A community theater performed the short play I wrote for one workshop six more times, changed the title, removed my name, and now claims it owns the script
Location: Colorado, USA
Last winter I attended a weekend writing workshop run by a community theater. I wrote a twenty-minute play during the workshop using my own characters and brought in several pages I had drafted beforehand.
The organizer asked to include it in the final staged reading. I agreed by email to “one public reading on Sunday.” I was not paid, did not sign a contract, and never discussed transferring ownership.
Last week I discovered the theater had renamed the play and performed it six additional times as part of its summer program. My name was removed from the printed program. When I contacted them, the director said anything created in their workshop belongs to the theater because they provided the space, prompts and actors.
The registraton form only says participants allow photographs of workshop activities. It says nothing about scripts or copyright. I still have my earlier drafts, the email approving one reading, and a copy of the new program.
Does my permission for one reading function as a limited license? What should I preserve or send before demanding that they stop performing the play and restore my credit?