What is Dramaturgy?

Dramaturgy is the exploration into theatre, not only to look for secrets in texts but to discuss and offer context to what is found when exploring.  It is to delve underneath what exists only on the manifest level of theatre and examine, more forensically, the themes, subliminal messages, sub-text, socio-political context and any hidden illusions that can found beneath the surface.  It is the sole purpose of the dramaturg to probe, “someone who is somewhat alien, who maintains his or her otherness and distance from the process in order to be able to ask questions about it” (Bozic, 2009, p. 12).  The role of the dramaturg is arguably one of the most important in the theatrical equation because the research one can find will be paramount to character development, technical decisions and ultimately audience’s experience.  The dramaturg needs to understand the entire world of the play, its origins and its future, and ensure that this knowledge is communicated to the directors, producers and actors working alongside them.

The Dramaturgy Debate

Much debate has arisen as to the role and specific importance production dramaturgs serve in the creative process of performance.  Dramaturgs have been accused of rewriting plays so that all sense of mystery is lost, replacing creative ideas for factual evidence, and generally being detrimental to theatre as a whole.  The truth being that this assessment could not be further from the correct.  It is fundamental to dramaturgy that “the script belongs to the playwright … The only person who can ‘develop’ a play is its playwright” (Copelin, 2000, p. 18).  Dramaturgs just like directors, actors and designers are resources for the process of script development, they do not control it.  In fact any playwright, who openly admits that they have worked with a dramaturg on creating a finished piece of work should be commended, not shunned, for their efforts to make an accurate piece of drama.

What is happening in theatre currently is movement away from traditional scripted theatre performances.  Instead we are seeing more interdisciplinary hybrid creations appearing on our stages with the advances in multi-media technology.  This means that for these performances the role of the dramaturg is made slightly redundant, as they can only benefit the portion of the hybrid that remains scripted drama.  In doing so expels the need for a dramaturg to work so forensically with script and persuade them to embrace the technology available.  “The dramaturg is not supposed to function as an expert of technology but to think and act ‘with’ it as an experimentalist. Who in the theatre is afraid of new media? They help us now in the same way as every new medium did in history – they help us re-think the basic conditions of theatrical practice” (Lehmann, 2009, p. 4).  New technology and dramaturgs serve a similar purpose, they need to find ways of responding to the performance content in order to communicate effectively the intentions to the spectators.

Works Cited

Bozic, Andrea (2009) ‘On Dramaturgy – Statement’, Performance Research, Vol. 14 (3), p. 12.

Copelin, David (2000) ‘Ten Dramaturgical Myths’ In: Cardullo, B. ed. What Is Dramaturgy? New York: Peter Lang Publishing.  pp. 17-23.

Lehmann, Hans-Thies & P. Primavesi (2009) ‘Dramaturgy on Shifting Grounds’, Performance Research, Vol. 14 (3).  pp. 3-6.