In Turner and Behrndt's chapter "The Dramaturg and the Theatre Institution," they discuss how the response to the question "what is a dramaturg?" shifts when in the context of subsidized arts institutions. Depending on the politics at play, the dramaturg can either be seen variously as a censor, a programmer, or an "educationalist".
What do these terms mean to you?
How do you see the dramaturg's role in theatrical or arts institutions?
How do you see your dramaturgical role in theatrical or arts institutions?
11 comments:
A censor means, to me, a censor for the director and the choices he makes as well as for the company and the season in selects with reference to their audience. Meaning, the dramaturg with their eyes always to the audience keeps in mind what is too far, or out of the specific taste of the audience the company or director is playing to. A programmer means, to me, someone who helps choose the season of the company. An educationalist means, to me, that the dramaturg advertises/brings the show to the community and local schools.
I see the dramaturg's role in theatrical institutes as a person who helps choose the season, communicate with the public, work in rehearsal as a dramaturg, and as an aid to the production and artistic team in their process to assemble the show.
As a stage manager I it see my "dramaturgical role" to constantly ask questions and assist in keeping the team on the same track. Different from a dramaturg though I see it my duty to keep everyone on the same page as far as the linear practical process of producing a show, and a dramaturg is more responsible for the overall flow of artistic and conceptual ideas.
I see the roles of a dramaturg in play at ART through Ms. Cole and Kevin being on the selection committee. Also through the questionnaires we distribute to our patrons and through pre and post show discussions.
To me one of a dramaturge’s main jobs is to be a liaison between the cast and crew of a show and the audience. A dramaturg is a censor; in that they support and challenge the artists to obtain the best out come of the material to show to the audience. The dramaturg also censors the material to make sure it is suitable for the audience and that they will be able to understand it and enjoy it. Dramaturg’s are programmers in that they help organize and guide the production. I think of all the terms, “educationalist”, is the most suiting. Dramaturg’s, in my opinion, are there to help educate not only those working on the production but the audience as well. It is there job to do the research when there are questions about the production and lead discussions with the audience so they can better understand the show.
Like I said before I think a dramaturg’s role is to be the liaison between the people who are working on the production and the people watching the production. It is also their job to steer the artists in the right direction while creating a work of art and help direct the way the audience views the production.
In Film, which is the medium I primarily work with, dramaturgy is not a clearly defined job but it is still something that is crucial to the production. As a media arts student my emphasis is Producing and though theatre has producers as well, I feel that in Film a producer can sometime work as a dramaturg along with the responsibilities a theatre producer has. A film producer is a part of the production process from start to finish and helps guide the artists and keep them on track. Though they do not do as much with research and interacting with the audience, they do serve as a safety net and a guide during a production and it is in these terms I define myself as a dramaturg.
I do not get to see a lot of the work the dramaturg does during pre-production and rehearsal but I love attending pre and post show discussions and in many ways that is where I get many of my ideas about what a dramaturg does in the ART setting. I see the dramaturg’s at ART as someone who guides the audience through discussion so that they can better understand and appreciate the art they are being shown.
A censor to me is someone who limits the amount of extraneous production values in a particular work that is subscribing to a specific ideology. Those extraneous items might be ideas, themes, or even content that don't promote the overall message of a particular production. A programmer suggests someone who correlates a number of pieces together to create a cohesive whole. Finally, an "educationalist" seems to be one who uses theater as a tool in the formal education system. I must admit I was initially surprised to hear that a dramaturg covers all of these bases, but I am beginning to see just what a broad base the title "dramaturg" can (and often does) cover.
I think a dramaturg's role in a theatrical or arts institution is perhaps the most exciting aspect of a dramaturg's work because they really get to show their prowess and help establish the over-arching ideology of a particular company. A dramaturg becomes the person who provides the means and "practical wisdom" to support the institution's ideas and overall message to its community. If I were to become a dramaturg, I would love to be involved in this particular facet of dramaturgical working, helping to establish a communal organization and providing the necessary material that would benefit that organization's goals. To me this is the most active way for a dramaturg to contribute to the theater-going community at large, and it is exciting to have that immediate impact.
To me, the censor is the person in the room looking at the whole spectrum and deciding what is do-ably appropriate. I say do-ably rather than just saying appropriate, because I feel that in theater we often reach out side the realm of what many would feel is appropriate. Adding the extra parameter is a sort of, where do we cross the line we don't want to cross. The censor has the entire image and goal of a production in view and can see what will enhance it and what will work to its detriment. In the institution they must speak up in the protection of this bigger picture. The programmer takes a more active role. While the censor sifts through everything happening in a show and decides what needs to go, a programmer inputs the information. This is the Dramaturg that gives their opinion and all of their understanding and knowledge to the institution in order to build productions and the mission of the theater as a whole. While the first two act more inwardly to build a company, the educationalist would seem to me to act more outwardly. They work primarily on the community that the company is seeking to reach. What does this community need to grow? What will help the message we are trying to present to reach them? These are just two big questions the educationalist must answer and subsequently execute.
I see the dramaturg's role as a combination of the three. There are times where each are appropriate and necessary and times when one must step back into a different role because the original no longer fits the situation. This keeps with the transitory nature of the dramaturg as we have discussed in class. Perhaps the reason it's been so difficult to pinpoint a definition for dramaturgs is because the job is a constantly shifting mass of responsibilities to fit different scenarios.
As far as my own dramaturgical role in the theatre, I still feel tied to my beginning of the semester choice of facilitator. I feel that, as a stage manager, my main role is to aid the ideas of designers and directors to come across more clearly. You can throw censor into the mix in the toning down that I do of direct criticism between parties, or in explanations of realistically feasible parts of the work, but there are pieces of each of the three laced throughout the facilitator banner.
To me, a dramaturg that functions as a censor is a person that looks at a piece and helps to keep the material appropriate to the audience it is meant for. A dramaturg as a programmer is a person who helps create a cohesive season that is appropriate for the audience base of the theater. As an educationalist, a dramaturg has the job of creating avenues for people to explore and learn more about the world of a play or about theater in general.
Theatrical institutions generally have a audience base of season subscribers that come to expect something specific from a theater. A dramaturg functions as a person that can understand how the specific audience will react to a play in order to create the most successful piece. They also can know what boundaries to push to get new audiences. Aside from that, a dramaturg works with the actors, director, and designers so they fully understand and grasp the piece to their full potential.
I feel my dramaturgical role as a stage manager is keeping the integrity of the show. We need to protect everything in the show, the director, the actors, the playwright, and the designers. Using a dramaturgical standpoint, I can keep a honest eye on the production. Also, a stage manager often has to function completely as a dramaturg when one is not involved with the production. Even now, days when a dramaturg cannot be in the rehearsal room, I am often asked questions to be answered.
To me each term is relatively similar. When I think of a Censor I think of just that, a censor. This is someone who helps to gear the show or shows to meet the expectations of the audience. This can happen in many different instances. Censorship can happen during the season selection process, the conceptualization process of a show, the rehearsal process and so on. A programmer does basically the same thing except I think that a programmer’s job mostly happens during the season selection meetings and less when the show is actually put into motion. Lastly an educationalist goes out into the community to try to figure out what it is that an audience wants to see more/ less of.
I see the roles of dramaturges in arts institutions to be communicators. They communicate to the people who select the season what it is that their target audience wants to see and what show would then benefit the company the most. My dramaturgical role as a lighting designer is that I communicate what I feel are the mood(s) of a show. This requires a deep understanding of the script and concept as well as the ability to find research images that clearly express my thoughts.
I see all of this happening at ART because there are dramaturges on our season selection committee. We have a post and preshow discussion at some point for every show that we present. We send out surveys and questionnaires to our subscribers and we also have “brat mats” for schools. All of these help us as a company understand and reach out to audience.
To be a censor is to play liasion between the script, the actors, and the audience. At times those of the stage want to say things that those in the audience may not appreciate, and therefore, it is the job or the censor to help translate those ideas into a more suitable form so the original point can get across AND it is less likely to be offensive. I feel a programmer almost acts as the secretary, making sure that everything is organized, up to date, and on track. And of course, an educationalist seems to be the person who understands the show and is willing to work to bring the rest of the world to it (or visa versa).
I believe the beautiful thing about dramaturgy is that one within the field is able to exemplify qualities from each of the terms by helping to censor works in rehearsal time, organize the work that has been done so every member of the production is comprehensive and up to date, and to help bring to the world the work that they have assisted on. In addition to that, I feel the dramaturge goes even one step further than that and is there to educate the production team by opening their eyes to pieces of information or give them insight they may not have had before.
Because I am still finding my place in the world of theater here at the UofA, it is hard for me to clearly define my work but I believe I am using aspects of what a censor, a programmer, and an educationalist does in order to help form my experience.
Censor: As I mentioned in class the idea of a Censor to me stands for the bumpers in a bowling lane. After discussing the analogy in class I still feel that a censor is meant to act similarly to the bumpers in a bowling lane but with every role in art there is room for interpretation. When thinking about the biggest contribution a censor makes my first idea is to have guidelines to go by in deciding the program for each season based off of the patron’s, new audience member’s and institution’s needs. In developing this out look I have come to the conclusion that the censor is more like the guiding lights that line the walk way of the theatre, but stepping out of the lines is still possible.
Programmer: The programmers in most cases serve as the opinions on the selection committee, and work with front of house as well as marketing in order to advertise the season for new and returning audiences.
"Educationalist": The educationalist in a program severs as the pre and post so planner as well as on the selection committee they ensure that the play selections are going to farther the growth of the students as well as the surrounding departments that are involved in the development of each show.
In the theater institution I think the dramaturg’s role is to combine all three of the previously discussed roles into one as well as constantly asking questions of the shows they are involved in to bring new knowledge to the rehearsal and performance process.. In combining the Censor, Programmer and Educationalist into one role allows the largest growth process, not only for the institution but also for the individual dramaturg.
My role as a stage manager utilizes the skills of a dramaturg in the sense that we ensure that all of the developing/ design teams are on the same page. In attempting to keep the production team we serve as the communication line throughout and with in the production team.
The dramaturg can act as a censor, a programmer, or an “educationalist”. As a censor, the dramaturg has control over the material that he or she is working with. Censorship can come in rehearsal with the editing of scripts, concept creation, and in development of the production. The dramaturg also can censor the institutional representation. As a programmer, the dramaturg represents the interests of the institution and also those of the people working for the institution. As a programmer, the dramaturg may serve on the season selection committee. The “educationalist” dramaturg specializes in making connections and networking. Their work includes education outreach, marketing, and the post and pre show discussions.
The dramaturg’s role in the arts is to be a critic, a commentator, and a communicator. With analytical skills, creative thinking, and knowledge, a dramaturg aids in the development of production as well as policy and repertoire of the institution.
My dramaturgical role seems to be a mixture of censor, programmer, and “educationalist”. Thus far, I have used analysis and research as skills for production dramaturgy. At ART, the role of censor is used to manipulate material for our very specific audience. The programmer mediates between this specific audience and the needs and desires of the company. As “educationalists” dramaturg’s at ART write program notes and blogs and also coordinate pre and post show discussions.
My ideas regarding the terms censor, programmer and educationalist are fairly simple. I see a censor as the dramaturg who censors a production or creative process of any unnecessary work or misplaced energy and thought. The censor works to keep the director and creative team on track and helps them not to get sidelined by outliers. The censor also weeds through the material to discover what the focus points should be and how to make this clear to an audience. The programmer is the dramaturg who, in their most basic form, selects and programs the upcoming season. The programmer also assists in the steering of the productions. They work at bringing all of the productions of a season into a cohesive grouping and one that the audience might be able to recognize. The dramaturg as the educationalist is one who works hand in hand with the community and audience. They provide opportunities for discussion and study of the season as well as working with the production team and actors to assist them in discovering any facts or information that they may want about the show that they are involved with.
In my opinion, the dramaturg’s role in theatrical and or arts institutions is extremely relevant and important. The dramaturg becomes not only an educator but is a go-between, a mediator and even a supportive challenger. A dramaturg in this situation works not only with the students and faculty but with the community and patrons as well. The dramaturg is the audience’s advocate in the rehearsal process as well as the playwrights. Here at ART all of these functions seem to work together simultaneously to shape the departments day to day work. One can easily see the work of the dramaturg’s censorship, programming and education in many or our productions and rehearsals. We have dramaturgs on the season selection committee, we have dramaturgy students leading pre and post-show discussions as well as creating actor packets and we have dramaturgs who are even a part of the theatre education program who take the idea of a dramaturg as an “educationalist” to the next level.
To me a censor means that the dramaturg takes on more of a role of devil's advocate than actually censoring the production. The Dramaturg has to look at the production from the view of many different people from the community in which it is produced to the audience to which it is accepted. The Dramaturg also has to make sure that the production is still being true to the playwright and the core of what the play stands for.
Programmer I believe is more of a coordinator, a role where the Dramaturg must help everyone to get on the same page and conduct things so that the production runs smoothly thought it's process from conception to strike.
Educationalist is an important role and a role we see here most at the institutional level. Dramaturgs must educate those around them of the aspects of the piece as well as any historical relevance that actors and designers would need to take into account. They also act as an educational liaison to the community with their writing of program notes and conducting of pre and post show discussions.
I see the Dramaturg's role in theatrical institutions as all three. The Dramaturg must advocate for the script and stand up to or censor behaviors that would pull away from that. They must be a programmer and a go between to all aspects of the production and they must education all that is around them with the insights and research they have uncovered.
Right now I see my role as more of a censor. I need to explore the texts and become an advocate for the play.
Post a Comment