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| changing a script? | |
| Posted by: dooey 10:52 pm EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| I've always been curious about this. When a director wants to alter something in script, how do they go about getting permission? I'm specifically thinking of productions like the Fiasco's INTO THE WOODS, which eliminated the character of the Narrator and the Regents Park production which had the Witch sing "new" lyrics in "Children Will Listen." ("What do you say to your child in the night..." And yes, I know they're not new lyrics, just unused lyrics from an earlier draft of the song.) Does one just write to MTI explaining the requested change and reason? To the authors themselves? Are these sorts of requests granted often? (I can't imagine that they are...) Any insights or first-hand knowledge of this practice? |
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| Thank you for the replies! n/m | |
| Posted by: dooey 05:49 pm EDT 08/23/21 | |
| In reply to: changing a script? - dooey 10:52 pm EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| :) | |
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| re: changing a script? | |
| Posted by: allineedisthegirl 02:55 pm EDT 08/23/21 | |
| In reply to: changing a script? - dooey 10:52 pm EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| Years ago I was dramaturg on a production of a play controlled by the Rodgers & Hammerstein Org. (the authors were deceased). We wanted to make pretty extensive changes to two scenes. R & H (understandably) demanded to see the exact excisions, changes and additions. Ultimately they granted approval for all of them provided that no program credit be given for the script changes and that thenceforth all the changes were their exclusive property. db |
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| re: changing a script? | |
| Posted by: ryhog 10:21 am EDT 08/23/21 | |
| In reply to: changing a script? - dooey 10:52 pm EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| The answer depends on the parties involved and the property. At the outset, one normally communicates with the person or entity from whom the rights were obtained (which, depending on the level of the production, might be the author's agent or lawyer, or a licensing agency) but there may be direct contact with the author if there is a relationship. Whether a request is granted likewise depends on the production, the author, and the change. A high profile production with people with credibility will often get license that will be denied to someone lacking any provenance. But there are also times that small productions might get permissions that would be denied to, say, a Broadway production. Also, there are authors who grant reasonable changes fairly liberally and others who never do. I would say that in absolute terms changes are granted pretty often, but the overwhelming majority of them are very small. As with most things, there are no rules. | |
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| re: changing a script? | |
| Posted by: peter3053 04:20 am EDT 08/23/21 | |
| In reply to: changing a script? - dooey 10:52 pm EDT 08/22/21 | |
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| It depends on the personalities involved; what change is being requested; whether or not the author is still living, and/or still represented by an agent; the proximity of the author or their agents to the actual production (and the level of the production); also, the conditions under which the production is occurring can have an effect (do words in the script allude to an indoor/outdoor setting, for example.) If the relationship between the author and director is fruitful and positive, a respectful discussion will lead to the outcome, one way or the other. I imagine in the case of Fiasco, there would surely need to have been negotiations with the agent and , through the agent, with the authors involved. (The status of the company making the request, and whether the authors trust their aesthetic, would matter here.) Sometimes problems arise when the production is afar, and the author or agent finds out too late that an egregious change has been imposed. (I remember an horrific story re a production of Man of La Mancha which the author saw in a foreign land and simply could not understand what was taking place on stage or how it bore any relation to the original - and not just because of the change of language.) Sondheim spoke of a production of Merrily We Roll Along which reversed the chronology to the "arrow of time" (forwards), and he was horrified; and I think it was stopped. When this sort of dramatic change occurs, one begins to ponder why the director wanted to do the show at all.) With all these things, being upfront and seeking the permission of the author, and respecting their intentions and decisions, is the critical thing. But Shakespeare doesn't kick up too much of a fuss, I'm told. And when they do Oedipus Rex, Sophocles turns a blind eye ... or two. |
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