DRAMATURGY
Module 1
Roots, Theory, Practice
Objectives
- Introduce dramaturgy as a concept.
- Introduce the functions of the dramaturg in a theater production.
- Highlight the necessity of having a dramaturg.
Method
- Active reading.
- Analytical questioning.
Introduction
Dramaturgy is a part of theater production that is rarely discussed or talked about. This is no surprise. It is one of those things that happens behind-the-scenes, like the creation of the set or costumes, rehearsals and blocking. And like many of the parts of a production that the audience do not see, it is integral to the creation of a final product that works. And when we say “works,” we mean a production that will be appreciated in a particular way by an audience. Dramaturgy is crucial to that appreciation.
On the surface, the dramaturg’s practice is to read the script and establish the world of the play. It builds the play’s context, the kind of universe it belongs to, as it establishes why characters act the way they do, why the story unfolds the way it does. At the end of watching the play, what happens in it needs to make sense to its audience. The dramaturg’s work is to make sure all the elements of the play come together to do exactly that.
Roots of Dramaturgy
The Greek word dramaturgy comes from the root word drame which means “action or doing” and the suffix
–urgy, which means “process or working.”
Combined, the word that is formed means “the working of action” or “the working of the act of doing,” which doesn’t quite make sense. But if you parallel it with others words formed by the same suffix (-urgy), we might have a better sense of what dramaturgy could mean.
Metallurgy, for example, means “the working of metal,” or working with metal towards a finished product. Thaumaturgy means “the working of miracles,” or creating the conditions for a miracle to happen.
This is basically what dramaturgy is about. It’s about working the actions in a text, forming it into a final product that will be consumed in a particular way by both the members of the production and the audience.
The Work of the Dramaturg
Dramaturgy is many things all at the same time, as it can be just one singular thing, depending on the needs of the production, the kind of work the dramaturg is hired for. The dramaturg can function as any, all, or a combination of the following.
(1) A historian who builds the historical background for the setting of the play and establishes its context—the real life, and real conditions—for the play’s characters and its story.
(3) A scholar who works into the play the socio-political concepts that are integral to its understanding, which might allow for it to resonate for the audience it’s speaking to.
(4) A critic who reads the script, and provides the director and playwright key insights about it that might be used to revise or improve the material.
(5) Marketing consultant for a particular production, building a vision for creating materials to sell the production to buyers and audiences.
(6) An educator of the audience, establishing key questions that might be asked during post-performance talkback sessions, framing the way a production should be received.
(7) A co-creator of the production to be staged, working from a particular concept or idea with the director and/or playwright, towards the creation of a script.
(8) Production/company consultant, where she becomes part of planning a theater company’s whole season, based on a particular vision or frame that might be used as its basis.
Whatever the role a dramaturg plays in a production though, what is most important to remember is that she is also a collaborator. In the same way that all the members of a theater production are part of a collaborative process, the dramaturg is an integral part of creating the final production as it will be staged.
Active Reading 1
Read the following sections from The Hamburg Dramaturgy (1767), considered as the first work on dramaturgy by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
(1) Preface, pages 1 to 5 on PDF file.
(2) Essay Numbers 101, 102, 103, and 104, pages 258 to 266 on the PDF file.
After reading, ask yourself the following questions:
(1) How does Lessing define the practice of dramaturgy?
(2) Given what he’s written in these sections, which of the different functions mentioned above applies to his work here?
Active Reading 2
Go through some of the other essays in The Hamburg Dramaturgy.
Among historian, critic, scholar, consultant, and educator, which function appears the most in Lessing’s essays on different theater productions? ***
