The Process of Dramaturgy - Focus Publishing

4 The Process of Dramaturgy: A Handbookwithout thoroughly parsing the text at hand. As common sense suggests,every production poses its own unique set of questions, so thecontent of production dramaturgy books vary widely. This said, in ourown work we have come to recognize several common elements in preparinga book for rehearsals. These include:• A glossary of terms and concepts (See The Gloss below.)• Notes on the play’s production history (influential productionswith performance reviews)• A compilation of pertinent socio-cultural information (perhapsincluding a time-line)• Playwright information• History/ Historiography• Dramatic Criticism/Commentary• Images of art, architecture, geography, and the like as referencedwithin the play text• Often, a scene break down• Notes on genre• Pertinent notes on characters (their specific functions in themachinations of the play)The production dramaturg’s book, of course, continues to evolvethroughout the planning and production process—sometimes growingin size while at other times contracting as the director takes a differenttack and dramaturgy materials are shed to match. Recently, a first-timestudent production dramaturg was dismayed when, at the openingdesign meeting, collaborators asked for information not in the preparatorymaterials. Self-identified as an actor with a love for research,and perfectionist by nature, the production dramaturg had dutifullymet with the director over the course of several months. Based both onisolated research and director-dramaturg conversations the productiondramaturg had compiled quite a hefty production dramaturgy book,typed and with tabs. What was experienced in that moment, though,was the transitory, process-oriented, evolutionary nature of productiondramaturgy—the continual feelings of “finding” and sometimes “lettinggo” in which those of us engaged in dramaturgical work revel.After viewing a couple of production dramaturg notebooks that had