Samuel French to Welcome Speakers from Dramatist's Guild, SDCS and More for #RightsWeek, 7/14-17

Samuel French, the 184-year-old publishing and licensing company, has announced a collaboration with HowlRound, an online community for theatre artists, this summer on a four-day event (July 14-17) that will focus on intellectual property and the rights of artists in the theatre.

Industry professionals from organizations such as the Dramatist's Guild, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, New Play Exchange and more will serve on the four panels. Topics will cover creating new work in the remix era, pros and cons of licensing new work, distributing unpublished work in new media, and how to maintain the fight against piracy in the digital age.

"Copyright and intellectual property rights in the theatre can be very confusing, but are very important as they hold the key to how money makes its way to the artist, and how that artist's original work is protected," says Samuel French Executive Director Bruce Lazarus. "We've found time and time again that education is the best way to combat piracy and also to make sure the vision of writers and composers is preserved and that they are fairly compensated."

Essays will be published on HowlRound (www.howlround.com) each day of the event, and panels will be live-tweeted and live-streamed (www.livestream.com/newplay). Follow @MrSamuelFrench, @HowlRound, #newplay and #RightsWeek on Twitter for continuing updates.

Panelists and schedule for #RightsWeek are as follows:

Owning Your Work

Monday, July 14 at 6:30pm

New Dramatists (424 West 44th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues)

Moderator: Howard Sherman (Arts Advocate and Writer)

Panelists: Beth Blickers (Abrams Artists Agency), Burke Brown and Lee Savage (Wingspace Theatrical Design), Ralph Sevush (Dramatists Guild)

Sharing Your Work

Tuesday, July 15 at 6:30pm

Lark Play Development Center (311 West 43rd Street, 5th Floor, Barebones Studio)

Moderator: Morgan Jenness (Dramaturg)

Panelists: Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen (The Debate Society), J. Michael DeAngelis and John P. Dowgin (The Porch Room), Ronee Penoi (dog & pony dc)

Publishing Your Work

Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30pm

Dramatists Guild (1501 Broadway, Suite 710, Frederick Loewe Room)

Moderator: Amy Rose Marsh (Samuel French)

Panelists: Martin Denton (Indie Theater Now), Sean Patrick Flahaven (Warner/Chappell Music), Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk (New Musical Theatre), Gwydion Suilebhan (New Play Exchange)

Piracy in the Digital Age

Thursday, July 17 at 6:30pm

Samuel French (235 Park Avenue South, Fifth Floor)

Moderator: Isaac Butler (Theatre Writer/Director)

Panelists: Bruce Lazarus and Brad Lohrenz (Samuel French), Laura Penn (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society), Tori Keenan-Zelt (Kanjy), and more.