A few months ago, Rich Amada and I issued an online member survey. Seventy-six of you responded. We were curious about our membership: how many of you have collaborated with other playwrights? Do you write primarily longer plays or shorter plays? How long have you been writing plays?
Well, we learned a lot. Eighty-eight percent of you have been writing for more than seven years. And 53 percent have written 10 or more plays. You tend to write longer plays rather than shorter plays: 88 percent of you write plays that are typically longer than 20 minutes.
We asked if you’ve written the book, lyrics, or music for a musical. The answer surprised me: 47 percent of you have worked on a musical. I don’t know exactly why that surprised me, but Rich and I now hope to host a meeting or panel discussion about writing musicals.
Before I sign off so you can ponder the statistics that follow, please know that we have a Dramatists Guild Facebook group for the D.C./Baltimore region. Join us on Facebook!
Survey Results:
How long have you been a playwright?
Less than 3 years: 1%
3 to 7 years: 11%
More than 7 years: 88%
How many plays have you written?
1 to 3 plays: 14%
4 to 9 plays: 33%
10 or more plays: 53%
Have you ever collaborated on a play with another writer?
Yes: 49%
No: 51%
Do the plays you’ve written typically have a longer performing time than 20 minutes?
Yes: 88%
No: 12%
Have you written the book, lyrics, or music for a musical?
Yes: 49%
No: 51%
Have any of your plays been produced?
Yes: 89%
No: 11%
Have any of your plays been produced by a professional (rather than community or school) theatre company?
Yes: 66%
No: 34%
Have you ever self produced your own play?
Yes: 37%
No: 63%
Have any of your plays been published (other than self publication)?
Yes: 34%
No: 66%
Have you written a screenplay or television script?
Yes: 38%
No: 62%
Have you ever had a screenplay or television script produced?
Yes: 8%
No: 92%
Do you have a graduate degree in playwriting?
Yes: 14%
No: 86%
Are you currently enrolled in a graduate playwriting program?
Yes: 0%
No: 100%
Do you ever direct, act, or participate in the production of plays other than as an author?
Yes: 74%
No: 26%
Do you belong to a writers’ organization other than the Dramatists Guild?
Yes: 47%
No: 53%
Washington D.C.
By Renee Calarco
The results are in, folks.
A few months ago, Rich Amada and I issued an online member survey. Seventy-six of you responded. We were curious about our membership: how many of you have collaborated with other playwrights? Do you write primarily longer plays or shorter plays? How long have you been writing plays?
Well, we learned a lot. Eighty-eight percent of you have been writing for more than seven years. And 53 percent have written 10 or more plays. You tend to write longer plays rather than shorter plays: 88 percent of you write plays that are typically longer than 20 minutes.
We asked if you’ve written the book, lyrics, or music for a musical. The answer surprised me: 47 percent of you have worked on a musical. I don’t know exactly why that surprised me, but Rich and I now hope to host a meeting or panel discussion about writing musicals.
Before I sign off so you can ponder the statistics that follow, please know that we have a Dramatists Guild Facebook group for the D.C./Baltimore region. Join us on Facebook!
Survey Results:
How long have you been a playwright?
Less than 3 years: 1%
3 to 7 years: 11%
More than 7 years: 88%
How many plays have you written?
1 to 3 plays: 14%
4 to 9 plays: 33%
10 or more plays: 53%
Have you ever collaborated on a play with another writer?
Yes: 49%
No: 51%
Do the plays you’ve written typically have a longer performing time than 20 minutes?
Yes: 88%
No: 12%
Have you written the book, lyrics, or music for a musical?
Yes: 49%
No: 51%
Have any of your plays been produced?
Yes: 89%
No: 11%
Have any of your plays been produced by a professional (rather than community or school) theatre company?
Yes: 66%
No: 34%
Have you ever self produced your own play?
Yes: 37%
No: 63%
Have any of your plays been published (other than self publication)?
Yes: 34%
No: 66%
Have you written a screenplay or television script?
Yes: 38%
No: 62%
Have you ever had a screenplay or television script produced?
Yes: 8%
No: 92%
Do you have a graduate degree in playwriting?
Yes: 14%
No: 86%
Are you currently enrolled in a graduate playwriting program?
Yes: 0%
No: 100%
Do you ever direct, act, or participate in the production of plays other than as an author?
Yes: 74%
No: 26%
Do you belong to a writers’ organization other than the Dramatists Guild?
Yes: 47%
No: 53%
rcalarco@dramatistsguild.com