I have to admit, gang...my brain is so full of thoughts and questions after Howlround's Convening on The 21st Century Literary Office, I'm not sure where to begin with this prompt. We could link it to the reading from Chapter at of Ghost Light...particularly since institutions and organizations were a strong throughline of the weekend's meetings. We could reflect on the various ways folks at the Convening spoke about both their work and the work of literary managers and/or dramaturgs. We could discuss the difference drawn between literary management, dramaturgy, connectivity, criticism, advocacy...the complexity and fluidity of who does what when in the generative process.
Frankly, I'd like you to respond to any of those ideas, but also engage with one of the prompts at the close of the last session, but expand to acknowledge that while in this class you are all dramaturgs AND...
So...what are the three values you feel are intrinsic to literary management AND the future of theatre in the US? (and where do you see yourself in that future?)
AND...what are the bright spots you see in US theatre at the moment? What makes you want to do what you do?
I'd encourage you to think about your responses in conversation with each other. This time around, let's use this space as a "rehearsal" of our ideas--work them out together in dialogue.
6 comments:
Something that really resonated with me from reading chapter 9 of "Ghost Light", is the legal prerequisite of a mission statement for the establishment of any not-for-profit theatre. I had never thought of the mission statement as having any real impact or significance, but I've come to discover that it can serve as a launching pad for a dramaturg in any theatrical setting. All theatre organizations vary across the world, so in my future I hope to use the mission statement as my way of understanding and questioning what that particular theatre hopes to achieve in the community, and what needs to be updated.
The season selection protocol example provided in the text gave further importance for the WTPN question in the foundation of a production. I admired the dramaturg's blending of peronsal information and thoughts into the protocol, I never thought of using ourselves as examples audience members...this blend seems like an artistic fusion between the duties of literary managers and dramaturgs. The mixing of audience significance with contextual research shows how the two professions are subtly switched and mistakened, but both are working with the same ambition.
Lastly, this chapter hinted at the proper rehearsal etiquette for a dramaturg. I got the intention there is a lot of eggshells littered about the dramaturg so there is no route that can be crossed between the other participants. I can't imagine myself studiously waiting for tasks to be delegated out by a director, in my future I hope to see a productive engagement with all artists, and to limit the hierarchial barriers.
After reading Ch. 8 in Ghost Light, I found that the three values I find most important to the future of theatre in the US have a lot to do with the position of the literary manager/dramaturg. I think that most importantly, especially given the way theatre has been changing, a strong mission statement is needed. If a company, production or person does not have a strong mission statement, then the goals, which they are setting for themselves or others, will not be achieved as easily, effectively or maybe not at all. I really enjoyed watching the mission statement portion of the live feed on Friday, and that solidified my thoughts about needing a strong mission statement to effectively achieve your goals.
In that same vein, I think that a second important value is a strong position which helps all parties involved uphold the mission statement. The dramaturg/literary manager, as described in the chapter we read this week, is usually this position. They have to know what is best for everyone according to the mission statement set out. Third, I think it is important to remember that we need to think about who is coming up next and how we can equip these new theatre professionals in the best way possible.
In terms of bright spots that I see in the US right now...I think companies are definitely starting to reevaluate their missions and are adjusting what they want to achieve and how because of the limitations they have been hit with. I think this kind of critical thinking and evaluation is really important right now and will help everyone in our theatre world look at themselves and ask what they are hoping to achieve.
I got a chance to sit in on the Howlround'd convening, the section on 21st century manifestos. While listening to what everyone had to say I was most caught up on what they had to say about the future. What will happen to the future of theater and the future of literary management and dramaturgy.
I have to say i rarely think about the future of theater, even thought i probably should. I think that it is a big deal to start getting the new playwrights and those unknown plays brought around. Because if we just keep readapting and reproducing the things that have already been done there will be no movement towards the future of theater. Those dramaturgs and literary managers that we might not use to their full potential i can see becoming more and more essential to all theater companies and production teams by connecting those unknown playwrights to the stage.
After reading Chapter 8 in Ghost Light I feel like three values that are intrinsic to literary managers are being able to develop and stick to a strong mission statement, being able to communicate well, and being able to understand your audience. These values are also tied into what is needed for the future of theatre to prosper in the US. Fist off, having a strong mission statement seems crucially important for any company. The mission statement is not only an anchor to base your future seasons off of, but it is also something that your audience can connect to and invest in. Instead of just having audience members go to see only the shows they think might be interesting, it would be much more beneficial to have them believe in what you are trying to accomplish at your theatre. This way, they become more emotionally invested in not only the work you are doing but what you will also be doing in the future.
Communication also plays a key role in these topics as well. It is of course very important to have a literary manager be able to communicate their ideas and findings to others in order to make sure the production runs effectively. But there is also an importance with communicating with the rest of the world outside the theatre. During the 21st Century Literary Office Convening, I was very upset to find that I did not recognize a lot of people or certain theatres. Now, I except the fact that I might just not stay as updated as I should but it still seems as though there is a lack of communication in the theatre world. If you are not directly involved with a theatre or its company, then you tend to become deft to everything else. I think this is a serious problem that needs to be remedied if the future of theatre is going to prosper. New ideas are not getting heard and so there seems to be a constant cycle of redoing golden age plays. I think there needs to be more talking and less rerunning in the theatre world.
Then I think being able to identify with your audience is something that is often underplayed. It doesn’t matter how great a script or a production is if your audience is just not interested in the story. Once again, many people have moved on from the same old plays constantly done and want something new. Or perhaps they like diversity in the plays they see. Whatever the case may be, it seems as though to identify with other audience members and guide them to what they are looking for seems like a drastically important value.
These values are very important to both a literary manager and the future of theatre in the US. Reading about the company chapter and seeing the conference helped me understand that. We need to get out of our bubble and take a closer look at what needs to be shown instead of what we would like to show.
I believe that there is a bright path for the future of theatre. Dramaturgs will become more prominent and their position in the field will become more familiar. As my knowledge of theatre (as a whole) expands, I have become more optimistic for its future. In saying this, I believe that the passion that my current colleagues share will only help the expansion of talent and awareness that theatre can bring.
Specifically, literary management needs to keep making their presence known. Without it, the historical/organizational context of any play will indeed be lost. If this happens, then so many plays would turn into a confusing pot of events that contain no meat or have no one to direct questions toward.
It was nice to witness the HowlRound live session last week because I love seeing people expressing their work through discussion. It wasn't anything fancy but reading their own articles in front of an audience. This results in further appreciation of the craft and overall improvement and progression in daily theatre analysis.
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