With a name like Broadway Licensing, you might be forgiven for believing that the company pretty much does what it says on the tin, focusing on Broadway plays and musicals – and this is indeed a large part of their output. However, the company also works closely with schools and youth groups to create exciting scripts that are accessible to everyone. To do so, they have built a specific line, Playscripts, which creates and licenses plays and musicals for the educational market.
Whether you're looking for your next end of year production or just to workshop a one-act play with your class, Playscripts have a selection of scripts that work for any situation and group size.
Accessibility is at the centre of what Playscripts do: together with playwrights, they produce a selection of plays and musicals that can be produced with minimal sets and costumes, and with a cast size that can be adapted on a needs basis. Director of Marketing, Tralen Doler explains: ‘We're engaging with schools that may not have a ton of money for their programme, so we want to make sure that they have material that the kids will get excited about.’
The team does everything possible to help teachers and students put on a great show, making sure they have access to sheet music as appropriate, or recordings if live music isn't an option. They even have a social media package to help schools market the show just like the pros. There's a lot of flexibility too: ‘You don't have to say the words that are on the page,’ explains Doler, ‘if the schools want to adjust or change we can talk about it.’
‘Our belief is that getting kids involved in the theatre is so valuable, learning about team building, confidence and listening skills. Our goal is to create shows that will be the most appealing to kids who may not normally be in that programme and also to make it as easy as possible for teachers to provide the opportunities for the kids.’
Varied subject matter
It's important for Broadway Licensing to create content that speaks to their demographic. They sell about 20,000 productions in a year, with some of the content being fun and relevant to youth culture trends and others focusing more on the more serious topics that are the centre of current conversations.
‘One of our most popular shows is Ten Ways To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse because kids love zombies,’ says Doler, and they also have content about ‘promposals’, the craze in American high schools where pupils ask each other to the prom in extravagant ways. However, at the more serious end, they also believe it's important to address big issues such as school shootings. ‘We wanted to make sure we had a play that helped that dialogue and that conversation,’ says Doler.
Currently Clue, based on the film of the same name, is making its rounds in America, but this popular choice, as well as a few others, have yet to cross the Atlantic. ‘We had probably 300 high schools around the US doing it this year. It's just blown up, it's the perfect thing. They're fun roles for kids to play so that's the newest and biggest one we'll have [over in the UK].’
The team are set to open an office in Britain which will work just as they currently do in the US but, of course, with a greater focus on the content and conversation points that speak to British culture.
Finding your next production
With 20,000 plays being purchased every year, it's clear that Playscripts is a popular choice with schools, and their best feedback is seeing their clients stay loyal to the brand. ‘We see people coming back every year, they come to Playscripts because they know they can find their play there, and they get really excited about what's going to come out next. That's the biggest question, what's new, what's new this year?’
On the Playscripts website you can browse through scripts and find the one that will speak to your class the most: there are a few well known texts on there, however for the most part there's a lot of original content that all young people should be able to relate to in some way. ‘Hopefully we've made it easy enough for you just to get into the class and do it,’ says Doler, ‘Our big focus is on making it so teachers don't even need to have previous experience.’ Once you've chosen your text, it's really simple to select and pay for the package, and then it's time to get the show on the road.