The Process of Dramaturgy - Focus Publishing

xviiiThe Process of Dramaturgy: A HandbookInterpreting ResultsThe list generated in the first part of the exercise indicates the varietyof training and experiences someone already has at their disposal forapplication in the production dramaturg’s world. Surprisingly, many ofthe tools we acquire from our daily lived experiences relate to theatricalproductions in quite remarkable ways. Here are a few examples:1. The knowledge of stock car and sprint car racing customsenabled a production dramaturg to come to the table with ideasregarding how the director and scenic designer could applythese cultural phenomena to the visual design of the world ofthe play.2. Courses in world religions reminded the production dramaturgfor Our Town of the potential Buddhist underpinnings to thetext and encouraged her to re-examine the play’s manipulationof time.3. The recollection of attending 12-Step Program meetings withher family when her brother was in rehabilitation prompted newplay dramaturg to suggest a 12-Step meeting as a setting for apiece consisting of seemingly unconnected monologues.The “Wish List” should not prompt anyone to suddenly enroll inmore coursework or participate in activities for which there is no time.Rather, it points to the variety of content and methodologies alreadyin a person’s proverbial bag of tricks. For example, the production dramaturgfor a feminist production of The Tempest found herself trappedin a lecture geared toward aspiring female college administrators. She“perked up” when the keynote speaker mentioned a business and organizationdevelopment text that addressed gender and power. The textultimately provided a structure for the examination of the world of theplay, one completely in keeping with the director’s casting and overallvision for the production.So You Want to Be a Production DramaturgBefore leaving this section we should note that much, if not all,of what we suggest in The Process of Dramaturgy is contingent on thecomfort level of the director, writer and even producer. Again, though