Dramaturgy

Interviews with dramaturgs:

What is the biggest misconception you've encountered surrounding your profession?

NE:  I suppose one of the biggest misconceptions (and one that I have a particular dislike for) is that dramaturgs are glorified assistant directors. We are not. We have our own distinction, our own training, our own field; we focus on plays as literature and have expertise in the following:

1. placing plays into their historical context (by compiling and distributing succinct background research to actors and creative teams),

2. aiding in the development process of new plays (by working with writers to reshape their work and with directors to honorably interpret that work),

3. communicating about plays to audiences and other theatre patrons (through writing newsletter articles, hosting talkbacks, interviewing playwrights for donor events; etc), 

4. serving as a sounding board for directors and writers and as a representative of the writer (by offering feedback to directors on the production before the audience arrives). 

I like to think of myself as a midwife in the birthing process of a play, a right-hand woman to a playwright, a third eye in rehearsal.

What was your role, specifically, as a Dramaturg?

J.A: In the beginning I think one of my integral roles was to help choose the three Phaedras that we were going to perform. One Year Lease is dedicated to performing classic texts. Classic for us is defined as a play that is necessary, durable, and urgent. One of the beauties of this project was to actually perform our mission statement. To chose three texts that spoke to each other and to the fact that they have been interpreted and performed by playwrights from different eras, cultures and values. These three plays in particular spoke to the breadth of the Phaedra myth and to our definition of classic.

In terms of my role during the actual rehearsals and production, I felt that for this project what was of the utmost importance was for me to go back to the myth and provide a solid background of who these characters are (where they come from, how they are related to each other) to our actors. As well I believed it was integral to give them a background of the cultural climate that the myth and the adaptations of the myth sprang from.

The same actors played the roles of Phaedra, Hippolytus, and Theseus in a nightly succession. While the roles of the myth slightly deviated for our other three actors (Oenone/Nonny/Strophe) (Aricia/Strophe) (Theremene/Angus/Priest) all of our actors had three plays in their heads at once. Whatever I could do to provide them with any information that would help make each of their characters clear and distinct was the integral job that I had as dramaturg. 

First dramaturg

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is widely considered to be the world's first ever dramaturg. Born on 22 January 1979, in Saxony, Germany. he worked for 3 years as a dramaturg in the Hamburg National Theatre. 

Some more research

The job requirements of dramaturg, according to the Dramaturg's UK Network, can consist of:

Reading plays, Translating or Re-translating plays, Encouraging new writing, Devising new work, Adapting, Analysing, Editing and Cutting, Research, Advice, Assisting, Compiling the Programme.