Tinùviel - Tolkien Estate

[Joy]

Again, I don't know if this is the right place to post this or not.

I emailed my theater director about the possiblity of doing this play. This is part of what he wrote back to me.

one of the problems with an adaptation of a well-known work is securing the permission to attempt it in the first place--that could be a problem re: copyright; the Tolkien estate, etc.
Many writers simply plunge in, do the writing, and hope that it will be so good that there will be no complaints. Chancy but possible.

How does one go about aquiring the permission to do something like this. Is it wrong just to do this as a fan-fiction? I do hope to take this further than that! What should I do? Does anyone have an idea or can point me in the write direction - pun intended?