Understanding how others perceive the world of a play is essential for a playwright to make effective use of feedback.

Enter the dramaturg, a key figure in helping a playwright recognize the gap between what the script communicates about its world and what still lies hidden in the depths of the playwright’s mind.

We previously shared how we first had to define what made a play a play before we could take a deep dive into the individual roles the cast and creative team serve in the new play development process and why traditional plays are considered both a literary object and a blueprint for production.

Dramaturgy is the field of study that approaches the construction of a play from both perspectives.

What is Dramaturgy?

Dramaturgy is the practice of in-depth study and analysis of dramatic composition and its theatrical representation, both the text written by the playwright and the production created by the director. It requires literary insight, a background in theatrical and textual criticism and performance theory, keen research skills and an analytical ability to discern, sort and deconstruct the elements of dramatic literature and production.

The Role of the Dramaturg

The role of a dramaturg, generally speaking, is to be the creative team’s expert on the world of the play and how it engages with the Zeitgeist and the history of the world in which we live.

Every theater artist in the development and/or production process of a play engages in dramaturgical practices. But it’s the dramaturg’s primary function to inform, develop, and strengthen these efforts and ensure that the play’s overall dramaturgy is fully realized.

For example, a dramaturg may:

• Work with the director on a classical play to help integrate historical material, textual or theatrical criticism, or performance theory into a production.

• Work with a group of devisers to make sure the logic of the event chain is consistent as the events unfold.

• Work to enhance the audience’s experience by writing program notes or leading a post-show talkback that explores how the context of the play relates to our current world.

Generally speaking, there are two types of dramaturgy: production dramaturgy and new play dramaturgy.

Production Dramaturgy Versus New Play Dramaturgy

Production Dramaturgy

Production dramaturgy is the process of working on the production of a play, usually one that has already been produced and published. Like other members of the production team, the dramaturg answers to the director, and their job is to support the director’s vision.

The dramaturg usually meets with the director early in the process, before the director even begins pre-production, to get a sense of the director’s take on the work.

During the rehearsal and production process, dramaturgs perform ongoing script analysis and research. This work eventually is assembled into a packet that, generally speaking, details relevant information about play’s text and context, provides information about its production history, and  communicates the playwright’s intentions.

New Play Dramaturgy

New play dramaturgy is the process of developing a new work, whether it be a traditional play or a devised theatre piece. When it’s a new play, the dramaturg works primarily with the playwright to help:

• Define their intentions

• Ensure the relevant information about play’s world makes it out of the playwright’s mind and into the dramatic action of the play.

• Recognize and address the holes between what the playwright thinks they’re communicating versus what they’re actually communicating.

• Aid the playwright in realizing their vision.

This dramaturgical process occurs during ongoing dialogues and collaborations with the entire cast and creative team.

During the process, a playwright experiences discoveries and epiphanies that might come from conversations with the dramaturg,  witnessing acting and directing choices, or observing the director work with the designers, choreographers and other members of the creative team.

In these circumstances, a dramaturg might:

• Ask the director to repeat a scene to clarify a moment or to reinforce a particular idea in the text.

• Prompt an actor to help them more clearly communicate to the playwright why they’re confused by their characters actions or intentions in a scene.

• Prompt a deeper conversation between the designer and director about how the script isn’t giving them the relevant information about the play’s world for them to be able to do their jobs.

Feedback from a Dramaturg Versus Feedback from Fellow Playwrights

In our experience, feedback from a dramaturg is usually fairly similar to the feedback received in a workshop or playwrights’ group because both tend to approach the work from more of a literary perspective than a production perspective. First, it’s common for dramaturgs who go into new play dramaturgy to have a background in playwriting; many are playwrights themselves. Second, the theatrical potential of a script tends to continually shift until the playwright’s vision starts to become clear on the page. Experienced playwrights and dramaturgs are aware of this shift, and dramaturgs tend to keep their notes focused on helping the playwright define and articulate their intentions and leave more production oriented notes to be received by the cast and creative team. 

Even so, there are differences between playwright-to-playwright feedback and dramaturg-to-playwright feedback worth noting. The differences tend to be related to the role each occupies in the moment, and the responsibilities that come with that role, rather than a difference due to their expertise.

Real World Example

A while back we participated in the development and production of a full-length play that illustrates how the feedback from both might differ.* It was based on the Greek tales of the Fates, three goddesses who personify the inescapable destinies of humankind. The goddesses in the play met, conspired, and held their rituals in a modern day women’s bathroom.

The feedback to the script’s playwright from the organization’s resident playwright and dramaturg is below.

Resident Playwright’s Feedback

“I guess my first question would be, why did you structure an exposition scene in this unconventional way? I mean, it’s not necessarily an uncommon thing to do, but given the challenges inherent in an expositional scene—especially for a play that’s world isn’t exactly realistic—they’re usually only written with an unconventional structure for some kind of dramatic effect, or significant thematic reason. So, what’s with this choice you’re making here? What are you trying to do?”

Dramaturg’s Feedback

“What is the purpose of having a grumbling toilet and the Fates as a part of this otherwise realistic, modern day world? What rules govern this world that, if I understood, I might better understand the scene?”

At first take, the feedback from the playwright and the dramaturg might seem to be addressing different issues. To some extent, that’s true. The resident playwright’s feedback is commenting on the scene structure which is an element of the playwright’s craft and the resident playwright’s expected field of expertise. The dramaturg is commenting on the play’s world, which is usually a dramaturg’s primary focus. An essential part of dramaturg’s job in new play development is to ensure that the playwright’s intention is clearly communicated, either implicitly or explicitly, in how the setting, characters and dramatic action reveal the play’s world.

But, with deeper consideration, we begin to see beyond how they framed their comments and recognize they are both prompting the playwright to better define the intent behind the choice to structure the scene unconventionally, and the choices to include the Fates and the grumbling toilet as a part of the play’s world. The purpose behind the choices aren’t coming across.

It was revealed the playwright did not intend to structure the scene unconventionally and that they weren’t aware of the different types of scenes that served different purposes within the overall structure of a play. Once these points came to light, the resident playwright offered to mentor the playwright on these basic principles to ensure their progress wouldn’t be hindered by something that was teachable.

Addressing how to help the playwright discover their intent behind including the grumbling toilet and the Fates in an otherwise realistic world would not be as easy or straightforward. Issues like these never are. They’re usually a key part of the playwright’s vision which seems to reside in a muddled place deep within the subconscious.

Participating in uncovering a playwright’s intentions is more like an archeological dig. Sure, there are tools and techniques that can be useful in unearthing the authentic and relevant pieces, but it’s a process without a guarantee. Without a clear path. Without shortcuts.