Dramaturgy Papers
Dramaturgy Papers
Dramaturgy Papers
dramaturgs' contract package
"an excellent collection of useful documents that provide dramaturgs with all the resources they need to negotiate fair remuneration, terms, and conditions within the UK theatre industry
[...]
an essential and invaluable resource"
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs
of the Americas
read the full endorsement
"As a literary agent who sometimes puts on the hat of a dramaturg, it was revelatory to read through the Dramaturgs’ Network’s Dramaturgs’ Contract Package. I applaud their approach [...] Their Task Lists section of the contract is ground-breaking and I very much hope all freelance artists will embrace the idea and bring an end to 'job creep'. Our community is strengthened by their advocacy."
Beth Blickers
APA Agency, New York
Freelance dramaturgs contribute enormously to the theatre ecology, lending their skills & expertise from new drama development, through staging classics, to devising & dance.
Whilst the impact of dramaturgs’ work on the sector can be enormous, there is very little industry support available for freelance dramaturgs to help negotiate their contracts. For managers, it's not easy to create a contract that encompasses the full complexity of a dramaturg’s work.
The d’n Dramaturgs’ Contract Package has been developed to help dramaturgs & managers, and comprises recommendations for engaging freelance dramaturgs.
The package is a set of recommended practice documents flexible enough to be tailored to the needs of each organisation or company. It allows managers to have a clear idea of the dramaturg’s tasks and responsibilities before an engagement is made, ensuring that dramaturgs are offered a fair deal.
overview
We've created a recommended contract for dramaturgs, covering all facets of engaging dramaturgs, from expenses to intellectual property.
We also provide a detailed manual for using all the documents contained in the package, and explanatory guidelines on each contract clause to aid dramaturgs and managers to tailor the contract to the needs of their project.
As any dramaturg knows, defining what you do is half the difficulty – the work can not only vary wildly from project to project, but also the requirements can change during a process.
To help bring clarity to contractual obligations, we've compiled appendices of extensive task schedules for new drama development, production dramaturgy and other collaborative processes (including devised work, dance dramaturgy and R&D processes).
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As Freelancers Make Theatre Work have highlighted, working freelance can leave many people open to exploitation – and, because a dramaturg's expertise is often difficult to define, many end up accepting low pay.
We offer detailed suggestions for how a fair fee might be calculated, including holiday pay and pension contributions.
This package isn't just useful for dramaturgs themselves, but also for producers and other professionals looking to hire one.
It also includes a template for hiring a dramaturg – a working document to help artists and organisations in finding a dramaturg for their projects – and guidelines to assist managers and producers in drafting a fair and equitable contract when engaging freelance dramaturgs.
contents
The d'n Dramaturg's Contract Package contains:
9
documents
81
pages
188
tasks
basic / standard / specialised
which is broken down into:
1
introduction
an overview of the whole package
4
guidelines for producers
a document to assist managers and producers to draft a fair and equitable contract when engaging freelance dramaturgs
7a
appendix
task schedule for
new drama development
2
manual
explaining how to use the Contract with the Appendices, and how to calculate the dramaturg’s fees according to the level of the job
5
guidelines for dramaturgs
a comprehensive document explaining every clause of the contract and what to consider
7b
appendix
task schedule for
production dramaturgy
3
hiring a dramaturg
a working template document to help artists and organisations in finding a dramaturg for their projects
6
recommended contract
sufficiently flexible to be tailored to every situation
7c
appendix
task schedule for
collaborative processes (inc. devising, dance, R&D)
accessing the contract package
You can access the package in different ways, depending on who you are:
members of the d'n
free access to the contract package is one of the perks of being a d'n member!
if you've already paid your membership fee via this website, you're ready to go! Just follow the link below.
If you joined before June 2021, you'll need to register for an account on this website, and then – once we've verified you – we'll grant access to a members-only page containing the full package.
members of an affiliate organisation
if your organisation has paid for access on your behalf, your personal use is free.
your organisation will provide you with a URL and password through which you can access the guidelines – we just ask that you personally agree to our terms & conditions of use first.
educational institutions & service organisations
if you work in an educational setting, or are here on behalf of a membership body, you can purchase the package for use by your organisation and its students/members.
you'll then be provided with a unique URL and password for your colleagues, students and/or members to access the package individually.