May 30
“I think only people in the theater know what a producer is. The public does not know. It knows a writer writes, and an actor acts, and a director tells them what to do. A producer raises money. Well, he does, and in some cases thats all he does. But the workers in the theater know that this is not the real thing. A producer is a rare, paradoxical genius -hard-headed, soft-hearted, cautious, reckless, a hopeful innocent in fair weather, a stern pilot in stormy weather, a mathematician who prefers to ignore the laws of mathematics and trust intuition, an idealist, a realist, a practical dreamer, a sophisticated gambler, a stage-struck child. That’s a producer.”
– Oscar Hammerstein II
May 29
82% of the American Federation of Musicians local 802 members voted today to approve a new contract with Broadway Producers. The three year agreement is the conclusion of negotiations between the Union, the League of American Theatres and Producers, Disney Theatricals, and Musical Rights, Inc.
The new agreement preserves the musician’s health plan, which has recently been the subject of complaints of inadequacy, and poor administration, claims procedures, etc. In exchange, musicians won’t be seeing a pay raise for a couple of years.
The last time such a contract was negotiated, musicians wnet on strike, shutting down Broadway briefly during the 2004 season.
May 13
Did you know that in ten states it’s against the law to impersonate a music band?
New Jersey recently became the tenth state to pass a “Truth in Music” bill. Led by a lobbying effort from vintage singing groups like the Drifters and Sha Na Na, musicians have pushed for legislation making it illegal to use the name of a famous band unless it includes at least one original member or unless management holds a trademark. 
In an interview with the L. A Times, lead singer of the original Sha Na Na, John Bauman referred to the indignity suffered by the people who originally created the music when impersonators misrepresent themselves as the real thing as “heartbreaking”.
The statutes read roughly as follows: “It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise or conduct a live musical performance or production through the use of a false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association between a performing group and a recording group.” Impersonators are subject to stiff fines.
May 04
On Monday, June 4th, 2007, Gordon Firemark will present
“All the World’s a Stage” – Basics of Theatre Law for Hollywood lawyers.
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May 04
On Monday, June 4th, 2007, Gordon Firemark will present
“All the World’s a Stage” – Basics of Theatre Law for Hollywood lawyers.
The Theater is among the first-developed of America’s entertainment industry businesses, and a significant body of law exists surrounding this business, yet the legal, regulatory and collectively bargained frameworks within which theater producers, playwrights, and other artists operate are often overlooked in entertainment law coursework and among Hollywood lawyers. Theater law encompasses a number of disciplines within the law, and in many cases, involves issues peculiar to the live performance of scripted material, but incorporating the work-product of dozens or hundreds of other artists and craftspersons. This program will familiarize the entertainment law practitioner with the issues, customs and practices influencing the modern American theater industry.
For more information, contact the Beverly Hills Bar Association
