- 9 -
like activity. The marketing of art--because it may take the
form of gallery shows and sales--is more readily visible than the
marketing of drama or musical theater; nevertheless, a parallel
exists between the marketing of sculpture in Churchman and
petitioner’s strenuous efforts to get his various plays produced.
For example, the petitioner had a play read in Lincoln Center as
early as 1990. In 1997--the year at issue--he was almost
completely unsuccessful in marketing his work. But, in a real-
life peripeteia, his long-developing play “Beethoven is . . . .”
won first-prize (from among hundreds of entries) in a National
New Play Competition sponsored by Humboldt State University.
This won the play a production at the university, and entitled
petitioner to a two-week residency including travel and a $1,000
royalty. He also received various administrative benefits from
Wayne State (including a sabbatical) that both recognized and
furthered his playwriting. He traveled to get his play before
audiences both in full performance and for readings. He also
worked at adapting “Beethoven is . . . .” into a screenplay, as
well as creating a stage version suited to smaller theaters. He
kept records of many of his various expenses, such as travel logs
and receipts.15 Thus, we find that petitioner did in fact carry
15 We look to those successes and activities from later
years as part of the examination of “all facts and circumstances”
required by Sec. 1.183-2(b), Income Tax Regs. Cf. Regan v.
Commissioner,T.C. Memo. 1979-340.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011