What is a Dramaturg? This is how the Encyclopedia Britannica defines dramaturgy:
The art or technique of dramatic composition or theatrical representation. In this sense English dramaturgy and French dramaturgie are both borrowed from German Dramaturgie, a word used by the German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing in an influential series of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie (The Hamburg Dramaturgy), published from 1767 to 1769. The word is from the Greek dramatourgía, "a dramatic composition" or "action of a play."
The craft of dramaturgy dates back to 18th century Germany, and Herr Lessing. Others followed, through and including Bertolt Brecht in the 20th. It wasn't until the rise of the regional theatres in the 60s and 70s, and its champion, Robert Brustein, that the craft and position found a place in American theatres.
A Dramaturg is many things rolled into one. They are part educator and part editor. They act as a supportive muse to the Artistic Director, and as a mischievous court jester. They are the theatre's internal critic, and their resident historian. They can help to shape a company's season, or they can champion undiscovered playwrights and aid them in the construction of their scripts. They play devil's advocate to a production's director, and stand in as the playwright in absentia when cuts and changes to the script are considered. Simply put, they are the Director of the Text. Where a regular director is charged with making the script a three dimensional picture, the Dramaturg ensures that the words and intentions of the author are being served in that translation.
The genesis of the Dramaturg came with the hire of Gotthold Lessing by the Hamburg Repertory Company in 1767. Already an established playwright and theatre critic by this time, the Company hired him to work in tandem with the Artistic Director. They figured Lessing's public name recognition, and his ability to teach and publish, would give them legitimacy when he wrote positive pieces about their productions for various publications.
Rather than the rubber stamp they were looking for, Lessing was a man who violently fought against the pandering choices of the Artistic Director and the Company's lack of scripts by German authors. In his collection of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie (The Hamburg Dramaturgy), he called for the production of works by German playwrights and on Germanic topics. He lambasted the French farces the Company mounted, and demanded that the actors rid themselves of their glib styles in place of more honest, empathetic presentations. Even after his removal, he continued to write essays until the Company collapsed due to financial hardships three seasons after hiring him. By this time, though, playwrights and sympathetic theatre artists began to rally around Lessing. Before the end of the century, the position of Dramaturg had been established in all Repertory's in major cities in Germany. There was a tacit agreement that the Dramaturg assume the position of resident watchdog, promoting the growing German Romantic movement sweeping the country. They fought against pandering to the audience, striving to educate and challenge. They were often in constant conflict with the Business Manager, whose job was to oversee a much different bottom line. The resounding success of their nationalistic demands secured the permanence of the position to current day. Even now, German theatre people move smoothly between the positions of Dramaturg, Artistic Director, Playwright-in-Residence, Literary Manager, and Critic, sometimes working in several positions at once for different companies in neighboring towns.
Dramaturgy came to America through 1960s academia. At Yale, under the tutelage of Robert Brustein, the education of theatre critics was moved from the English to the Drama Department. Brustein recognized the importance of creating a theatre critic that was more than an enlightened audience member. His future critics were taught the basics of performance, direction, and design, and given equal amounts of playwriting as well as reporting instruction. Because of internal strife in the program, this career track was transformed from a theatre critic vocation to a dramaturgical one. The theatre students grew to resent their involvement with those who would move away from them and into journalism. Michael Feingold, the longtime critic for the Village Voice and a walking theatre history textbook, was one of the first to graduate from this program. Later graduates began to evenly split their future careers, some going to newspapers, and others staying in theatre management.
Simultaneously, influential playwriting programs like the University of Iowa Writer's Conference introduced the instruction of playwright's "advocates." These advocates worked one-on-one with playwrights, offering guidance, support, and suggestions. They never took credit for the script, but were instrumental in the transition of these scripts from playwright to director, and were responsible for the staged readings of the scripts prior to production. It wasn't long until the two universities saw the similarities of their programs, and American Dramaturgy was established.
The position of Dramaturg soon began appearing in major regional theatres like Minneapolis' Guthrie and D.C.'s Arena Stage. Those in this position have input in the formation of a theatre season. The Dramaturg keeps a lookout for and translates worthy scripts from other languages, writes articles and makes media appearances promoting shows and community programs, and develops original scripts to be included in future seasons. As intricately involved in their company as they are, it is also expected they remain aloof. They must keep a critical eye on everything that goes on during the season, working as the resident perfectionist.
For each production, they act as human history textbook, atlas, and glossary. They edit the text for the director in the event they mutually agree on cuts or revisions, attempting to retain as much of the author's intention as possible. They create backgrounders for cast and designers that explain the era of the piece. This historical context includes maps and basic facts about the location. It chronicles events, trends, and celebrities in all different areas, including politics, music, art, education, popular culture, and science. It also includes a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases in the script. The Dramaturg oversees rehearsals for script analysis and discussions of relationships. They are available to research odd questions that arise from interpretations of the script. They write liner notes for the program to assist the audience in entering the world of the play. They aid in publicity by researching the history of the production for established works, and by writing informational articles for local publications. They can then write a critique of the piece for internal use by the company.
The Dramaturg is the theatre's greatest advocate. They're also the thorn in its side, needling the Company to extend its reach. The Dramaturg is the enemy of complacency. They press the Company to attempt a worthy-though-untested piece, or an unusual interpretation of an established one. If the Company begins to fall into familiar patterns or rhythms, they'll suggest a change in its presentation styles or calendar. They'll insist that just because something has worked well in the past, doesn't mean that something completely different might not have even greater results. For the Dramaturg, it's all about pushing the envelope to continue the education of those within the theatre and the audience. They are the natural balance to the necessarily conservative Business Manger. Where the Business Manager will sit on one shoulder of the Artistic Director, cautioning and using monetary figures to promote the familiar, the Dramaturg impishly sits on the other, cajoling and gesturing to the stars.
The strength of the theatre is in the mix of live presentation and the power of its crafted language. It is up to the director, designers, performers, and crew to bring it to life, while it is the job of the Dramaturg to get them all on the same page.