Two summers ago I worked at the RSC as Associate Dramaturg on Midsummer Mischief. As part of the project they interviewed me for their in-house new work magazine about the role of the dramaturg. It was the first time I’d put my own definition in black and white and I found it incredibly useful. Coming across it again this morning, I thought I’d share it here:

What is a Dramaturg?

A favourite response is from Yale Professor of Dramaturgy, Katherine Sheehey, who writes that “among other things, a dramaturg is an in-house critic that is friendly to the production. Dramaturgy is generous honesty, rigorous curiosity, and passion for thoughtful theatre and theatre-making.”

The term “dramaturgy” refers to the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation: the means by which a story can be shaped into a performable form. All performance works have a dramaturgy, mostly sharing a set of base principles but diversifying widely within that. This dramaturgy is first created by the playwright/ makers when they construct a story for the stage, is developed in rehearsal by the director, designers and actors and then comes to full fruition in the interaction the performance has with its audience (this process varies, particularly if the piece is devised or physical, but the key points remain).

A dramaturg is concerned with supporting this process at some or all of these stages. In practice, that job might involve many different tasks from the identification of performable work to working with a playwright through several drafts to hands on support in the rehearsal room. Sometimes it’s as simple as having a cup of tea with a theatremaker as they wrangle with a particularly tricky aspect of their piece. However, always at the heart of the dramaturg’s role is the ability to constructively, clearly and sensitively question a piece of work towards making it the best it can be, without confusing, overwhelming or blocking those making it.