YOU

I like your work! In fact I used it in an acting class of mine. And we're going to do a production of it at our college!

I'm so glad you like my plays and I love creating new connections and developing relationships with people from all over the world! But here's how things should work: Because all the content in the website is mine, permission must be obtained to use it. Often it's just a matter of contacting me by clicking here or elsewhere on the page that says "contact me." Even if you're just using it in a classroom, it's important to let me know you're using it so I know who out there is seeing my work, AND it's important to let those people in your classroom know whose work you're performing, because that helps me get my name out there. As for full production performance rights, those often require that you pay royalty fees per performance, because you're selling tickets and you're using my work to make that happen.

YOU

But there's all kinds of free content out there, so why should I pay for yours?

That content is free for a reason: It's worthless, or it's manipulating you to buy stuff, or it's ad-driven, meaning it pushes you to sites where you are exposed to ads. That means that someone's paying for that content, and ultimately it's you.

YOU

But you enjoy writing, right? I mean, it's fun and stuff, like my gaming hobby, and I don't get paid for that.

Yeah. Not always fun, and definitely not a hobby. I have school loans to prove it. But I do enjoy it; I couldn't live my life without it.

If you really do wonder why someone should get paid to do something they love, you might want to question what kind of fucked-up world we live in where it's OK to think that way. And if you come up with an answer, you'll also discover the reasons for bullying, domestic violence, suicide, and war.

YOU

Dude, you're bumming me out.

Oh, well. Would you work for free?

YOU

No, but you, like, get paid every time someone does your plays. You must be rich!

Like most artists, I have another job that pays the bills. Only 1% of artists actually can live on their art career alone, but that doesn't mean they're rich. Probably only 1% of those artists make a living wage (but now I'm guessing).

YOU

Well that makes sense. I mean, it's not like you're an engineer where your work is supporting the economy and stuff.

Well, you ARE paying, what, $100 or more for internet and cable, not to mention the Hollywood movies you go to? So those aren't supporting the economy and providing jobs? But set that aside for a moment and imagine a world without games, music, movies, and all the fun pics on Tumblr. Then tell me that art has no intrinsic value.

YOU

OK, fine. But everyone has MS Word now. Everyone has a camera in their phone. We all can write now. We all can take pictures. Words to paper, easy peasy, am I right?

(Sigh.) Yup, that's what a lot of people think. But just because you have legs doesn't mean you can run a marathon, let alone run it in record time. Skill is skill no matter what you're talking about. And no, not easy peasy. I'll spend months researching, brainstorming, taking notes, and outlining before I even begin writing a play. Then there are the readings and the rewrites and the time, energy, and expense of submitting the work and trying to get theatres to produce it. If you divide my income as a playwright by the number of hours I've put in writing, my hourly wage would be close to $0.

YOU

Dude, you're pathetic. I can do better than that! I mean, I see so much crap out there!

Read—or better yet see—my plays. I love words and I love how they fit together to create a human experience that audiences respond to. If you can do better, please do. There can never be too many artists in the world. In the meantime, do the right thing and remember that there's a human behind every work of art, who is struggling to get by, just like you.