"You keep using that word..."

I am a dramaturg. "What the hell is that?" you ask. It's a good question. In fact, it's a question that most - if not all - of us who identify ourselves by the title have struggled to answer countless times. I say "struggled" because it's a question we ask ourselves constantly as well, and the definitions we come up with often feel insufficient, changeable, even contradictory. I say "countless times" because this word sounds made-up to pretty much everybody who hasn't spent a lot of time in the professional theatre. Which is pretty much everybody.

This initial post will serve as a brief (and in no way comprehensive) introduction to the term, to the practice, and to why I've decided to write a blog in the first place.


(A caveat, before we begin: Bear in mind that no definition - or definitions, in this case - is going to be fully satisfactory to all dramaturgs everywhere. This is due in part to the dramaturg mentality - our need for flexibility, our resistance to strict categorization, and our bone-deep fear of eliminating a possibility that might come in handy later - and in part because we are a decidedly motley crew with a great variety of talents, priorities, and interests.)

First, let's deal with the grammar. "Dramaturgy" is a noun and refers to the discipline and its ideas, arts, and practices. "Dramaturg" can be either a noun (a practitioner of dramaturgy) or a verb (the act of committing dramaturgy). You may sometimes see the word "dramaturge" instead of "dramaturg;" they mean basically the same thing, and the spelling is largely a matter of personal taste, not unlike the different spellings of "theatre"/"theater".

In my research for the maiden post of this blog, I came across several definitions of "dramaturgy." Some of them were more apt than others - or, at least, some of them were more in keeping with my understanding of the practice, and it's these I've included below.

"[D]ramaturgs contextualize the world of a play; establish connections among the text, actors, and audience; offer opportunities for playwrights; generate projects and programs; and create conversations about plays in their communities. In the ecology of theatre-making, dramaturgs forge a critical link between artists and institutions, and institutions and their communities [...] Dramaturgs serve the field as experts on our dramatic past and as advocates for writers of today and the important work of the future." - Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)

"The production dramaturg is probably the most intellectual or academic position in the theater, and the best dramaturgs are usually the most involved in the world. Knowing the city in which you live, reading widely in other fields, cultivating colleagues and contacts in other neighborhoods and other walks of life - can help the dramaturg keep the theater in touch with real life." - Anne Cattaneo, "Dramaturgy: An Overview," Dramaturgy in American Theater: A Source Book

"'Dramaturgy' is a term that refers to both the aesthetic architecture of a piece of dramatic literature (its structure, themes, goals, and conventions) and the practical philosophy of theater practice employed to create the full performance. Together, dramaturgy is the very blood coursing through the veins of any theatrical production. In practice, dramaturgy refers to the accumulated techniques that all theatrical artists employ to do three things: (1) Determine what the aesthetic architecture of a piece of dramatic literature actually is (analysis); (2) Discover everything needed to transform that inert script into a living piece of theater (research); (3) Apply that knowledge in a way that makes sense to a living audience at this time in this place (practical application)." - Michael Mark Chemers, Ghost Light

So that's dramaturgy in a nutshell. As you can see, it's a complicated idea, and everyone has his/her own sense of it. Common threads appear in virtually all definitions, though: the desire for deep understanding and analysis, the appreciation of context (yay research!), and the enthusiasm for finding and making connections (yay research again!). So what does all that mean? Basically, we, the dramaturgs of the world, are the very geekiest of theatre geeks. Curious about what Juliet means when she asks, "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" (hint: it has nothing to do with his location)? Ask a dramaturg! Wonder whether your prop master needs champagne flutes or champagne glasses for a scene set in the 1930s? Ask a dramaturg! Need somebody to show how game theory can relate to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Yep, that's a dramaturg.

So why the blog? And why "omniturgy" instead of "dramaturgy"? Well, that's also complicated.

The blog comes from my experiences this past semester, which was my last in the MFA Dramaturgy program at Stony Brook University. My MFA project involved exploring the audience engagement and outreach possibilities available to the dramaturg / literary manager, and as part of that, I wrote a (marginally successful) blog for the show I was dramaturging. I also read blogs produced by other dramaturgs and theatre companies - lots and lots of them. Add to that the facts that half my friends are now blogging about their various and sundry interests and that I'm a bit of a copycat. What do you get? You get this.

And now for the title. "Omniturgy" - unlike "dramaturgy" - is, in fact, a made-up word. It springs from my personal feeling that in addition to being a set of concepts and practices within the theatre, dramaturgy is also a way of thinking, and as such, it can be applied to virtually any subject. Dramaturgs are geeks, and proud of it. We get excited about theatre, of course, but we also get excited about any number of other things, and we like to bring our superpowers of analysis, research, and connectivity to those as well. So what do you call it when you want to dramaturg something other than drama? What do you call it when you want to dramaturg, say, everything?

If you're a true dramaturg at heart, first you'll try "everything-turgy" but quickly reject it as a clumsy word. Then you'll look up how to say "everything" in other languages. This will result in such possibilities as "πάνταturgy" (Greek), "omniturgy" (Latin), and "allesturgy" (German). Then you'll spend some time debating whether Germany's claims on the original term (the modern usage of "dramaturgy" originated with Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, a German dramatist) trump the prettier-sounding Latin prefix. Ultimately, this dramaturg decided to go with the Latin because it was more identifiable and because it was her first impulse (trusting instinct and happenstance is also an important part of being a dramaturg).

So here we are. This blog is a place for applying the mindset and skills of a dramaturg to anything and everything, to get enthusiastic and geeky and analytical and sometimes critical (we can be that way too) about whatever takes my fancy. If you've read all the way to the end of this post, you've probably got a bit of the dramaturg (or, perhaps, the omniturg?) in you too. So check back frequently (I'm going to try to update weekly), check out the research links at the end of each new post, and if you're feeling really pumped up, leave a comment!

Peace out, my 'turgs! See you next week!

Additional Information:

LMDA's website

Wikipedia article on Dramaturgy (relatively accurate)

Wikipedia article on Sociological Dramaturgy (Who knew this was a thing?)