What is Dramaturgy?
(a few possibilities)

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Help develop the mission
Help plan the season
Help look for scripts

NEW PLAYS
Solicit scripts from writers and agents
Read and evaluate new scripts
Track and file those scripts
Write kindly letters to writers whose script
we won’t be producing
Negotiate with agents
Prepare adaptations and translations
Commission new work
Organize the in-house play reading program
Organize the new play reading program
for subscribers
Help bring new plays into full production
Support those writers whose vision captures our minds and hearts

PRODUCTION DRAMATURGY
Locate drafts and versions
Collate, cut, track, edit, rewrite, construct,
and arrange
Secure permissions to use
copyrighted material
Find songs, pictures, stories, videos
Help the designer do the research
Help the director do casting
Help the marketeers and developers
Seek and present pathways into
the world of the play
Gather and arrange images, sounds, and ideas for rehearsal
Explore and present: the world of the play
the author of the play,
the script’s production history,
the relevant criticism
Conceive the forms of the script as a script
Conceive the forms of the play as it grows
Stay on course when all goes well
Maintain the calm when all goes ill
(as it will)
Create the lobby display
Love the work

ARTS IN EDUCATION
Establish relationships with local educators
Help them use theatre to support their curricula
Prepare study guides
Develop production web sites
Write and edit program materials
Organize and lead pre- and post-show discussions
Plan and lead seminars and symposia

ADVOCACY
Affirm the function,
Explore the practice, and
Promote the profession of
dramaturgy and literary management.
Nourish the arts wherever we find them:
in schools,
in communities,
and around the world.

(all information can be found at www.lmda.org)


Any questions about dramaturgy so far? Please ask!


*Dramaturgy is pronounced with a soft g, like the g in the word gel. Dramaturg has a hard g, like the word hamburger. It is sometimes spelled with an e on the end, but since dramaturge means playwright in French, most U.S.-based dramaturgs try to discourage that spelling to avoid further confusion.