Various theatre-related questions

[taimatsu]

Come on, thesps, help me out!

First, I need ideas for a) energetic warm-ups, b) getting-into-character warm-ups, and c) voice warm-ups. The first two must be suitable for hearing-impaired performers, so nothing which involves someone talking while players are not looking at them will work (e.g. games where you run around and someone calls a command are not possible).

Second, I need advice on theatre music/performing rights. The play on which I am working needs some music. The PRS website has a whole thing about telling them stuff 30 days before the performance so they can clear rights, but this then seems to refer only to interpolated music (which is when the performers actually produce the music on stage). We just want to use recorded music. Will the venue have a licence which covers this already, or am I dim and we need to talk to the PRS anyway? (My director may know this stuff already, please don't judge her by my incompetence - I just haven't had time to talk this bit through with her.)

A further, related question, which geeks may be able to help me with - if a piece of music is Creative-Commons-licensed, can it be played from a recording for a theatre performance? (Of course the commercial vs. non-commercial thing is relevant, and I would tbh just contact the composer/performer and check what they thought of our enterprise.) Does a reproduction like that come under general CC usage? I know this is stupid but I want to check.

Comments

[lovingboth]

The venue will almost certainly have a licence for recorded music.

The PRS and other copyright collection societies only have authorisation to collect on behalf of works their members have assigned to them. (The vast majority of commercially recorded music is, so they tend to assume that if music is involved, they need paying.) It would be unlikely that someone who's CC licensed their work will have done so, but checking is a good idea - definitely if it's not one of the 'commercial use ok' ones.

[lovingboth]

As an example of that assumption, "A PRS Music Licence is needed for all concerts at which copyright music is performed" - erm, no, only if the composer / rights holder is a member of the PRS.

If I compose some music, it will be copyright, but I can let you play it without paying them (unless I've signed over the collection rights to them).

[evath.livejournal.com]

Penguin Racing!
Zip-Zap Boing!
Forgotten the rest I've used...

[taimatsu]

Yes - the CC license question is related to the possibility that we cannot get permission to use works by Michael Nyman. :)

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Try asking katstevens politely about the second question

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

Ask inskauldrak, it's part of his dayjob to know about this kind of thing :)

(And you're quite right with regards to PRS - it relates to the performance of live music, it comes in at 3% of net sales, and generally the venue will bill the producer/promoter/person sorting out the performance's finances for it, and pay it onwards to the performing rights society. Occasionally the organiser will sort it out directly with the PRS, but most theatres act as middle men IME. That's kind of part of my day job - however, since you're dealing with recorded music, it's utterly useless info ;)

[randomchris.livejournal.com]

It depends on the venue; some venues have PRS licences and will do all the admin for you (they'll need copies of the programme with a list of all the music involved), and some (especially if they don't normally do music) will not have a clue about it, so do check with the venue first.

Got your text, by the way - I will be at home and could be free to chat0 online tonight, can you text and remind me once you're free? Is MSN ok (assuming I can get it to run, it's been weird lately)? Alternatively, try Facebook chat.

(I have two sets of original music for the Tempest if you want to use either of them, incidentally - they wouldn't need PRS permission...)

[atreic.livejournal.com]

Are these any help? They are more general, so might need adapting for hearing impared people.... (http://atreic.livejournal.com/311603.html#cutid1)

[taimatsu]

We've done the latter, but I don't know the former!

[taimatsu]

MSN is fine, I can attempt FB also. I'll be around tonight in the intervals of snuggling my visiting girlfriend :) Tempest music sounds verrrrrry interesting :) I will text you when I've got myself sorted out. Thank you so much!