What are you purchasing when you download a play from Plays For Camp? When do you need to buy a license? What can or can’t I do with my shiny new files? Who owns these plays, anyway?
Licensing for these plays endeavors to reflect both the great commission and the very real work the author has put in to create the play. By comparing prices to similar-length plays from other publishers, I have tried to save money for camps on both ends. I don’t charge for the individual printed copies of the plays, and I also offer a competitive price for licensing per performance. I know that every dollar you save on this play you can use on costuming and feeding your actors.
What am I purchasing?
When you make a purchase from Plays For Camp, you’re buying licensing rights for a single performance of the set of plays. Each week you perform the play would require an additional week of licensing.
For example, last year (2017) I used Out of the Frying Pan and For Such a Time as This at Camp Winnekeag. Our camp runs for six weeks, so we had licensing for three weeks for one and three weeks for the other. Because I don’t charge for the printed copies of the plays, we didn’t have to purchase two sets of scripts and we had the financial freedom to pursue a more ambitious play schedule. Pretty neat, I think.
When do I have to buy the license?
When you perform the play in front of an audience. Private or public, paid or free, in whole or in part, for charity or otherwise.
One caveat: if you’re a classroom teacher and you’d like to use one of the plays in your classroom (no audience, just teacher and students), that’s easy and free.
What can I do with my files?
Of course, you can download and print the files you purchase as many times as you need to get through your scheduled performances. If you lose the appropriate emails and links, just email me and I’ll get right back to you.
Do I own it, now?
The author still owns the rights to the plays, ultimately. This makes the license much much cheaper for you, but it does mean you would need to purchase a new license for each new performance (or all the licenses you need all at once). It also means that if you need to make changes to the plays (additions, excisions, gender-swaps), you need clearance from the author, first.
Don’t be squeamish about asking for this. I have never said no, yet.