographic) found ourselves priced out of Broadway about 15 years ago. So if we go to a Broadway show, it had better be extraordinary to be worth the cost and effort to see it. We cannot afford to be only mildly entertained/provoked at those prices!
BUT - the positive side has been discovering the wonderful theatre companies of NJ, although we may shortly be priced out of that sector as well.
I've responded to the discussion at length here:
http://www.mikedaisey.com/2008/11/notes-on-leonard-lopate-wnyc-discussion.sht
Great comments, Mike.
CB, Denver takes royalties -- I'd have to look over my contract to see if they get them for my commission from them (I don't think they do), but they do get a percentage of the gross from subsequent productions 1001.
We could have a debate over whether or not this is fair -- no doubt, the Denver Center has a lot more money than I do -- but I do feel as if they've given me quite a bit more in terms of support (financial and otherwise) than they've taken in royalties. I'm not saying that this makes the system of regionals taking royalties a good thing per se, and the last thing I want to do is speak for other writers/artists -- just than in my own case I don't see it as unfair.
My response is on my blog:
http://www.dennisbaker.net/regional-theater-wnyc-leonard-lopate-show/
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