I’m a playwright and lyricist, first and foremost. But as part of my training, I also learned to take on another role: that of the dramaturg. Over the past few years, I’ve come to realize that the dramaturg is possibly the single most misunderstood job in theater and so I’m here to clue you in so you’ll have a better understanding the next time you’re in a production that utilizes one.
Contrary to what “Smash” had you believing, dramaturgs are not just glorified script doctors (although we do that, too). There’s a reason there’s so much misunderstanding around this job and that’s because there’s really no one universal definition; each dramaturgy job will be a little bit different. In general, though, you can expect that a dramaturg is an expert on the text and is there to assist the creative team and cast in their understanding and presentation.
Quite often, you’ll see dramaturgs associated with new works. In these cases, a dramaturg is often employed as a sort of editor, audience surrogate, and liaison. Depending on the needs of the individual production, a dramaturg might work with the writer and director to refine the text, produce character packets
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