What can I do with puppet scripts I’ve paid for but can’t really use?
The teams I’ve worked with over the years have been Christian teams ministering to local churches and camps, so we get our material from Christian companies. One thing I’ve learned is that just because a play was written by a believer doesn’t mean that I can automatically use it.
When I get a new play, I read it over to make sure it is biblically sound and correct. Most of them are, but occasionally some aren’t. What do you do?
If they’re pre-recorded plays, there’s not much you can do. We had one play with a minor concern. It wasn’t enough to stop us from using the play, but when it finished, I did a bit of extra teaching to clarify it.
We received one cassette with five or six plays on it and discovered that one was off enough that we couldn’t use it; so we didn’t. We made use of the other plays and crossed that one off our list. The value we received from the other plays made up for not being able to use that one.
If it is a script, it’s easier. If the problem is minor (one line or portion of a line), simply omit or re-word the line or phrase in your performance.
If a large part of the script needs to be reworked and you have a number of changes to make, you should check with copyright laws before proceeding.
While the specific work is copyrighted, an idea can’t be. Usually, when looking for scripts, it is the idea behind the script that sells you on it. If I feel a script needs significant changes, I’ll use the idea behind the script and write my own. That way, I’m not infringing on someone’s copyrighted work and I’ve got a play that is tailor-made for our team and ministry.
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