I was wondering if someone could explain to me the laws, rules and regulations around taping your performances.  In some theaters that I've worked it taping is against the rules and the reasons being that the theaters can be fined or closed down.  That sounds a little silly as we would be only using it to keep as a keepsake or show our friends.

Can anyone shed a little light?

It is a little silly, and it seems to be a hot topic right now as there is another post on forum about the same subject.  In most royaltied show contracts it states that there can be NO copying of scripts, NO copying of music, NO videotaping of shows, NO photography, the writer's name needs to be NO less than 50% smaller that the title, yadda yadda - without exception - unless you get permission to do otherwise. Now that is another story.  Just try to figure out who to call to get permission. I've tried that nearly every show I have directed, because I like to have a copy of the shows I do. My Mother lives in another state and it is the only way she can see what I have done. I directed a royaltied show once, and we did get ahold of the the writer who actually asked us to send him a copy of the show when we taped it. He couldn't have cared less if we taped, I would say he was even happy we taped. Another good question is, if you are forbidden to copy, what are you supposed to do for the stage manager or the tech booth? Have them do all of their cues in the real script.  Who's script? They don't send enough scripts for every member of the cast to even get a script half the time. Especially in large musicals, with large ensembles. 

On the other hand, I have heard of CT's getting in trouble over videotapeing.  However, personally, I think that the main thing they are trying to avoid with their wordy contracts is having people do the show without paying the royalties.  It's a gamble, but I think unless someone is actually out to get you, like a disgruntled fellow CT member, I think the chances are slim to none in having anyone come after you for it.

With the explosion of the internet and other technology, the main concern about video-taping performances of copywritten material is the potential exploitation of the recording for personal gain.

There is no guarantee that once a play has been captured on videotape that the this tape will be secure from re-broadcast anywhere at anytime.

A play I both wrote and directed for a community theater was video-taped as a "keepsake" for the cast -- with my blessing.  Unfortunately, it soon wound up being shown on a public-access cable channel because one of the cast's relatives worked for the station and was looking for some time to fill.

Needless to say, video-tapes of staged performance rarely turn out worth viewing anyway and I believe this tape displayed my work in (literally) a bad light.

Quality of the recording not withstanding (because it never looks or sounds the way you saw it live anyway) it is illegal to tape perfomances without permisson.   All of the other "should be's" and "what ifs" are beside the point.  Are we still going to do it: yup.   The chances of anyone dropping a dime on a ct: next to nil.   You have a better chance of someone from one of the publishing houses dropping in on a performance to check that your audience capacity and ticket prices are what you said they were  (yes it does happen on occasion).

We have a device which has a mind of it's own. Somehow,during funny scenes that other performers don't get to see, this device taps into the closed circuit feed to the stage manager. We sometimes  take advantage of this phenominon and see it at the cast party. Unfortunattly, it disapears after that night!

It's just like listening to your parents." Don't do that".

It's all pretty simple, really.  It's a matter of copyright - literally "the right to copy."  By making a video tape of a production you are making a copy of the play.  Video taping and film rights are reserved by the author, and belong to them.  You found an author who was happy to let you make a video tape and wanted a copy for themself.  That's great, but it was his choice.  And it's possible that some authors might not allow you to do so or may not be able do because the rights might have been purchased by a movie studio.

And trying to figure out who to call is not difficult.  On the copyright page of any play published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Dramatic Publishing, Playscripts, etc., you will find a note that gives you the name of the author's representative.  If none is listed, you can contact the publisher and get the proper information from them.

As for a stage manager, they are allowed to make a photocopy of THEIR OWN script for their own use.  What you are not allowed to do is to buy, say, one script and make copies for the cast and crew.  I'm not sure what you mean by "they don't send enough scripts for everymember of the cast."  The theater can order however many copies of a script that they feel they need.   

The bottom line is that a play protected under copyright is the intellectual property of someone, and it's only right that theaters are honest and follow the proper protocol. 

Craig, there sometimes seems to be confusion about making archival copies.   I'm talking about the kind of recording that's done to make a genuine archival record of a production for an organization.   Is there a ruling on that or does one need to obtain permission for any manner of video/ audio recording?

And could could one make a "fair use" defense as to the making of an archival record?

Yes, you still need to obtain permission to make an archival video tape copy of a performance.  Most of the time I think agents or authors are open to allowing that.  The time it might get tricky is if the play has been made into a movie or the film rights have been purchased by a movie studio.  In most cases the studio would then own the film and video rights.

But as I said, in my experience, most agents or authors will allow a theater to make a single archival tape.

First off I want to say thank you to Craig for your insight and willingness to explain policy. It must be a pleasure for Dramatist to have you in their employ.

On the same topic but from a second post.

I would to make two observations.

#1 - I tried this again this week, as I have done in the past. I contacted the publisher, explained that I wanted to create an archival copy, and they told me it wasn't their decision to make, and to contact the author (they gave me the address).  I contacted the author and was told to contact the publisher saying it wasn't her call.  It was not Dramatist, nor any of the companies you listed in your quote, but I would call this experience the same old run around. However, I will continue on, I did go back to the publisher and am waiting for a reply.

#2 The situation I was trying to explain was when there are 20 speaking parts in a musical ? you get 21 scripts ? one for each speaking part and one for the director. But then we have another 10 people in the ensemble, with no speaking lines. What scripts do they use for their blocking, or to learn their music? There have only been a couple of publishers (not all) where I have been able to order extra scripts. Normally the amount of scripts is pre-determined.