University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2012 Dramaturg as Artistic Instigator Megan J. Mcclain University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, and the Playwriting Commons Mcclain, Megan J., "Dramaturg as Artistic Instigator" (2012). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 880. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/880 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DRAMATURG AS ARTISTIC INSTIGATOR A Thesis Presented by MEGAN J. MCCLAIN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS May 2012 Theatre © Copyright by Megan J. McClain 2012 All Rights Reserved DRAMATURG AS ARTISTIC INSTIGATOR A Thesis Presented By MEGAN J. MCCLAIN Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________________________ Harley Erdman, Chair ___________________________________________________ Regina Kaufmann, Member ___________________________________________________ Priscilla Page, Member ___________________________________________________ Daniel Sack, Member ________________________________________________ Penny Remsen, Department Chair Department of Theater DEDICATION To my family for their unconditional support, and to all those theatre artists (dramaturgs and otherwise) who are inspired to instigate and dare to devise. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis chair, Harley Erdman, for his indefatigable support, dramaturgical wisdom, and immense kindness. I offer my gratitude to Gina Kaufmann for her probing questions and open collaborative spirit. Thank you to Priscilla Page for the encouragement and guidance, and thanks to Daniel Sack for the thoughtful advice and positive energy. I am extremely grateful to the entire cast and crew of Beyond the Horizon, who dared to embark with enthusiasm and vigor into uncharted theatrical territory. It was from their collective imaginations that the full realization of this project sprung forth, and I stand amazed at their creativity. To my director and dramaturg partners in artistic crime, Brianna Sloane, Carol Becker, Daniel Sack, Alison Bowie, and Adewunmi Oke, I give my deep thanks for the heart and hard work you put into Beyond the Horizon. The festival could not have happened without you, and it was a pleasure to create new work by your sides. I would also like to thank Quinn Bauriedel for sharing his artistry and devising strategies, Will Power for his support and advice during the project, and Matthew Glassman for eloquently expressing his passion for collaborative theatre creation to our audience. To Christopher Kelly, thank you for believing in me always and supporting my artistic dreams these last three years. v ABSTRACT DRAMATURG AS ARTISTIC INSTIGATOR MAY 2012 MEGAN J. MCCLAIN, B.A., BALDWIN‐WALLACE COLLEGE M.F.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Harley Erdman Dramaturgs have been struggling to define themselves and assert their raison d'être in the American theatre for the past four decades. In an evolving theatrical landscape that includes expanding new play development processes and new modes of collaborative interdisciplinary theatre‐making, the role of the dramaturg must be reexamined in order for it to stake a new artistic claim in the field. Devised theatre‐ making processes rely on dramaturgical practice as an integral part of generating, editing, and structuring performance material and offer a fertile artistic avenue for dramaturgs to utilize their skills. To explore the role of the dramaturg in devised theatre, I chose to curate a festival of three new devised works entitled Beyond the Horizon. This thesis describes in detail my role as curator in the planning, creation, and execution of the festival, as well as my role as a dramaturg within the devising process of one of the three works. To encompass both the idea of the dramaturg as an active co‐creator of performance and an empowered facilitator of change, I proposed a new title for the role: artistic instigator. Drawn from my conclusions and discoveries while working on the Beyond the Horizon festival, I have formed a description about how the dramaturg‐as‐artistic‐instigator might function within vi devising ensembles, propose changes to current new play development practices, and advocate for expanded methods of play‐making. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT ............................................................................................... 8 The State of the Dramaturg in Contemporary Theatre Practice ............................. 8 Dramaturg as Curator ............................................................................................... 12 Devised Theatre and the Dramaturg ................................................................. 17 3. FESTIVAL PLANNING .............................................................................................................. 22 Expanding Dramaturgies: Designing an Evening of Devised Performances ...................................................................................................................... 22 Sparking Conversation: Panel Discussions .................................................................... 28 The Way of Water: Play Reading ....................................................................................... 29 4. BEYOND THE HORIZON ......................................................................................................... 33 Auditions ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Professional Workshop .......................................................................................................... 38 Rehearsals .................................................................................................................................... 41 Design Run ................................................................................................................................... 53 Technical and Dress Rehearsals ......................................................................................... 55 Performances .............................................................................................................................. 57 Post‐show Panel Discussions ............................................................................................... 59 viii Play Reading ................................................................................................................................ 65 Capturing the Ephermeral: Scripting Devised Theatre ........................................... 65 Proccess Reflection: Dual Roles ......................................................................................... 70 5. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 79 Dramaturg as Artistic Instigator ........................................................................................ 79 APPENDICES A. NIGHTINGALE PRODUCTION SCRIPT .............................................................................. 89 B. NIGHTINGALE ARCHIVAL SCRIPT .................................................................................... 98 C. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN ARCHIVAL SCRIPT ................................................... 106 D. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ARCHIVAL SCRIPT ....................................................... 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 131 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Dramaturgs have been struggling to define themselves and assert their raison d'être in the American theatre for the past four decades. In the preface to their 1997 anthology, Dramaturgy in American Theater: A Sourcebook, editors Susan Jonas and Geoff Proehl remark, “...the days of forever needing to explain what a dramaturg does are coming to an end” (vii). Though the title “dramaturg” appears in more playbills, is included in more theater staff directories, and has an active organization, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), dramaturgs in America are not yet free of the endless explaining when it comes to describing what they do even fifteen years later. In February of 2012, The American Voices New Play Institute (AVNPI) at Arena Stage held a convening titled “The 21st Century Literary Office” that sought to address what AVNPI Director Polly Carl called on HowlRound’s blog “one of the great mysteries of the American theater”: the role of