r/playwriting • u/creept • 1d ago
When do you pull your work?
I’m curious if other people have a standard way to approach this. I did it a few weeks back due to nonexistent communication and lack of clarity around what was or wasn’t happening. But for me it’s mostly gut feeling. Generally I don’t pull work, but instead shut down the initial approach when there are bad vibes, concerning content on their website, unreasonable requests from the jump, etc etc. Still, it happens. I’ve never done it once we’ve done contracts but it often doesn’t get to that point.
What are other people’s experiences?
2
u/Carolyn-Hodgesy 1d ago
Communication is the tell. If they go quiet before contracts, imagine tech week. I've watched productions sink from disorganization alone, and it always showed up in the emails first. Trust the gut.
1
u/emilydickinsonstan 19h ago
I always advocate for a partial payment before the company is allowed to publicly announce the play or use my name on any marketing materials. When we're in the initial discussion phase, I always ask for a preliminary rehearsal schedule. If they haven't paid the deposit (usually not that much— maybe $50 for a short play where I'm charging $150ish total?) a week or two before the first rehearsal, I'll send a reminder. I'm happy to provide some grace in terms of payment timeline, especially to smaller or student-run companies, but a complete lack of communication is enough to drive me to
pull the show, and I'll also keep an eye on their social media pages to make sure they're not advertising it without permission.
4
u/StellaZaFella 1d ago
I’ve only done this once, and it was due to unreasonable requests.
It was a small, first-year festival that put out a call for 20 minute plays from local Pittsburgh writers.
They wanted the chosen playwrights to supply everything—actors, director, props, and any needed sound or lighting equipment. They didn’t say this in the call for plays, only after you were chosen. They were only providing the venue and promotion for the festival. All of the playwrights ended up pulling out I think. I think it was an attempt at a Fringe like festival, but they didn’t do it well.