Now Let Me Fly Plagiarized In Brooke Farmer's Thumbprints -- A Nation Acts

"I was very impressed...These young people have been touched by the importance of this dramatic moment in history."
Dennis Hagen-Smith
Teacher
Toluca Lake Elementary School
N. Hollywood, CA

Now Let Me Fly Plagiarized In Brooke Farmer's "Thumbprints"

In February 2007 I was notified by the Academy of Fine Arts of Lynchburg, Virginia that a script they were about to perform, "Thumbprints" by Brooke Farmer, apparently had similarities to Now Let Me Fly.

A review of "Thumbprints" reveals large segments of Now Let Me Fly are copied, word-for-word. Approximately two-thirds of Now Let Me Fly is found in "Thumbprints." Brooke Farmer (a.k.a. India B. Farmer) used my Marshall/Houston framework, the central metaphor of my play, and incorporated the work of other writers within this framework. Replacing scenes from each of the five locales involved in Brown v. Board of Education with works by Phyllis Wheatley, Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou and James Weldon Johnson results in mangling a carefully crafted play. I further learned that this was the second production of "Thumbprints" and that Brooke Farmer had received a $750 royalty payment from the Academy of Fine Arts for her so-called "original play."

Now Let Me Fly was written through a commission from the Brown Foundation and Washburn University. Two years of research and one year of writing went into the composition of the play. I waived amateur royalties so that schools and other organizations can perform the play for free. Needless to say, this violation of trust has been a shock and I am not pleased. It has necessitated a change in the way the script can be accessed. It has necessitated the expenditure of time and energy researching legal options for recourse.

Theft of intellectual property is no small matter. According to the Dramatists Guild, copyright infringers may be liable for up to $150,000 in statutory damages, plus attorney fees, for each violation. In addition, the Dramatist Guild will inform their nationwide membership of the infringement, severely handicapping an individual's career as a playwright, or any career at all they hope to have in theater. In addition, not only is the plagiarist liable for legal damages but any entity that performs the copyright infringer's script is also liable for damages.

Using any part of Now Let Me Fly without permission is strictly forbidden and unlawful. The script may not be altered or excerpted without express permission.

I do wish to thank the schools, churches, NAACP chapters and others who have performed Now Let Me Fly in accordance with the royalty-exempt guidelines and have registered their performances through the A Nation Acts web site. Now Let Me Fly has been performed at over 100 venues through April 2007. I hope to be able to continue to allow access to the play through the internet in the future. Thanks for your cooperation, your emails and your goodwill.

Now Let Me Fly Plagiarized In Brooke Farmer's "Thumbprints"