Calling All Theatre Teachers: Why can't I make cuts or edits to a play?

Welcome to our video series, Calling All Theatre Teachers! In this series we’re going to answer questions that drama teachers have about stepping into a theatre program.

QUESTION: Why can’t I make cuts or edits to a play to fit my students? (e;g. Change the setting, language,character genders)

Watch the video of our discussion of this question — Laramie talks about this question from the playwright’s perspective and Lindsay talks about it from the publisher’s perspective.

Click the link below for a worksheet to allow you to successfully communicate with your publisher when asking for cuts or edits.

What has YOUR experience been when talking to publishers about cuts/edits?

This series is hosted by Lindsay Price and Laramie Dean. Lindsay has been in theatre education for 30 years, writing plays and classroom resources specifically for middle and high school through Theatrefolk (Check out Lindsay and Laramie’s latest The Ultimate Classroom Playwriting Resource and co-creating the Drama Teacher Academy.

Laramie has been teaching theatre since 2003 and writing since he could first wrap his fingers around a pencil. (Check out Laramie’s Theatrefolk plays! Currently he’s the theatre director at Hellgate High School in Missoula, Montana, where he’s worked for the last 12 years.