Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Your mission statement says that Icarusplays.com is an exclusive club for drama teachers. What do you mean by that?
A: We define drama teacher as a person who either teaches drama and/or puts on plays in a K-12 traditional school. We base our philosophy on the success of BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD. We want to stick close to the society of young people in school where the greatest interactions occur. Students come and go year to year, but the drama teacher stays. We want to maintain that continuity with the school. See our Mission Statement.
Q: Can no one else be part of icarusplays?
A: Yes, you can also license our plays as a commercial producer, in which case the rates are different, and you must contact Jonathan Lomma at William Morris Endeavor, JLomma@wmeentertainment.com.
Q: I am a drama teacher in a school. How do I order?
A: First fill out the DRAMA TEACHER SIGN UP FORM. When you receive an email back accepting your request, you may go to the ORDER page. This page will require you to add your contact information/performance dates, etc. From the ORDER page you will be directed to the PAYMENT page. Once payment has been transacted you will receive a link enabling you to download the play.
Q: Do I need to buy books?
A: No. You can make copies for the exact number needed for your production only. These copies may not be shared with outside groups under any circumstance and is prohibited by law. We do not charge for books and strive to keep our prices low; in return we ask that holders of our scripts be responsible. All scripts are embedded with a code specific to each production so that we can tell the origin of every script.
Q: I’m a student and would like to use a play for classroom performance. How can I use one of your plays for classroom purposes?
A: If you are a student, enrolled in a K-12 school, and wish to use a portion of our plays for classroom purposes, you may petition your drama teacher to help you gain access to a play. But in each and every case the play is for classroom purposes only. Having a script does not give you rights to produce the play.
Q: Is my data confidential?
A: Absolutely.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Our Refund Policy is this: ICARUSPLAYS may only refund the Amateur Royalty or any portion thereof in the case of cancelled performances. The Amateur Royalty cannot be refunded after the date of the last performance specified in the Grant of Performance Rights section of our contract.
Q: Can I change anything in a play?
A: No. Under no circumstance.
Q: May I enter a play in an international festival like Edinburgh?
A: No. Our plays are intended for K-12 school productions or commercial productions only. We disallow our plays in all international festivals.
Q: May I enter one of your plays in a regional competition?
A: As competitions are part of the network of school interaction, we will make allowance for some regional competitions on a case by case basis. You must forward all information about the competition to Mike Fisher (MF@icarusplays.com) and wait for written permission before you may go ahead. Be mindful that all other rules still apply: no changing script, no videotaping, royalty fees still apply, etc.
Q: Can I trim a play to fit into a competition format?
A: No. Under no circumstance. We have allowed that in the past, but in our experience, trimming always happens to the detriment of the play, and we don’t have time to consider each request.
Q: May I video a scene from the plays and put it on YouTube etc.
A: No. Under no circumstance. If you do you will subject yourself to legal action.
Q: Can I videotape for archival purposes?
A: No.
Q: Do your plays exist as printed books?
A: About once a year, our plays will be published either in one volume or individually. Look in Community under Bulletin Board for the announcements. Also, there will be a link to the publisher on our website.
Q: May I tour my production to other schools?
A: No. We disallow all touring. We believe that the interaction of actors in the rehearsal process, the audience seeing friends and classmates on stage, and the cross-talk between actors and friends/classmates, are vital components that lead to the effectiveness of the Play. No exceptions will be made.
Q: I found the old version of BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD on the net. May I do a production of that version?
A: No. Only plays received through icarusplays.com are considered legitimate. Any production of our plays without our specific authorization is considered a pirate production and therefore subject to legal action. If you legally obtain permission from icarusplays.com, you are required to do the play we send you. No old version of any text is allowed. No exceptions will be made.
Q: May I translate a play into my language?
A: Our TRANSLATION POLICY is this: If you wish to translate one of our plays (other than Spanish), contact icarusplays.com. The request will be considered by William Mastrosimone and you will receive a reply.
Q: Your Spanish translations use a different variant of Spanish than the one I speak. May I localize one of your plays into the kind of Spanish I speak?
A: No. The plays are carefully translated in Spanish so that they can be understood by Spanish speakers around the world, while maintaining the same “feeling: as the original English versions.
Q: Do you publish plays of other playwrights?
A: We will later in the near future. We have several new plays by exciting authors. Check our COMMUNITY Bulletin Board from time to time.
Q: Will you consider publishing my play?
A: Our PLAY PUBLISHING POLICY is this: We will consider publishing your play if we believe it has something to contribute to the ongoing discussion of young society today. (See our Mission Statement). Do not send your play. Instead, send a copyrighted synopsis, no more than a page, to William Mastrosimone, WM@icarusplays.com. Uncopyrighted material will be deleted without consideration. Please follow this link to copyright your material: http://www.copyright.gov/.