(Didn’t read Part 1? Start here)

How Do I Get Produced?

The best way to make money as a playwright (or musical theater creator) is to have many different scripts all available for productions. You’ll get paid per performance, so more plays can equal more productions.

It also helps if you have a MFA in Playwriting. The playwriting field is supersaturated with MFA degree holders. And there are just so many opportunities for new playwrights to get produced … but obviously this is not a requirement.

The best answer to the question of how to get produced is this: you must convince theaters to produce your work. In other words, networking.

Usually this involves meeting people in person and online, networking, pitching your work, emailing theaters, submitting your work to many different opportunities, and getting your name out there and your play visible. A good way to do this is by producing your play in festivals and  conferences, where it can be seen by a large group of industry people from all over the country. Another is to introduce yourself to every theater within driving distance. Many theaters produce new work consistently, and are always looking for new plays and to meet new playwrights. Attend their productions and their galas, or volunteer to usher. Support them so they can support you.

Playwrights can get their work produced by sharing their play with theaters, production companies, producers, directors, and by working with actors. If you wish to be a produced playwright, I would encourage you to consistently be doing these things:

• Submit your play: You can submit your play to theaters during calls for submissions, and to production companies, producers, or directors. You can also send it to literary departments or freelance dramaturgs, who could help you develop and/or advocate for your play.

• Collaborate with actors, directors or dramaturgs: You can work with actors, directors and dramaturgs to workshop your play and get feedback for rewrites. You can also host table readings yourself to get feedback. Listen carefully when observers give you the same note more than once, and make plans to address it in future rewrites.

• Get to know a theater: You can show that you are reliable and easy to work with by submitting drafts on time and taking notes. Go to their galas. Go to their shows. Talk to people on the staff. Volunteer there – and let them know you write plays. Later ask someone to read one.

• Research theaters: You can research theaters that might be interested in the type of plays you write. Reach out and email them, introducing yourself and one of your plays that is similar to one recently produced by them.

• Networking: Talk to people. Join theater companies like CreateTheater. Hang out with theatre folk. Always be pitching and talking about your show.

• Marketing: Take the time to gather a database of theaters, contacts, producers, directors, etc. Develop an email list from theatre people you know. Keep adding to the list. Keep your email list updated on your progress.

• Develop a base of raving fans on social media. Share your life and your work, to gather a fan base. Collect their emails to add them to your email list. Some theaters will even give preference to writers who have an active large social media following.

What About Getting Published?

Getting your play published is a tough. Perhaps up to 95% of plays that get produced, never get published. You see, a production is a one-off expense for a company that is committed to producing a number of shows each year anyway. They want good new material to produce, and they want their take of the box office. They do not usually want to go the extra mile of publishing your play.

Theatrical publishers usually form contracts with producing houses where they publish copies of all or most shows that the theater produces. Publication has distribution overheads and other costs which theatrical production doesn’t have. Most theater companies don’t have those kind of contracts, so if you want to your work published, you’ll have to have it produced first. No play will be published which hasn’t been produced first. If you can write a good play, you can probably get it produced. You probably can’t get it published, however, unless it gets picked up by a major theatre which is tied into a publishing deal.

You can of course self-publish and distribute it yourself, if you so choose. Kindle has the best self-publishing platform. Use your email lists and social media connections to give free copies to your friends to buy off Amazon and recommend.

The reason the publications are important is because the more publications you have, the more plays you are presenting to the public.  This means your name appears a lot more in their catalogue.  When your name appears multiple times in the catalogue, there’s a good chance people are reading the synopsis and you have a better chance that they are ordering a perusal copy that will hopefully lead to a production.  The more productions that are out there, the more press.  If you write one-act plays for high schools, you have to cross your fingers and hope that they are taking your script to a competition, where other schools from the state will see it, like it, and look up your other work.

Publishing does not really pay very well itself. It’s meant to serve the publisher, not the playwright. But the real reason to get published is to get your play into the hands of literary managers, college theatre directors, regional artistic directors, etc, so they will produce your play and you will make some money. Not much, but some money.

Let’s recap this blog post and the previous one:

• Playwrights get paid before writing a script by commissions and advances (with musicals this can be substantial).

• After the script is written they get paid through a producer’s option agreement and royalties per performance,

• After the play is produced a playwright can make money by selling the script to film or television adaptations or by licensing the show to touring companies and other theaters.

• After a play is published it will go into the subsidiary markets, and the writer will receive subsidiary rights revenues, stock and amateur licensing revenues, and royalties at a flat fee per show. Musicals can also earn revenue through the cast album.

You Have To Write

Write many plays. It’s a numbers game that favors high volume – so have many plays available.

Do a ton of networking and marketing. Raise your profile through your website and social media channels.

Having a great number of plays also gives you a cushion when your other plays go out of fashion (which they will).

There is actually a simpler answer, though. Put in the time, do the hard work, and create your own luck.

CreateTheater Develops and Produces New Work

Since 2016, CreateTheater has been working with playwrights and musical theater teams to develop and then help produce new work, through general managing industry readings, dramaturgy, writing groups, worksbops, and producing new work in the CreateTheater New Works Festival, the CreateTheater Cabaret, and through partnerships that produce new plays and musicals,

So what do you think the #1 question that I get asked?

Drum roll please: “Will you produce my new play or musical?”

It Takes Time to Produce New Work

Typically a new play will take 3-5 years to get produced; musicals seven years or more. And even if you’re in a position to independently produce your own work on stage doesn’t mean that you can “fast-track” the process.

Theater is the most collaborative art, which means that it takes time to pull the work together. Time to check your script with directors, dramaturgs and company members; time to present readings to see how the audience reacts to the work. Time to rewrite yet another draft, incorporating what was learned in the previous reading, writing group presentation or workshop.

Not every reading should be recorded, especially in the early drafts; you’ll want to change the script to incorporate feedback, rendering the recording outdated almost as soon as it’s edited. Save that for the music-stand industry reading, when you’ll need it to pitch to theaters, directors, producers and investors.

Getting back to the original question, “Will you produce my show,” in the beginning no one will love your show more than you do. But I will be a close second. My goal is to see you get your play produced; sometimes I will produce it.

But it takes time. Most important things do; y0u can’t shortcut development without taking the time to make it great.

So, How Do I Get Produced?

First, write the script (or libretto). Get input from your collaborator, a dramaturg, a writing group – or all three. Then find some friends and do a table reading, often called a “pizza reading” since you can compensate your friends with food.

Make changes to the script, incorporating your discoveries. Check out your new pages with your collaborator, a dramaturg, a writing group – and hold another reading. Make more changes. Do this until you (and your friends) are enthusiastic and feel your play is “ready.”

Ready to submit to theaters, festivals, contests. Ready to submit to possible directors or producers. Make sure that you upload it to y0ur NPX portal, so other writers can read and comment on it as well.

This takes time. But you know what? With each step, your play just keeps getting better and better. And you gain more experience, and get better at your craft, with each iteration. You may even decide to start another play or musical, just for the fun of it, while you submit and continue to develop your first.

These friends, these colleagues, who are so ready (and experienced) to help you with their smart feedback? Here at CreateTheater, these are your fellow playwrights and ETC members, all experienced playwright and musical theater writers. I’m proud that many of our members have been produced Off Broadway, regionally, and in television and film. Some members are actual Tony-award winning producers, looking for new projects.

When Do I Get Produced?

This is a relationship-driven business. First you perfect the work itself, in collaboration with other artists; then you present it to friends, colleagues, and new industry friends that you make through social connections in the business.

From there your network keeps growing. Soon, a friend-of-a-friend, a writing group member’s cousin that works with a famous person’s sister wants to listen to your musical. A theater discovers your play through a submission process and wants to produce it. Your industry reading is so funny that a producer you know asks for the chance to produce it.

These things happen. And they can happen to you, too. Perfect the work, keep writing new shows, keep submitting and making social connections. That’s how you get produced.

CreateTheater is here to help. Thinking of joining? Click here for more information.

The Need for an “Artistic Home”

Theatre is an especially collaborative art. It takes a dedicated creative team to create, develop and produce new work, and always have. Today, collaboration often happens on Zoom, one of the benefits from the pandemic. However, the definition of theater is “live” and must happen first with the creative team, then with the actors and audience in the same space.

As it stands now, a three-week rehearsal schedule is built for commercial success, not development. What’s needed is an “artistic home” to serve as a nurturing ground, to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation, with other trusted artists.

What is an “artistic home”?

An artistic home, to me, is a supportive environment for theatre artists to explore and experiment with new ideas. It offers a ‘safe space’ where artists can take risks, challenge conventions, and push the limits of their creativity, without fear of judgment, crucial for the development of groundbreaking and transformative work.

Moreover, an artistic home can allow theatre artists a place to collaborate and exchange ideas with a variety of other artists – playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and technicians – within a framework of critical resources and support. Funding, mentorship programs, and networking opportunities are crucial for artists to overcome financial and logistical challenges that hinder the creation of new work.

A true artistic home fosters a sense of belonging, an identity of professionalism, and provides concrete networking channels leading towards production.

CreateTheater is a Theater Community

I’ve founded CreateTheater to be this community for theater artists.

This year so far we’ve:

• Hosted the CreateTheater New Works Festival Reading Series to give an audience to developing new plays and musicals
• Provided two residencies that financed two readings, one new play and one new musical
• Provided networking and mentorship opportunities to both CreateTheater and ETC members
• Provided dramaturgy and development to 42 new plays and musicals this year
• Workshopped twelve new musicals with industry experts in our SMASH IT! musical workshops
• Pitching opportunities to Tony-award winning producers and to artistic directors
• Created writing groups, workshops and social events to grow your industry connections
• I pitched 12 scripts to a company for touring and licensing
• We locked down a large studio to present readings and development space for new projects
• Creating a cabaret for our first-ever fundraiser (stay tuned)

Need to experiment with form? Let’s do it. What about trying out your latest draft with actors, to see if what you have on the page is working? That’s different than a typical reading, where you invite others in to see the work, or a cold “pizza reading” that you plan with friends to get some feedback. I’ve been to two cold musical readings with minimal prep time, that were absolutely outstanding. We’re now trying to help the work go forward.

I’m proud that CreateTheater has been considered an artistic home for our writers,  as it’s playing a vital role in nurturing new scripts and fostering artistic development. The New Works Festival has proven to be a platform for artists to showcase their work, gain exposure, and receive critical feedback from their peers and industry professionals, helping these artists to refine their craft, develop their unique artistic voice, and establish themselves within the professional theatre community.

I also want to say, as an artist with both a BFA and an MFA, that forming your artistic vision among other established artists gives you a foundation to become, in time, an established artist yourself. Mindset matters; community matters. People you trust to hear your work and offer feedback, matters.

An artistic home, within an engaged theater community, is essential to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation. A supportive and nurturing environment can allow artists to explore new ideas, collaborate with peers, access resources, nurture emerging talent, and push the boundaries of our art form. By investing in such places, we not only empower theatre artists in the 21st century but also contribute to the growth and evolution of theatre as an art form – which needs some help right now.

Let’s Develop New Work Together

I’ve created CreateTheater as a space where artists can challenge traditional norms and conventions and create some groundbreaking and thought-provoking work. Whenever you gather creative people in a singular space, some wild things can happen… especially in a theatrical hotspot like NYC. The people are here. Is your work here? It needs to be, even if you live somewhere else.

Last spring I offered a free Collaboration Event to introduce creatives to each other online (where we’re providing the space to make their work happen in November), and people have been asking me to start up the ‘Cocktail Hours” that I held during lockdown. So, I’m starting it up again. Would you like to participate? Come join us on the last Sunday of the month, October 27th at 2pm EST.

Join our email list for the link and to stay “in the know” here.

Any other ideas? There will be a “Welcome to CreateTheater and ETC” meet-and-greet webinar on October 29th at 7pm EST. Stop by and meet us and see what we’re all about!