Abstract
The theatre is full of mystery. Civilians (people not involved in the profession) are curious about what we do, and how we do it, and this wonderment is sometimes expressed in the unexciting questions most frequently asked at audience “talk-backs.” Playwrights, for example, are asked, “How long did it take you to write the play?” Actors are asked, “How did you memorize all those lines?” As a literary dramaturg, the question I am most frequently asked is, “What is a dramaturg?” However, it’s not just civilians who ask this. Many of my own colleagues and collaborators have expressed a similar bewilderment, confusion, bias and occasional distaste for the nature and purpose of dramaturgy.
So “What is a dramaturg really?” I could probably provide as many answers as the number of times I’ve been asked the question. Every professional dramaturg I’ve met has offered a different definition, and that definition seems to be rather “liquid,” shifting from project to project. For the last decade, my dramaturgical work has been almost exclusively focused on new works, and so I thought I might offer what I think a good literary dramaturg is and does. These musings are by no means intended to be an exhaustive list of those qualities which make up the “essential dramaturg.” They are simply personal opinions about those practices I have found to be most useful when, as a playwright, I have myself collaborated with a dramaturg, and when, as a dramaturg collaborating with a playwright, have experienced a truly beneficial and harmonious creative exchange.