Licensing for amateur theatres
Tony Gibbs, Chief Executive of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, explains why amateur theatre presents real opportunities for writers
The National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) is the largest membership association for amateur theatre in the UK, with some 2,500 affiliated societies. They reach audiences of between five and seven million people each year with total box office receipts of around £30 million.
Priorities for amateur theatres are essentially the same as those for most professional theatres, ie:
-
to attract more young people to participate and watch
-
to attract larger audiences overall
-
financial stability.
All of NODA's services for members address one or more of these priorities.
New work
Amateur theatres are incredibly varied but all of them are running a small business, whether the turnover is £5,000 or £300,000. They need productions that meet the needs of their own members, for whom it is a hobby, and they must also bring in sufficient returns to enable them to survive.
The types of production they put on cover a broad spectrum, including musical theatre, ‘straight’ theatre, classics and panto – about the only thing you don’t really get is experimental ‘fringe’ theatre. Standards, of course, vary. Some productions are at a professional level, while for others participation is more important than the end result. What might be of particular interest to writers is that of the 3,000 or so productions staged by NODA members last year, about 10% were new work. Putting on new plays or musicals is inevitably higher risk, so it tends to be those societies in good financial health who are most willing to do it, as well as youth theatres seeking to appeal to new audiences and attract new members.
An invitation to writers
Although NODA has been a rights holder for many years, licensing work for use by our members, traditionally we have only handled pantos. Last year, however, following our strategic review, we decided to extend our operations to cover all types of plays and musical theatre. This was a key decision for us: we want our members to have access to a whole new range of work. That’s why we are now inviting writers who are looking for access to amateur theatres to sign up with us.
Criteria
We are interested in seeing both new and previously produced work of all kinds. There’s nothing we’ll rule out, whether it’s for a large cast or small, a historical setting or contemporary – although male actors can be thin on the ground in amateur theatres, so pieces with a large number of male roles might struggle.
We will look at finished scripts, which will be assessed by our very experienced readers. Before deciding whether or not to take on a piece we’ll also look at any related materials, including, if there have been past productions, any reviews – although bad reviews won’t necessarily rule a piece out.
Although all kinds of work will be considered, musicals are the biggest market and there’s a particular need for contemporary pieces that will appeal to young people – both to participate in and watch.
The licensing charge to the associations is normally between 12.5% and 15% of the box office returns, of which 70% goes to the writer and 30% to NODA.
Any writer interested in submitting work or finding out more should contact Dale Freeman, our Membership Services Manager on dale@noda.org.uk
back to top