As in the maybe not so famous words of P!nk, “just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough” (P!nk, 2013). Replace ‘reason’ with ‘definition’ and this is my plea when it comes to understanding the term that is ‘dramaturgy’.
When frantically discussing this term with my peers before we were expected to contribute coherent and intelligent ideas in a new and exciting academic forum to all of us, it became apparent that although the term encompassed a whole range of skills, ideals and expectations, the actual deployment of dramaturgy (and therefore the Dramaturg) varied massively dependent on what/where/who needed it. I quickly realised that my want of a solid and concise explanation of the term was never going to come to fruition. Yes, if you read a job description of a Dramaturg there will be an explanation of the role which is a required, but this does not cover the term as a whole, and although this is perhaps the most exciting aspect of the job, it is almost the most infuriating for scholars and academics such as myself.
Or it could just be me.
In this somewhat rambling opening blog post I will be exploring these terms. So, stick with me. You may even learn something.
While reading, and essentially discovering the term dramaturgy for the first time, Andrea Bozic’s description was the most visual of other writers, and therefore this gave me a better grounding to find my own pathway through the other articles and book chapters I later discovered. Bozic describes it as
a red thread that runs through the process and the performance and to which everyone can relate. A good dramaturg for my process is someone who manages never to lose sight of this red thread.
(Bozic, 2009, 12)
Although this continuation of ideas through a performance, an entire theatre’s season or even a playwright’s repertoire seems like a vital and unquestionable piece of theatre, I had never associated this with a specific name before. I always presumed it was the playwright’s or director’s responsibility. However, I am not alone in my ignorance here. Lee Anderson has openly agreed, saying that “the UK have struggled to pin down a precise definition for the dramaturgy” (2015, 15); compared to European theatre companies (notably those in Germany), English theatre makers seem to be deterred by the idea of hiring a Dramaturg to assist on their productions. This in itself seems bizarre to me. They are there to be used as “the freedom of theatrical experimentation and risk” (Lehmann and Primavesi, 2009, 4). They don’t want to take ownership of a new play, or to override the director on a crucial acting choice, they are there to ask questions. To provide social and political insight – not only for the benefit of the spectators, but also the actors/directors/playwrights themselves. In a way they then become the spectators too. They are learning from the Dramaturg’s ability to “place a production in the framework of a social and political context” (Lehmann and Primavesi, 2009, 5) and by doing so “raise the political consciousness of the production team” (ibid). Once this has been achieved, everyone involved within the production can create work “without patronizing the audience” (Lehmann and Primavesi, 2009, 6). This can only be seen as positive, surely?
References
Anderson, L (2009)
Bozic, A (2009), “On Dramaturgy—Statement” Performance Research 14 (3) , p. 1 2
P!nk (2013) Just Give Me A Reason . Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpQFFLBMEPI [accessed 3 October 2016].
Lehmann, H and Primavesi, P (2009) Dramaturgy on Shifting Grounds, Performance Research, 14 (3) 3-6.