Where to Publish?

Okay, I know a lot about the writing part of plays...but my knowledge takes a sharp drop when it comes to post-writing, if you will. Would any kind soul out there write some links, or addresses...or whatever you can think of...

So I've written a play, have it all polished, it's correct format, and a good story. Hard part over...now, where do I send it? I can't for the life of me find very many theatre companies on the internet which publish plays...please help this confused writer!

"Publishing" is done in regular book form of the type, "101 skits for you and your family to put on" or "Ten short plays teaching children about (fill in the blank).

As for what you do with a real play.

Aye, there is the rub.

You have to find a Backer, someone to finance, produce, put on, your play. In my case the "backers" come to me. The heard I wrote a play for Parents without Partners, or a boy scout troup, or a church organization. They basically tell me what the theme is, what it is for, say to raise money, or get a point across, or something, and what their resources are. I give it my best shot, for free, and usually everyone is happy and has fun. This happens as often as 3 times a year to as little as once every 3 years.

But a real play.

You are trying for success, money, good reviews, prestige...For all of that you need real actors, paid a salary, directed by someone who knows what they are doing, performed on a real stage.

A successful play can make big money for everyone. Most fold within a week, many after the first night. If you write something to equal Cats, you are a hero.

Unless you are indepenantly wealthy, or marry into money, such as George Bernard Shaw, you will have to rely on backers. These people are not easy to find. Few people are interested. The ones who do it often have successful playwrights chasing them down.

In other words in order to attact them you need to have some successes under your belt.

My suggestion is to attach yourself to every little theater group you can come across in your area. Learn everything you can, not just about the writing, but about the audience, the actors, the director. Write something and see how the audience is affected by it.

Your first effort is liable to be along the lines of adapting something well known, like Taming of the Shrew, for the needs, abilities, finances, settings, and the number of available actors, of a local group.

Sound dumb? It is in a way. But if the original play calls for 5 women, and there are only two in the troupe, you must do something. What if the two you have are both of the wrong age to play Juliet convincingly?

I don't think this is the answer you wanted, but I hope it helps. And times change. I haven't updated my info base on this subject in some time. I'll listen to anyone with recent experiences who wishes to comment.

heh--I'll listen too, because I'm REALLY interested in learning to do this...now, we just need to lure Wendy Wasserstein or someone cool like THAT to AW...

Novels has Uncle Jim...It could happen...

If you are a playwright, don't give up your day job! Only the very few, (and it's not always based on the greatness of the script), get published. It's networking, getting to know theatres, getting to know your audience, getting to know someone who knows someone who knows someone from the major publishers (Anchorage Press, Samuel French, Dramatic Publishing, Dramatist Play Service, Music Theatre International, TAMS-Witmark, to name a brief few.)
A play needs to be produced 2 or 3 times by various theatre houses preferably in bigger cities before publishing houses will even pick it up to read.
This is a harsh reality, but I have found some of my most personally rewarding experiences as a playwright were with community theatres and players. Yes, the professional theatres have more money to back a production, but I have seen some really good theatre at the community level, and they treated my play with care and consideration just as if they would have a published play. So to me, the rewards can come without being published. The goal is to be published - someday. But I'll never be rich by being published.

So you are a playwright? Cool!

Get yourselves agents.

This agent accepts stage plays and is on the WGA website.

Peregrine Whittlesey
345 East 80th St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 737-0153

www.wga.org/agency/AgencyList.asp

Follow that link and go New York where it says states. And find out what other agencies deal with plays. (Call them up)

Once your play has been produced it is a lot easier to find a publisher. Still, they're around (publishing companies)

Publishers

Hmm. Well, I've had a play published without a production. I guess it depends on the script. But I love to see my plays produced nonetheless.

there's no point wasting time trying to find an agent. no agent is going to take you on until you have a track record.

what you want is not publication but production. as others have pointed out, join a local community theater group or approach a school theater group (middle or high school or college). ask the folks there if they can help you do a reading - offer refreshments & flattery ("i really admire the productions you've done, i'd love to know what you think about something i've written..."). people lovefree food & drink & hearing nice things about themselves. hearing strangers read your play is a real eye-opener. take notes about what works & what doesn't. have a discussion after with any audience & those involved. take more notes - keep an open mind & don't get real defensive. you'll probably want to rewrite after. then approach them again & see if they're interested in staging it. or (in the case of a middle-school group), you might volunteer to write something just for them.

you can also enter the script in a competition - beware those that charge a fee to enter. most serious playwrights will not pay to have their scripts entered in a contest. it's degrading & only helps the theater by financing their upcoming production while doing nothiing for you (unless you're the winner).

send the play off to theaters listed in the dramatists sourcebook, a great resource book for playwrights.

once you've had at least one production, you can approach publishers. be sure to find one that specializes in your type of script - is it for school groups, a 10 minute piece, etc?

best of luck!

Getting published may not be quite THAT hard!

Hi. I'd like to differ slightly with the postings I've seen. There are many what I'll call "Tier 2" publishers who cater primarily to the high school and community theater market. They do NOT require productions of your play prior to submission, and are very competitive if you've got a good script. I have over twenty plays published just this way with companies like, "Eldridge Publsihing" (www.histage.com), "Pioneer Drama" (www.pioneerdrama.com) and Heuer Publishing (www.heuer.com). They respond quickly, offer standard contracts, and are easy to work with.

For these publishers and their markets, the best plays are those that a) Are comedies (though they do want some dramas too), b) Have more women than men (community theater/school realities), and c) Have the option for large casts (e.g. fill-in students or soldiers or football players) to cater to, say, the school need to involve many kids.

So, while these companies are not Samuel French, they ARE out there AND productive!

Hope this helps,
Rob