My play, Weird Sisters, a contemporary re-telling of Macbeth will be published by Playscripts, Inc. in the fall. It is my third script with Playscripts, and I couldn’t be happier with them.
Since Playscripts’ script reading turn around time has been discussed on this forum before, I thought I would note that I submitted my script to them in March, and was given a response in less than three months.
Yes, once you're "in" with Playscripts, their response time is completely reasonable. I have 11 new shows coming out in the fall from Playscripts, plus two with Brooklyn Publishers (almost all geared to high/middle school).
11? Wow, that is (love how we can do formatting easily on this new board) miraculous. Congrats! I have my second script coming out with Playscripts, another with Brooklyn, and I just had one come out with Original Works--with another one coming out with them when I can get my act together and get the rewrites done.
And Playscripts is great--I'm going to be in Lincoln, Nebraska to teach a "practical playwriting" workshop at the International Thespian Festival, and they're going to be doing this author play signing while I'm there. Fun fun.
Some high school kids (with a few grownups) here have done a production of Weird Sisters - it was great fun! Great use of language and comic timing! Congrats on your getting published.
I hope to get to Nebraska someday. Jon Rand from Playscripts was scheduled to be at a workshop where I was presenting in Kansas, but he had to bow out. I was fortunate to spend my first play to Playscripts back when they were a fledgling company, four years ago, so that acceptance got my foot in the door with them early and have avoided long waits with subsequent plays I've sent. Their fall catalogue will carry 39 of my shows. I feel very blessed by my association with Doug and Jon at Playscripts.
I've never heard of Original Works. Have you had good success with them? Oh, and I just heard from Playscripts again today--they took the last one I submitted to them, so I'm a happy dude today. It'll be interesting to see how things go in the fall when the new catalogue comes out.
Congrats! I, too, have nothing but fabulous things to say about Playscripts. And I look forward to ordering a copy of your latest. Do you have any idea when it will be published?
I hope it will be published in time to make it into thier fall print catalog, but I'm not sure. They still have to format my script, and send me a proof for approval, a process that they say can take "several months". I'm hoping it won't take that long.
I'm confident that Playscripts will have my new work available by the fall and listed in their new print catalogue. They've always been good about that.
I'm gald to hear you say that Alan. My first two scripts with Playscripts were accepted much earlier in the year (Feb. 03 for the first one and March of 04 for the 2nd one) , so I was worried that this one, being accepted in May, might be coming through the pipe a little late.
I'm sure they'll get it out in time for the catalogue. Last year about this time, maybe even a bit later, they accepted one of my short plays. It was printed and in the catalogue very quickly. They're just on the ball, those Rand brothers. On the flip side, I've been waiting over a year for my script with Baker's to make their catalogue...after a communications breakdown that lead to it being left out of the 2006 printing entirely. I'm being very patient, since I'm confident it will do very well once it's finally made known to their customers. But it's tough when I think what kind of business it could already be doing. Oh well.
Funny--happened to come upon this old thread, and it was interesting listening to people talk about turnaround times on proofs. Playscripts, which has been great on my two previous plays with them, has had the publication copy of Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions, my new one-act about bullying, since mid-November, and I still haven't seen the proof and am starting to get a little nervous about it making it into the fall catalogue and most definitely, at this point, being ready in time for the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, which would help it get a jump on productions for next year.
This is a play that had its world premiere in Oregon in November, directed by Michael Fisher, who also directed the world premiere of Bang Bang, You're Dead, and with only my website and YouthPlays.com for publicity, will already have had 8 productions (in 3 different countries) by June. Because the subject matter is so timely--and people are responding so well to the play--I think it has the potential to be my most performed play yet, and by a wide margain.
So as Bradley said, I'm confident that it will do well once it's in full release, and I'm trying to be patient, but it's very rough right now when I think of what it could already be doing.
Congrats to all who have published with Playscripts. As one who has not, I can't get a handle on what they're looking for. Where are they with respect to Bakers, Dramatic Publishing and Eldridge?