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| Toby Malone, Dramaturge at Soulpepper Theatre |
We recently launched the Interdisciplinary Dramaturgy "Skype Salons" and our debut guest in the salon was Dr. Toby Malone, dramaturge at Toronto's prestigious Soulpepper Theatre. Toby shared his insights on the Toronto theatre scene, his journey into dramaturgy, and the challenges and rewards of both new play development and classical dramaturgy.
The students weigh in with their responses in the comments; feel free to weigh in as well!
6 comments:
Skyping with Dr. Malone was, to put it simply, enlightening. I learned many things about Dramaturgy and the practice there-of that I had never considered before. I have an entire page filled with a mass chaos of scribbles and notes on our discussion. Some of the things I starred were:
*Never believe anyone if they tell you there is a “way” to be a dramaturg. Your way is the right way.
*Never be friends with the actors. Be friendly but don’t be a friend, because people stop listening to you.
*Don’t be in rehearsal so often that you fade into the background and become essentially an ASM.
*Experience is everything!! When starting out don’t be afraid to ask for work or offer to do some work for free.
Reading over these fairly simple statements one might assume that these concepts would be common sense. But as I’ve begun to discover through these Skype sessions, often it is the “common sense” of dramaturgy that is forgotten or missed amidst the hours of research, study and discussion. I have been a part of life-changing dramaturgical conversations and fascinating rehearsal work, but never have these concepts that Dr. Malone highlighted come up. Sitting amongst my classmates facing the computer screen with the image of Dr. Malone staring back I had a number of epiphanies. As a dramaturg I control how important I am to a theatre company. I control the success of my career. I control who views my research and which parts others interact with. I have the control! No one else but me. It is up to me to determine how accessible I will be to a director and cast. It is my responsibility to make myself an irreplaceable part of the creative and collaborative process of a production. My experience is up to me. I get to choose the menu for my dramaturgical buffet. Do I want to have a helping of classical theatre, or maybe a spoonful of new works. How about a slice of ensemble pie? Or maybe even a plateful of theatre outreach. The world of theatre is a banqueting table and I’m one of the first in line. It’s exciting to know that my education here at the University of Arizona and specifically in a rare BFA Dramaturgy and Theatre History program will allow me so many opportunities. I am thankful to Dr. Malone for inviting me to the feast, if you will allow me to squeeze one last cheesy line out of the metaphor, and to Dr. Carrie J. Cole for the opportunity.
Our Skype session with Toby was very informational and interesting. Toby gave us a clear description of his responsibilities at Soulpepper and other projects as well. He gave useful tips and provided us with much information.
Toby defined dramaturgy as means of manipulating drama and frowned upon the words “play doctor”. I noted and agreed with this because it implies that the play is sick and needs to be cured. I also appreciated Toby mentioning that there is no right way to be a dramaturg.
During his skype session, Toby mentioned many plays and authors that he enjoyed. I wrote down a few (Time of Your Life and Iceman Cometh) and plan to read them when time permits.
Toby was eager to help and gave valuable information, making the first Skype session a success.
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cjc
I loved hearing from Dr. Malone during our skype session. One of the most intriguing aspects of our discussion with him is that it helped provide an international outlook on our practice. After hearing a brief backstory, we all learned that Dr. Malone is a native Australian, but moved to Canada to pursue a acting career, and now he is the resident dramaturg at Soulpeper theatre.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned from Dr. Malone was that as a young aspiring theatre artist, I should not be afraid to ask for opportunities at theatre companies. When asked how he became a dramaturg, he told us that he asked if he could assist at theatre companies and was given dramaturgical type duties that morphed into the career he has today. I found this to be extremely inspirational, because as a young adult it can be extremely difficult to find opportunities for yourself, but Dr. Malone encouraged me to seek out my own opportunities to pave my own future possibly leading me down a road I never expected.
"Experience is everything!! When starting out don’t be afraid to ask for work or offer to do some work for free. "
Jessica wrote this down, and when reading everyone's comments, this popped out at me. In life, there's a lot of pressure make money right out of school. I know I'm getting it from my parents already, "What are you going to do after school?" "How are you going to make a living?"
It is inspiring that Dr. Malone was able to create the opportunities he wanted, where none had existed previously. This idea that we can go out into the world and train ourselves is beyond empowering.
It also happens to be frightening.
It takes a lot of courage to go out there and ask for what you want. If there's anything I've taken out of this Skype Salon, it's that I should try to embody that courage and fight. I imagine that in my future as a writer, professional or not, this will come in handy.
The things that really hit home for me in our discussion with Dr. Malone was when he touched on the dramaturg's role in rehearsal space. He first mentioned that one should not to be there too often and not to become too close with the actors. At first I was confused as to why these points were worth being made but after my assignments this year, I understand. As dramaturgs it is difficult to get your actors to understand what you do, let alone respect your work, so it makes sense that there would need to be that disconnect so they can still respect you. Aside from all of that, hearing how he has jumped all over the globe working in the theatre got me extremely excited. It had been a goal of mine for quite some time to work overseas and seeing that it is an obtainable goal gives me all the more determination.
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