Rights & Permissions

Publishers wishing to obtain reprint rights to any Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play or other product are encouraged to contact us at ReadAloudPlays@gmail.com, (541) 778-4927, or 209 Mariposa Terrace, Medford, OR 97504

Performance Rights Policy as of Jan. 1, 2025

Performing a Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play in front of an audience is encouraged. Consequently, in most cases, performance rights are either included in the original purchase price of the script or available for a small fee. Under certain circumstances, rights may be donated.

~The Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play must have been purchased from an authorized vendor such as TeachersPayTeachers, Scholastic, or Etsy.
~The script being used must include the words “Fully Reproducible” on the cover or on the teacher notes page, or have explicit permission listed on the page on which the ISBN is located.
~the script was not acquired via EZSubPlans, which are exclusively for in-classroom use by a substitute teacher.

Level 1 Performance Rights:

If the original purchaser is a public or non-profit private school or an employee thereof, the school is authorized to perform the play before a school audience during the regular school day, such as at an assembly of the student body. No notification is required. Such performance rights are included in the original purchase price of the given play (provided the “reproducible” license is designated as described above). 

Level 2 Performance Rights:

All entities, including both private and public schools, theater companies, and private parties performing a Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play or portion thereof for an audience outside the school day, such as an evening event, or under any circumstance in which admission is charged, the fee to perform is $75 per performance, night, or event. For example, performing the same play for three consecutive nights would require a performance fee of $225. However, in some cases the performance rights may be donated to non-profit organizations, such as community theaters and tuition-free schools. Requests must include the organization’s non-profit tax ID#, the date or dates of the performance(s), the name of the specific play, the source from which the play was obtained, and email contact information. Requests must be submitted and acknowledged prior to the performance itself. It is also requested that any such organization provide a copy of any playbill associated with the event by regular mail to the address listed above.

Level 3: Electronic Rights:

Public schools and private non-profit schools need make no further arrangements to post recordings of student performances in either audio or video formats of a given play on their school website or Facebook page provided the given media cannot be downloaded by others. Credit to and indication that performance rights were donated by the author must be included in the post and/or recording. Schools, however, may not post copies of any Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play script online in any form which may be downloaded by others, including students. While internet-based lessons containing a play are acceptable, schools have a legal obligation to protect the copyright of the given play by ensuring the play can be only viewed and not copied or printed.

Level 4: Electronic Rights:

Any other organization wishing to create audio or video reproductions of their performance of a Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play must negotiate the terms and circumstances under which such a reproduction is acceptable. Transmission of any Mackowiecki Lewis Read Aloud Play other than described herein without the express, written consent of Mackowiecki Lewis is not permitted.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ReadAloudPlays@gmail.com. Thank you for using ReadAloudPlays, and thank you for honoring the hard work of the author by respecting the copyright.

6 thoughts on “Rights & Permissions

  1. I am planning to perform Mack Lewis’s adaptation of “The Tell-Tale Heart” as a part of a theatre competition in a reader’s theatre event. I purchased the required amount of scripts and believe the event qualifies as the level 1 performance rights, but wanted to double check. This is a theatre competition that occurs during the regular school day, students are in attendance, and there is no charge for admission. I believe this means that I can perform this without paying a royalty.

    • Yes, when public school teachers purchase one of my plays, they purchase performance rights. See our rights and licenses page for full details.

  2. I am considering “Let it Shine” for my school’s BHM evening event. Would I need to purchase performance rights if we are NOT charging a ticket price? Thank you!

    • Hi Lisa. Thanks for reaching out. If you’re a public school, performance rights are included in the $3.95 purchase price (what a great deal!). If you’re a private school, I almost always donate the rights–especially for one like “Let it Shine.” You just need to let me know and agree to send me a program with an acknowledgement in it. Take care!

  3. Our school, Willamette Valley Christian, is a private school planning on performing, “The Gift of the Magi” & “The Necklace” on the same night, outside of a normal school day, and we are charging a ticket price. To be clear, does this mean we must pay the $50/night royalty fee? Also, do we need to pay this for each or both together? Finally, would we be allowed to record the performances for publishing on the school website?

    Thank you!

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