Contracts and Business Advice

Writing a script or score is only half the work. At the DGI, we want to make sure that you understand your industry.

In addition to offering courses like Artist as CEO that address the business aspects of a dramatist's career, we also can help connect you to the Dramatists Guild's Business Affairs department, where the BA staff can assist and advise you in that regard.

The Guild's Department of Business Affairs is committed to educating writers about business and legal standards in the theater industry. The staff lawyers in Business Affairs can review unsigned contracts and advise on a wide range of matters including options, commissions, royalties, copyright, collaboration, trademark, rights of privacy, rights of publicity, defamation, so-called “life-story rights,” and agents. It can also provide guidance, and follow up on complaints regarding theatres, producers, publishers, agents, attorneys, festivals, and contests.

Business Affairs also provides constructive comments to government and business leaders on balancing institutional tradition in the face of necessary innovation. Toward this end, the lawyers at the Guild track U.S. and worldwide theater business trends, advise members on immediate business concerns, and draft statements reflecting the Council’s position on issues of national import.

The Dramatists Guild can also provide guidance, and follow up on complaints regarding theatres, producers, publishers, agents, attorneys, festivals, and contests. Are you a Dramatists Guild member? Ask a question through the BA Help Desk.