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Wednesday, April 01, 2020
2019 Super Conference – “What Dramaturgs Do And Why/When You Need One” with Ashley Chang, Jenna Clark Embrey, Jack Phillips Moore, and Jill Rafson
The Producer's Perspective: If you’ve ever wondered what a dramaturg does, then this panel from last year’s Super Conference is for you. And something tells me you’ll want to run out and get one for your show when you’re done watching (email me if you do – I can give you a rec).
To be completely transparent, before coming to Carnegie Mellon, I had never heard the term “dramaturg” until I was talking to my freshman roommate via text message a couple months before setting foot on campus and she had told me that was her major. Prior to that conversation, I truly had no idea what dramaturgy was or why it was needed in theatre in the first place. It was only after seeing all the work that my dramaturg friends were doing to help fuel the creative process and how integral their work was to the overall show, that I realized how interesting and important this job is. I think we should be talking more about the work that dramaturgs do, and when and why they are actually needed on productions- because they serve a unique but crucial role that can often get overlooked. Anyone who works in theatre, or is interested in working in theatre, should direct their attention to this video, to remind themselves of this position that we need to respect as a part of our craft.
I think it is very true that most of us assume that the role of the dramaturg is to do research. Having worked as the assistant stage manager for 100 Years Stray, it really did feel like the role of the dramaturg had more to do with being a sound board and a support system for the director as well as an extra hand. Most often, it seemed the director leaned on the dramaturg to view the show through the audience’s eyes and make sure everything came across. That said, I have seen dramaturgs do lots of research, especially live in the rehearsal room when actors had questions about context of a moment of the show, but I would agree a lot of the job is based around interfacing between the creative team and the audience. I think my biggest question about the role of the dramaturg is what it looks like when there is both an assistant director and a dramaturg because sometimes one seems to expand their role to make up for the lack of the other.
I had very little knowledge about the work of a dramaturg before coming to CMU, and to be honest I still don't understand it very well. Coming here I believed that the only job of the dramaturg was to provide the context of the play and to make sure what was being put on stage wasn't anachronistic. But to simplify it down like that doesn't do the work of dramaturgs justice. They research like I've never seen people research and their wealth of knowledge from doing so makes them some of the most intellectual and engaging people I've ever gotten the chance to talk to. They know and dabble in so much about language, history, theatre, psychology, philosophy, and pretty much everything relevant to understanding the human experience and it's really interesting to be able to witness. During intents and insights, they so casually bring up questions and ideas about the essence of humanity and other deep things like that that catch me off-guard and leave me thinking about things I had never thought to consider for days.
I had heard about dramaturgy before coming to CMU. However, I really had no idea what dramaturgs do much less how to explain their job to someone who is completely new to theatre. While being a student at CMU and meeting dramaturgs, I have been able to slightly expand my knowledge on the art of dramaturgy, but I have to say that the panel of dramaturgs really explained things in a way that was very helpful for me to understand. I have to admit that I also had some of the misconceptions of dramaturgy that the panel had brought up. I found it very interesting when they mentioned dramaturgs as an "extra pair of eyes." It makes perfect sense that a writer who might be working with a dramaturg may need an "outsider" or someone who is not at all related to the piece read and analyze it with them. For some reason, I hadn't thought about what role a dramaturg might have before a play has even been completed, and I found it extremely interesting. I have a much grander appreciation for dramaturgs now that I can understand their different roles.
4 comments:
To be completely transparent, before coming to Carnegie Mellon, I had never heard the term “dramaturg” until I was talking to my freshman roommate via text message a couple months before setting foot on campus and she had told me that was her major. Prior to that conversation, I truly had no idea what dramaturgy was or why it was needed in theatre in the first place. It was only after seeing all the work that my dramaturg friends were doing to help fuel the creative process and how integral their work was to the overall show, that I realized how interesting and important this job is. I think we should be talking more about the work that dramaturgs do, and when and why they are actually needed on productions- because they serve a unique but crucial role that can often get overlooked. Anyone who works in theatre, or is interested in working in theatre, should direct their attention to this video, to remind themselves of this position that we need to respect as a part of our craft.
I think it is very true that most of us assume that the role of the dramaturg is to do research. Having worked as the assistant stage manager for 100 Years Stray, it really did feel like the role of the dramaturg had more to do with being a sound board and a support system for the director as well as an extra hand. Most often, it seemed the director leaned on the dramaturg to view the show through the audience’s eyes and make sure everything came across. That said, I have seen dramaturgs do lots of research, especially live in the rehearsal room when actors had questions about context of a moment of the show, but I would agree a lot of the job is based around interfacing between the creative team and the audience. I think my biggest question about the role of the dramaturg is what it looks like when there is both an assistant director and a dramaturg because sometimes one seems to expand their role to make up for the lack of the other.
I had very little knowledge about the work of a dramaturg before coming to CMU, and to be honest I still don't understand it very well. Coming here I believed that the only job of the dramaturg was to provide the context of the play and to make sure what was being put on stage wasn't anachronistic. But to simplify it down like that doesn't do the work of dramaturgs justice. They research like I've never seen people research and their wealth of knowledge from doing so makes them some of the most intellectual and engaging people I've ever gotten the chance to talk to. They know and dabble in so much about language, history, theatre, psychology, philosophy, and pretty much everything relevant to understanding the human experience and it's really interesting to be able to witness. During intents and insights, they so casually bring up questions and ideas about the essence of humanity and other deep things like that that catch me off-guard and leave me thinking about things I had never thought to consider for days.
I had heard about dramaturgy before coming to CMU. However, I really had no idea what dramaturgs do much less how to explain their job to someone who is completely new to theatre. While being a student at CMU and meeting dramaturgs, I have been able to slightly expand my knowledge on the art of dramaturgy, but I have to say that the panel of dramaturgs really explained things in a way that was very helpful for me to understand. I have to admit that I also had some of the misconceptions of dramaturgy that the panel had brought up. I found it very interesting when they mentioned dramaturgs as an "extra pair of eyes." It makes perfect sense that a writer who might be working with a dramaturg may need an "outsider" or someone who is not at all related to the piece read and analyze it with them. For some reason, I hadn't thought about what role a dramaturg might have before a play has even been completed, and I found it extremely interesting. I have a much grander appreciation for dramaturgs now that I can understand their different roles.
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