FROM
THE
DESK OF DRAMATISTS LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
By: Amy VonVett
The DLDF Steps Out onto
the National Stage
I
n October of 2014, I was invited to
join the Dramatists Legal De-
fense Fund as their Administra-
tor to complement my role as the
Executive Assistant to Business
Affairs. This past July, I had the absolute
pleasure of representing the Drama-
tists Legal Defense Fund (DLDF) as a
sponsor at the Dramatists Guild Third
National Conference “Writing the
Changing World” in La Jolla, CA. We
were fortunate enough that, in addition
to Ralph Sevush and David Faux, Presi-
dent John Weidman and Board Member
Lydia Diamond were able to join the
conference in California. This was a
perfect opportunity to present the
DLDF on a national scale, as a national
organization.
The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund
was created in 2009 to advocate and
educate the public on behalf of authors
on subjects of copyright, censorship
and First Amendment rights. Taking a
page from the Dramatists Guild, the
DLDF has chosen deliberate steps to
become a truly national organization.
The DLDF recruited artist and attorney
board members from across the country
and has taken on causes far from the
borders of New York City. If you’ve
been following the progress of the
DLDF you know that in the last year we
stood with several communities dealing
with censored high school productions
of plays including a production of John
Cariani’s Almost, Maine which was shut
down by the school principal in Maiden,
North Carolina. The students created a
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wildly successful Kickstarter campaign
and remounted the production at a local
theater. The DLDF supported play-
wright David Adjmi’s successful claim
of fair use for his play 3C, and in 2013 we
created the DLDF Defender Award pre-
sented in recognition of an individual’s
efforts in support of free expression in
the dramatic arts.
The DLDF sponsored cocktail hour
was a particular conference highlight.
Conference attendees were invited to
join John Weidman and Lydia Diamond
for a drink and conversation after a
long day of panels and workshops. The
hour-long event was attended by over
100 people. Aligning the cocktail hour
with the ending of the very popular Lisa
Lampanelli event was the best happy ac-
cident the DLDF could have hoped for.
The message of the evening was clear.
The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund
was created to protect free expression
and advocate on behalf of dramatists.
The invitation to the Dramatists Guild’s
National Conference was an excellent
way to not only showcase some of these
accomplishments, but also connect
with the members of the Guild.
Howard Sherman, Director of the
new Arts Integrity Initiative at the New
School for Drama, and the 2014 recipi-
ent of the DLDF Defender Award, was
invited by the DLDF to speak on a panel
on the subject of censorship. Joining
Sherman on the panel was Executive
Director Ralph Sevush and DLDF Board
Member Lydia Diamond. Education is
a key component of the DLDF mission.
The session was a paramount example
of the kind of work the DLDF hopes to
generate. You can expect to see more
educational events from our organiza-
tion in the future.
The DLDF has received so much sup-
port from the Dramatists Guild and its
members. Stephen Sondheim (Swee-
ney Todd), Terrence McNally (Corpus
Christi), David Adjmi (3C), and John
Cariani (Almost, Maine) all graciously
donated their autographs on copies of
their controversial or censored works
to create a wonderful prize pack that
was raffled to a lucky winner at the final
breakfast at the conference.
Additionally, many Guild members
from across the country took the time
to stop by our table to learn more about
our organization and volunteer their
services and support. The sponsorship
afforded the DLDF the opportunity to
stay connected with Dramatists Guild
members long after the conference. We
were able to cultivate a mailing list to
keep Dramatists Guild members up to
date on the progress of the DLDF,
causes we may take part in, and future
events we host. I was proud the Drama-
tists Legal Defense took the opportu-
nity to showcase itself with the
Dramatists Guild. I look forward to the
ways in which the DLDF will solidify its
place on the national stage.
AMY
avonvett@dramatistsguild.com
Follow the DLDF on Twitter: @TheDLDF
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