TDF Study on Issues Playwrights Face Sparks Debate

A recent study published in book form by the Theater Development Fund (TDF) has sparked a lively discussion amongst the theatre community. The book, 'Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play' is a culmination of a seven-year research which documents in minute detail the struggles that playwrights face.

Mentioned in the study are the low paying salaries the playwrights earn and the financial challenges faced by theatre companies, which some playwrights feel propels them to favor plays with fewer characters so as to save on actors' salaries. Another issue brought up by the study is the need for higher revenue which is often tied to producing plays that are appealing to audiences, and are not necessarily considered based on the merit of the work itself.

In an article published in the Guardian, playwright Theresa Rebeck weighs in on the debate, remarking that playwrights have a point, "In America, the average playwright makes less than a receptionist in a non-profit theatre. We don't have decent health insurance, or any health insurance at all. (Lots of Americans are whining about this right now, with some reason.) More horrifically to the point, many playwrights work in the trenches for many years writing plays for no money and no health benefits, and then, their plays are never done."

Rebeck ponders whether American theatre is allowing itself to become irrelevant, "The problem isn't that playwrights aren't being paid enough. It's that theatres all over America are looking towards New York to tell them what new plays to do. Meanwhile, New York is in thrall to revivals and movie stars."

To read the rest of the article in the Guardian, please click here.