Stage Directions | Taymor Files for Arbitration for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Royalties

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society has filed for arbitration on behalf of Julie Taymor to ensure she receives royalties for her work.

I suppose if I had just been ejected from the most expensive Broadway show ever, and vilified in some circles for over-reaching, I’d want to ensure I was actually being paid, too. The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society has formally filed an arbitration claim against the producers of Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on behalf of Julie Taymor, alleging that they have not paid her royalties for her work on the production.

STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREGRAPHERS’ UNION (SDC) Commences Arbitration Against Spider-Man Producers On Taymor’s Behalf

On June 9, 2011, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) formally filed an arbitration claim against Spider-Man Broadway, LLC, the Producer of “Spider-Man/Turn Off the Dark” (the “Producer”), for failure to pay royalties to the Director Julie Taymor.

Laura Penn, Executive Director of SDC, states, “Taymor has given nine years of her life to this project. The Producer has absolutely no right, legally and ethically, to withhold royalties that are due to her. In fact, the right to use her work, on Broadway or anywhere else, is dependent upon the payment of royalties.”

The Producer has failed to pay to Ms.Taymor any royalties for the run of the production in violation of both the SDC collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and her individual contract. SDC is asking for an accounting from the Producer to determine the precise amount of royalties due to Ms.Taymor, payment of all royalties due to Ms.Taymor, and continued payment of royalties and all other compensation due now and in the future.

In exchange for royalties Directors and Choreographers license their creative work to Producers. Under SDC’s CBA the Producer does not have the rights to use Ms. Taymor’s direction unless she is receiving royalties. According to Karen Azenberg, SDC President, “Royalties are the foundation of the compensation structure for Directors and Choreographers on Broadway. SDC exists to protect and enforce the rights of our Members to be paid for their work and for ongoing use of their property.”

SDC is the theatrical union representing more than 2,400 professional stage Directors and Choreographers throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster a national community of professional stage Directors and Choreographers by protecting the rights, health and livelihoods of all its Members.

SDC has jurisdiction over the employment of Directors and Choreographers working in the following areas: Broadway and National tours, Off-Broadway, ANTC (Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies, New York City), Regional Theatre (League of Resident Theatres - LORT), Resident summer stock companies (Council of Resident Stock Theatres – CORST/TSS), Dinner Theatre (Dinner Theatre Agreement- DTA), Regional Musical Theatre (RMT), and Outdoor musical stock (OMS).

For more info about the SDC, please visit www.sdcweb.org.