The Stage Producer's Business and Legal Guide (Second Edition)

Expert, Practical Advice for Everyone in Show Business

Now updated and expanded, this second edition of The Stage Producer’s Business and Legal Guide is the ultimate survival kit for anyone presenting live entertainment. The information contained in this handbook is essential for those working in Broadway, regional, stock, or university theater; concert halls; opera houses; and more. Attorney, producer, and playwright Charles Grippo provides comprehensive advice on every aspect of the theater business and the law, including:

• Crowdfunding Your Production
• New Opportunities to Raise Money
• Self-Production
• Licensing and Producing Plays
• Devised Theater and Collaborations
• Creating Jukebox Musicals
• Organizing a Theater Company
• Theatrical Insurance
• Maintaining a Harassment-Free Environment
• Negotiating Contracts
• Essential Rules Every Board Member Must Know
• Managing a Not-for-Profit Theater Company
• Navigating Taxes
• Using Third-Party Intellectual Property
• And much, much more!

The entire range of individuals involved in entertainment—producers, performers, writers, directors, managers, and theater owners—will find invaluable practical and legal advice in this handy guide.

Charles Grippo is an entertainment lawyer, commercially produced playwright, producer, and author. He is president of New Lincoln Theatre, Inc., and Grippo Stage Company, Inc. As a playwright, his works include Sex Marks the Spot, Wait for the Wind, Outrageous Misfortune, Santa’s Children, When Angels Wept, and A Wife’s Tale. Among his recent productions are The Ben Hecht Show (world premiere); The God of Isaac; and, in co-production with Dennis Zacek, Confessions of a P.I.M.P., written and performed by four-time Tony Award® nominee André De Shields. He has also written Business and Legal Forms for Theatre, Second Edition (Allworth Press). He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Authors Guild. Visit his website at www.charlesgrippo.org.

“You will find The Stage Producer’s Business and Legal Guide, Second Edition, to be an ideal reference book regardless of the level of production you intend to produce. This book will truly allow you to stay ahead of problems.” —Dennis Zacek, artistic director emeritus, Tony Award®–winning Victory Gardens Theater

“The Stage Producer’s Business and Legal Guide, Second Edition, is an essential tool for anyone presenting live theater. Author Charles Grippo, an entertainment lawyer, playwright, and producer, has created a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand handbook of the legal, financial, and tax responsibilities of commercial and non-profit producers. Newly expanded and updated, this book is filled with practical tips for negotiating contracts, raising money, complying with government regulations, organizing and managing theater companies, and much, much more. The organized, easy-to-read, quick-reference format makes it a ‘must’ for start-ups or experienced producers.” —Gary Cohen, Tony Award®–nominated producer, Come From Away (2017); co-producer, Be More Chill (Broadway, 2019); co-producer, Tootsie (Chicago and Broadway, 2018–19); co-producer, Diana (La Jolla, 2019)

“The first edition of The Stage Producer’s Business and Legal Guide was immensely helpful to me at the beginning of my career, and this updated edition will be essential to you, no matter where you are in yours. From crowdfunding to harassment issues to the complexities of ownership of devised work, it’s the only book on producing I’ve come across that is truly for today’s rapidly changing world. The thorough yet bite-sized info will have you quickly finding what you need, without any filler. It’ll earn its place on any producer’s or playwright’s desk.” —Jason Epperson, Lotus Theatricals