by Dana Pepowski
They’re everywhere: sharing research in the rehearsal room, leading a thought-provoking talkback, or sifting through new scripts as literary manager for a theatre company. Dramaturgs’ skills in analysis, problem-solving, and imagination make them ideal collaborators with actors. But what does that relationship look like? Let’s find out about dramaturgy!
I spoke with Maren Robinson, freelance and resident dramaturg at TimeLine Theatre, an ensemble member at Lifeline Theatre, university professor, and all-around generous dramaturgy mentor, to create the actor’s guide to dramaturgy.
What is a dramaturg?
According to Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), the preeminent member organization in the industry, a dramaturg collaborates with artists to “hone their vision” for a project, facilitate “outlets” for new work, and enliven the world of a play for artists and audiences with thoughtful research. Dramaturgs offer a “critical link” among artists, cultural institutions, and the institution’s literal and ideological community, making them key players to honor the heritage and construct the future of theatre-making.
In a day-to-day dramaturgical and literary management practice, their work may look like:
- Contextualizing a play with research and script analysis for a production’s artistic team.
- Composing research packets, glossaries, study guides, educational programs, and lobby displays for the artistic team and audience.
- Offering clarity and perspective in the rehearsal room.
- Communicating feedback and questions to the playwright.
- If a playwright is unable to be in the room, serving as “representative” for the script’s intentions.
- Supporting the playwright’s writing process with contextual research.
- Facilitating talkbacks and community events.
- Soliciting, evaluating, and tracking new script submissions.
- Strengthening relationships with playwrights and their agents.
- Advocating for productions, workshops, and readings of new plays.
- Collaborating with the theatre’s staff to select a season of plays.
How does dramaturgy apply to my work as an actor?
Good news! You’re already (hopefully) practicing dramaturgy as you thoughtfully prepare for an audition, rehearsal, or performance. According to Maren, an actor “commits random acts of dramaturgy” as they analyze your character’s arc within the story, research themes across a playwright’s work, define an unknown word, or unearth the context of a period reference. An actor’s dramaturgy practice deepens their script preparation to be an “open-minded reader” of the text and imaginative scene partner.
How can actors learn from dramaturgs? Collaborate with dramaturgs?
Whether you’re in charge of your own script preparation or are working with a dramaturg in the rehearsal room, the practice of dramaturgy offers valuable skills to an actor. Try out these dramaturg-inspired tips to deepen your next rehearsal process:
- Ask the nitty-gritty questions.
Maren loves it when actors come to her with questions to “help them build the life and world of the character.” She offers some recent examples:
- What cigarettes would I be smoking?
- Does a lady cross her legs right now?
- Could you provide me with some period recipes so I know what I might have been eating?
- Do you have a book for film reference for the kind of exercises I might be doing?
- Could you go over the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle with me again?
You can do it, too! Self-directed research for an audition or rehearsal can also open exciting insights into your character’s life. Use your imagination to walk through her world and its sensations: What scents can she smell? What memories does she have of this room? How much did it cost to buy these shoes?
- Stretch your (analytical) muscles.
If you have a dramaturg in your next rehearsal process, you’re fortunate to have an individual in the room who is trained to “read plays in a slightly different way” from directors or actors, Maren explains. A dramaturg switches their focus between “big picture” and “character work” and between the “context of the world of the play” and “our own political moment.” In rehearsal, the dramaturg offers context to actors and director so they can find the “variety of ways” to interpret a beat or cultural reference in a scene.
Similarly, an actor who’s gotten to know their script via “open-minded reading” and research can also unlock details and the big-picture context of the play’s world. As you practice flexibility in your perspective, you’ll discover moments that “things in a scene [or monologue] could go another way” – Shurtleff’s Guidepost #6, anyone?
- Follow your interests.
The word “research” fills some actors with dread, remembering boring high school history projects. Others get nervous as they face a totally unfamiliar world of a play (“how do I know what questions to ask about the daily life of a prince of Denmark?”). Don’t despair! The most effective dramaturgy follows the researcher’s individual interests.
Experiment to find your unique “in” to the character’s world. Here are some examples from recent dramaturgy projects by yours truly:
- Make a playlist of popular songs from the character’s childhood, region, or the era in which the play is set. Or, make a playlist of songs from your own life with lyrics or music that reflect the story.
- Scroll through the setting (or your best guess at the location) on Google Maps Street View for the experience of walking your character’s neighborhood.
- What are the day-to-day logistics your character follows? What bus do they take for work? What’s their ideal morning routine? What acquaintances do they see on their commute?
- Based on the text or filled in by your own imagination, what’s a story your character knows by heart? Find a book they may have read or a bedtime story from their region of origin.
How does dramaturgy fit into the future of Chicago theatre?
Maren believes that dramaturgs, especially those who also direct, write plays, or act, practice “empathetic imagination”. They use their experience in various artistic roles to consider collaborators’ needs: “What might this actor be curious about for this character?” or “What questions might serve this playwright or this designer or director?”
Looking toward the future, she hopes that Chicago dramaturgs maintain their curiosity and “continue to…ask what our communities need.” She tells me that “theatre survives [by]…responding to what the community tells us their needs are,” not by “telling [others] what we think they need.” The practice of creative flexibility through dramaturgy supports the future of equitable, accessible, and innovative theatre-making.