Writing is Only the Beginning
Q: What should a playwright do if a producer has committed to producing their play?
A: Everything, and then some.
However, I’ve found that it is common for a playwright to think (and say) that once the play is written, their work is done.
That’s not true at all. Not in today’s economy.
What Playwrights Want
I’ve found that playwrights:
- want to have a say in casting.
- want approval of the director.
- have an idea who should be the designers
- want to have a say on how to market the production and who to hire to do the marketing
- I once had a playwright say they had to agree with the person who ran the business side of the production, the general manager, in order to allow me to mount the show.
But ask them to maybe mention on their social media that there will be a production of their play?
Well they did their part. They wrote the play.
What Producers Need
Having a playwright get involved in promotion is especially important when the show is being done by a not for profit theater company.
A not for profit company like Rhymes Over Beats is only able to produce work because a potential audience knows the company exists AND knows that they are doing work, specifically what plays are being developed.
Who better to tell them than someone who already knows them?
It should not be so hard for the playwright to make regular posts on their social media platforms about the wonderful company that agrees their play is great and wants to produce their work. It’s a necessary part of doing business in the 21st century, and everybody knows that.
If the producer is going all out promoting the play on social media and the playwright is doing nothing, I have to wonder why.
- Does the producer believe in the play more than the author?
- Who could be a more forceful advocate for the play and for the company that believes in the play than the playwright?
The reality is that because we rely on donations, we can only present work that everyone is doing their best to support, especially the playwright.
Because we need the playwright to support us too, by spreading the word about their play to as many people as possible.
Writing the play is only the beginning.