@dramatistsguild @suzemallen

The Bay Area had quite a treat in early May when Business Affairs Exec Ralph Sevush ESQ and his amazing assistant Amy VonVett came to town for the weekend to present a cutting edge program, Protecting Your Rights: Legal Rights and Risks for Playwrights, which was sponsored by Tides Theatre and 3Girls Theatre. Our two days of programming served at least 100 members. (I wish it could have been more!) The event started off on Saturday night with a DG member Meet and Greet and screening of “Somebody Wrote That Song” and concluded with a Presentation by Ralph Sevush on the DG Bill of Rights as well as a Q & A with local playwrights: Bill Bivins, Lee Brady, Aaron Loeb and Patricia Milton on their experience contracting with Bay Area theatres. What a wealth of information!

It is always a learning curve when the fabulous DG comes calling. I know because I learned so much. Ralph has a way of explaining things that just makes the rules crystal clear. Many of my constituency expressed their gratitude for having Ralph and Amy onboard and we all concur – “knowledge is power” and subsequently are feeling strong as we put our work out into the stratosphere.

On Sunday, we hosted a Dramatists Guild Town Hall Meeting followed by a panel called Teaching Writers their Rights and Original Script Use at the College and University Level with Susan Jackson, CIty College of San Francisco Theatre Arts Instructor and Award winning Bay Area Playwright, Carol Fregly Retired Professor of Theatre at CCSF, Lisa Morse, PhD Marin College. A lively discussion led to a promise for a union with the colleges and is set to begin discussion in September.

What a coup!

Until Then,

sallen@dramatistsguild.com