Approved Publishers
Choosing a piece for your Thespy? To participate, you’ll need to select material the publishers have approved for use in the Thespy program. Please check this page often — due to the nature of rights and licensing, this list could change at any time. And be sure to read the list carefully: Not all materials from these publishers are approved. Each publisher has their own process by which they must approve the performance rights for the titles they represent. Details about pre-approved materials are noted after each listing. If no such details are present, the publisher has granted blanket approval of their catalog for Thespys use, so if it appears on their website, it would be considered approved.
When submitting a Thespy entry at a qualifying event or at ITF, it’s important to identify the correct publisher. This will prevent possible licensing problems if you’re invited to perform in a Thespy Award Showcase.
We are now accepting applications for the 2023-24 Approved Publishers list. Current publishers will be contacted for updates, and potential Publishers can submit an application here. All applications must be submitted by April 1, 2023. Publishers will be notified via email of their acceptance and will be published in the 2023-24 Official Thespys Program Guide.
Broadway Licensing (formerly Playscripts, Dramatists Play Service)
Most work is acceptable, however, the following pieces are not eligible for Thespy performances:
- The Play That Goes Wrong
- The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong
- An American Daughter
- Hangmen
- Nollywood Dreams
- Notes from the Field
- The Santaland Diaries
- Season’s Greetings
- The Sisters Rosenweig
Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.
Concord Theatricals (formerly R&H Theatricals; Samuel French, Inc.; Tams-Witmark; The Musical Company)
Permission is granted for most works published by Concord, except works that appear on Concord’s "red light list." Permission is not granted for pieces that appear on this list.
Thespians may only use a selection from Dramatic Publishing for live, in-person adjudication and performance at a chapter or international event. Please contact Dramatic Publishing directly to determine if your selection is available to be recorded and streamed for competition.
Royalties are waived for monologues and scenes/excerpts lasting less than 10 minutes for Thespian and other adjudicated school festivals. Permission is automatically granted so long as each participant has purchased a digital or printed copy of the script through YouthPLAYS.
Public Domain
Any public domain play written prior to 1926. Public domain means that the public owns the work (not the author) because the term of the copyright has expired or the work was never covered by copyright in the first place (i.e., works by William Shakespeare or Sophocles).
D.M. Larson Plays
Monologues from the D.M. Larson plays below are available for the Thespys. All other D.M. Larson monologues are not elligible and will result in a disqualification.
- Beauty IS a Beast (ISBN-13: 978-1511495967)
- Big Nose (ISBN-13: 978-1542471077)
- Death of an Insurance Salesman (ISBN-13: 978-1518665547)
- Ebony Scrooge (ISBN-13: 978-1537655239)
- Flowers in the Desert (ISBN-13: 978-1530169085)
- Holka Polka! (ISBN-13: 978-1502445490)
- Operation Redneck (ISBN-13: 978-1540824349)
- Somebody Famous (ISBN-13: 978-1539753483)
- Superhero Support Group (ISBN-13: 978-1540471772)
- My William Shatner Man Crush (ISBN-13: 978-1505910155)
- To Be a Star (ISBN-13: 978-154130020)