JUST WHAT DO A DRAMATURG DO?….
Since I'm asking all of you to become "a dramaturg" for Streetcar, perhaps some discussion of the definition "Dramaturg" is needed…..

This is my distillation of what a dramaturg does, which is, coincidentally - what every good actor should also do when working to bring the world of their character and the story of the play to life….

A DRAMATURG:


….Seeks out and presents pathways into the world of the play through research through any and all means possible….

….Finds songs, pictures, stories, videos, etc and brings them into rehearsal - basically anything that will help the actors and director discover the world of the play….

….Gathers and arrange images, sounds, and ideas for rehearsal…..

….Explore and presents the world of the play through the history of the era or setting, the playwright, the script’s production history, and any relevant criticism that might be useful to the director or the actors….

….Helps the director do the research for the production; finds answers for questions that come up - large and small….

….Helps the designers do the research for the production, finding images and answers for how to best bring the physical representation of the production to life….

….Helps the actors do research for the production, finds answers to questions that come up, large and small….

….Collates, cuts, tracks, edits, rewrites, constructs, arranges and rearranges the script for that particular production….
Conceives and collates the various forms of the script as a working script….

….Helps the director and actors conceive the forms of the play as it evolves through rehearsal….

….Stays on course when all goes well (which it does)….

….Maintains faith and keeps the calm when all goes ill (as it will)….

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There are MANY MORE duties and aspects to the position of a dramaturg, but for OUR purposes, these are what I'm looking for….
(and please note - we are sticking with the current American usage, spelling and pronunciation - 'drama-TURG,' hard "g" at the end and no "e" at the end… (which turns it into a "juh" sound)

Here is an interesting quote by a top professional dramaturg named Nakissa Etemad that I found useful…. She has worked with playwrights like Tom Stoppard and Charles Mee….

"…..Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions surrounding my profession. It has only existed in this country since the 1960s. I suppose one of the biggest misconceptions (and one that I have a particular dislike for) is that dramaturgs are glorified assistant directors. We are not. We have our own distinction, our own training, our own field; we focus on plays as literature and have expertise in the following: 1-placing plays into their historical context (by compiling and distributing succinct background research to actors and creative teams), 2-aiding in the development process of new plays (by working with writers to reshape their work and with directors to honorably interpret that work), 3-communicating about plays to audiences and other theatre patrons (through writing newsletter articles, hosting talkbacks, interviewing playwrights for donor events; etc), 4-serving as a sounding board for directors and writers and as a representative of the writer (by offering feedback to directors on the production before the audience arrives). I like to think of myself as a midwife in the birthing process of a play, a right-hand woman to a playwright, a third eye in rehearsal, but not an assistant who wants to grow into a directing position. We certainly aid both the director and playwright by the nature of our jobs, but dramaturgs are certainly a viable and individual position in theatre…."


rta940 NOPSI_964-SClaiborne images-1


What is this site for and about?

This site is intended to be a forum where we can communicate with each other, where we can all share thoughts, ideas, questions, messages, documents, pictures, and research on this “Streetcar” that we’re all on…..

 (and after this, let us all agree - we never have to use quotes or formatting for this word to know what we’re talking about….)

My experience as both an actor and a director is that in order to bring the play to an audience we have to know the play…. Inside out, upside down, backwards & forwards…. The period, the place, the people, the story of the play…. This means we must become our own dramaturg’s; we must do the footwork that will bring the play to life in the pores of our imagination, for that is what will make it live for our audience….

Rehearsing a show begins with figuring out the world of the play.

And this means doing the work of a “dramaturg”…


We all need to become a professional dramaturg’s, mining every source of information we can to dig out the world of the play. Together we need to find a world where we all understand and know the same things about how that world “works.” Together we need to find a shared vocabulary both as the characters in the play - and as a cast. This starts with “tablework….” “Tablework” means different things to different directors. To me it means that meaning we all sit and read through the play, slowly, without “acting” for each other, working instead to hear the words, to hear each other, to comb through each page, sentence by sentence, asking and discussing questions and reasons and motives and everything that could possibly come up about what means what and why each character says and does what she/he says and does. Imagine we’re sitting around a table, reading the play together, stopping whenever (and I do mean absolutely - whenever) any question comes up, for anyone, whether it’s about their character or not…..

A sampling of the kinds of questions “tablework” brings up and then tackles are:

  • Just what the hell does “Belle Reve” look like, what was it like growing up there?
  • How long ago did the war end? When were Stanley & Mitch discharged? How long have they been “home?”
  • Why in the world did Stella leave that sheltered environment to come to New Orleans?
  • What did Stella do here before she met Stanley?
  • How did Stella and Stanley meet? Why is she so “dreamy” over his picture? It must have been an event….
  • What exactly did Stanley and Mitch do in the army?
  • What does being a “newspaper boy” mean - did this kid lose his father in the war?
  • What kind of place/plant could all these guys be working in together?
  • When Blanche talks about Margaret dying “…that dreadful way - so big with it - it couldn’t be put in a coffin but had to be burned…” What does that mean? What the hell did Margaret have?
  • Was Steve in WWI? How did he and Eunice meet? Did they maybe lose a son in the war?
  • Is “the Prostitute” really a prostitute? (that term isn’t in every version of the play)
  • There are several women in the play - what are their stories? What happened to them during the War?
  • What’s wrong with Mitch’s mother? How long has she been dying? What’s she dying of?
  • If WWI was 1914-1918, the Great Depression was 1929 to 1939, and WWII was 1939-1945 – what events have affected everybody in the play?
  • How old is everybody in this play? (knowing this will give everyone an idea of how WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII affected all of them and what they’re attitudes toward everything are - money, food, etc..….)

The list will go on – and on – and - hopefully, on…..

As we rehearse we will talk about the world view of all of the characters in this play; what experiences are unique to each character, and what experiences all of them share. We need to know how they all come to be in relationship with each other, what they mean to each other…….

In this pre-rehearsal work, as you look for, through research material, I’m going to aski you all to work the way a dramaturg works not just for yourselves - but for each other as well….

If you’re doing Mitch and you find out something fascinating that might be interesting or pertain to Blanche, or the Young Collector, or anyone else - make a note of it, share it. We may use it. We may not. But we all need to be looking for information not just for our own characters, but for the place, the time, and every other character as well…. This is what makes the work fascinating….. You may think that - “Well, the audience will never know any of this stuff, why is it important?” And the answer to that is - the audience will know - because there will be underlying communal understanding and experience that is like an electrical current running throughout the play. We will “plug in” to each other in a way that strangers who come together for four hours a night for a month could never do…. Doing this kind of work will lock you all into each other and the play in a way that nothing else will…. You may not understand this now, but don’t worry about it…. It will become clearer to you, and by the time we go up - you will understand why I am asking you to do it….. I promise you that….

Thus, I will be asking you all to explore various assignments, missions and/or exercises relating to Streetcar, both individually and as a whole over the next few months……… As I told you at our last meeting - when we start rehearsals in June I don't want to feel like we need to get reacquainted; I want all of us to already *be* in relationship and - in a way - in rehearsal, in process….. When I walk in the door again, my hope is that we won’t have to re-introduce ourselves all over again….

Finally, let this be the first of what will be many disclaimers: I ask your patience as I search for and experiment with how to put this together, on both the technical end as well as the compositional end. I have some experience with websites, but this thing will evolve - trust me…. Keep going back to pages; you will see that I generally “tinker” as I go, re-working and (omg - the girl can’t help herself) - re-writing this site as we all interface, as ideas dawn and issues come up and questions are asked and answered…. I’d like you all to consider this as part of the “process” of working on this play, and treat it as your own project as well….