dramaturgy nw: questions

What is a dramaturg?

"Dramaturgy can refer to an attribute, a role, or a function. As attribute we use the word to describe the dramaturgy of a particular playwright or play, as in the dramaturgy of Wagner or Brecht or Churchill. In this sense, dramaturgy roughly equals dramatic structure or the conventions unique to a playscript, playwright, or performance. Dramaturgy as a role describes that person whose name appears on a program opposite the title "Dramaturg." Within university and regional theaters, the presence of this title on programs is increasingly common. It has appeared in film credits and an episode of the television sitcom "Empty Nest" even featured a character who had this job title, a sure sign that dramaturgy as a role is making inroads into popular consciousness. As function, dramaturgy refers to a set of activities necessary to the theater-making process, often centering around the work of selecting and preparing playscripts for production, activities that a number of individuals-- producers, directors, designers, actors--if not someone specifically called a dramaturg, must perform. Dramaturgs and those who teach dramaturgy will often point out that even though a dramaturg is not at work on a particular show, someone is still performing these dramaturgical functions. Those who make this point underscore the importance of dramaturgy as a concept without insisting on the name of the person performing the job."

Another response: text created by Liz Engelman and Lee Devin for LMDA 2000 Conference T-shirt

"A dramaturg might help select a season at Lincoln Center, write a program note for a production of Misalliance, collaborate with a director on an new approach to Midsummer Night'sDream, work with a playwright like Tony Kushner on the creation of a new play, lead an after show discussion at the Goodman or prepare a new translation of a play by Marivaux. S/he might work at a regional theatre in Washington, D.C., a high school in the midwest, or with a dance company in Germany. Films have listed dramaturgs in their credits; puppeteers have employed their expertise. Individuals might study for the position in a graduate program at Yale or SUNY--Stony Brook or a number of other schools (classes in dramaturgy are offered at over forty different theatre departments) or step into it from a background in journalism and Asian studies. As role or function, dramaturgy often traces its origins to eighteenth century Germany but it has antecedents throughout theatre history (East and West); the function itself is probably as old as theatre and fundamentally inseparable from it. Some of the best dramaturgs are actors, directors, designers, playwrights, play-doctors, and producers, even though they might not use this word to describe what they do. Dramaturgy might be performed by a single individual or by an entire production ensemble. Its close cousin and some would even say identical twin in America is the literary manager.

"Few terms in contemporary theatre practice have consistently occasioned more perplexity. Individual who find themselves listed as dramaturgs on theatre programs grow tired of explaining just what it is they do whether they are talking with someone who has never been in a play or to one of their fellow professionals. We [the editors] believe that the injection of the idea of the dramaturg and dramaturgy into American theatre and the effort to come to terms with just what this term might mean for the ways in which we make plays is one of the most significant developments in American theatre in the last quarter of the twentieth century. It has created a space where academic and professional theatre makers (often opposed to one another in American culture) can meet and exchange energies.

"Within the university itself, it has provided a meeting place for practitioners and historians, for directors and theoreticians. It has opened the door for an influx of materials into the playmaking process: critical, historical, sociological, ideological, imagistic. It has raised stimulating questions about models for the rehearsal process, particularly with regards to the roles of playwright and director and even about various aspects of the self that we bring to the rehearsal room. It has spurred educational programs and community initiatives. And yet, dramaturgy is far from a panacea for the problems of American theater: some regard it with mistrust, others with animosity and even contempt."

This is a beginning point. For an array of opinions, consult the The LMDA Bibliography or "Quotes": a collection of brief notes from various sources on dramaturgy.

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Questions, comments, and suggestions, etc. to Geoff Proehl: gproehl@ups.edu.

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