Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:42:38 -0500
From: "Chris and Ellen Moore"
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Subject: Re: Dramaturgy Grad Schools
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
I graduated with an MFA in dramaturgy from the Columbia Univ. program which
I think is very good. I went on to a PhD program at the Graduate Center at
CUNY, but I do know that a lot of the literary manager positions in New York
City theatres have been filled by grads of the Columbia program in
dramaturgy. My experience has been with regard to teaching at a university
or college, the PhD is necessary for the most part-- although I have been
able to work quite a lot as an adjunct teaching theatre history. But for a
tenure track job, most of the requirements seem to suggest that the PhD is
what is needed.
Best of luck,
Ellen Anthony-Moore
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 14:07:13 -0500
From: "Paula T. Alekson"
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Subject: Re: Dramaturgy Grad Schools
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
Dr. Pizzato,
The January 2001 (volume 18) issue of AMERICAN THEATRE includes both interviews
by Leonora Inez Brown on the discipline of dramaturgy titled "You Can't Tell a
Dramaturg by Her Title" and "A Sampler of Graduate Dramaturgy Programs in the
US"...granted the information is certainly dated, but the vision statements
might be helpful to your student.
Good luck to her/him.
Paula Alekson (Ph.D. Candidate, Tufts University)
Visiting Instructor
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA 01075
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 12:28:09 -0500
From: "Pizzato, Mark"
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Subject: Dramaturgy Grad Schools
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
A student just asked me which grad programs in Dramaturgy I would recommend.
What are now the most prominent schools and degrees for careers in theatre
or academia--as Literary Managers or teachers? Is a PhD or DFA necessary in
today's job market, especially for students who do not have artistic
backgrounds in theatre, but want to study dramaturgy and find a related
career?
Mark Pizzato, PhD
Assoc. Prof. of Theatre
Dept. of Dance and Theatre
UNC-Charlotte
Charlotte, NC 28223
fax: 704-687-3795
phone: 704-687-4488
(go to www.quickdonations.com
and give life with a click
of your mouse)
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 18:11:01 -0000
From: "gwenorel@knology.net"
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Subject: Re: Dramaturgy
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sorry I was vague and I guess in my head I hadn't really considered film
and tv as "other fields," there's so much crossover. Similarly I hadn't
conceived of academia as another field...
On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 12:46:21 -0500, Arnold Aronson
wrote :
> I feel a need to jump in here regarding the question of "other fields"
> in relation to dramaturgy. At Columbia, aside from training production
> dramaturgs and literary managers who have been quite successful
> professionally (as Ellen Anthony-Moore has pointed out), we are training
> people in the areas of television and film script development, producing
> for theatre and film, and other aspects of creating and producing in the
> performing arts. We have alumni working for film companies, television
> shows, literary agencies and the like. Some have gone on to teaching,
> though a PhD is generally a requisite degree for teaching.
>
> Arnold Aronson
>
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 17:22:29 -0000
From: "gwenorel@knology.net"
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Subject: Re: Dramaturgy without practical theatre experience?
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
A literary manager runs the literary office.
Usually that means, running the new play program. I read submitted
scripts, both solicited and un-, hire and train paid readers, oversee our
new play workshops, dramaturg the new plays themselves (including working
with playwrights on multiple drafts), occasiionally dramaturg other plays
where time and interest are appropriate (have done Oscar Wilde and Somerset
Maugham). and yes the director does do a lot of dramaturgical prep too of
course, and in my case, my AD kent Thompson is scholarly and analytical by
nature.
Still, things do come up in rehearsal that he can't run out and track down,
like, "in 1895, when taking tea, would a lady have her gloves on or
off?" "what kind of bar snacks were served at a london pub in 1955??" and
then as dramaturg, I make packets for the actors full of articles,
annotated bibliographies, find good videos for them to watch etc. When
it's a new play with a living playwright obviously the writer knows his
field very well and his subject, like the play we did whose subject was
landmines by Kia Corthron (The Venus de Milo Is Armed), but while she
brought SOME "show and tell" of pamphlets, I added to that, as did the
assitant director.
For a new play about Civil War reenactors, I found a National Park Guard
for one of the actresses to interview, arranged a cast trip to the battle
of Selma reenactment, and so on...
I also run our high school one-act play competition, and go to the schools
to talk about playwriting... scout for talent at new play festivals, meet
and talk to agents.
Sort of the equivalent of an editor at a publishing house's imprint, except
of course i don't "dictate changes" as the word edit seems to imply, it's
much more Maxwell Perkinsish.
work closely with the AD on finding plays that are right for the season at
large....
I was a reader at many theatres before I got my first Literary Manager
job. I also read for various competitions. Etc. etc.
anybody else feel free to chime in anytime! :)
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 17:03:26 -0000
From: "gwenorel@knology.net" Add to Address Book
Subject: Re: Dramaturgy without practical theatre experience?
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
Interesting question... I guess it all depends what people want to do, no?
I don't think degrees in dramaturgy are necessary to be literary managers,
at least, I don't have one and have never had trouble finding work (I'm the
literary manager at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival). When I started
though hardly any LMs had MFAs or PhDs in the subject; these days that's
far less true so not having one might make it more difficult.
I don't know what the "artistic background in theatre" refers to either...
I was an English major as an undergrad and if it's just what major, then
obviously it doesn't HAVE to be drama, so long as you have experience (I
wrote plays and became a reader at the Royal Court)
...why one would want a degree in dramaturgy if one didn't want to work
professionally or teach I can't really fathom though. to my knowledge
other fields don't find it useful...
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:00:37 -0600
From: "Pallen, Thomas"
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Subject: Dramaturgy without practical theatre experience?
To: ASTR-L@listserv.uiuc.edu
Dear List-folk,
I'm obviously much more out of touch than even I suspected. The following
sentence in Mark Pizzato's query about dramaturgy programs really shocked me: "Is a PhD
or DFA necessary in today's job market, especially for students who do not have
artistic backgrounds in theatre, but want to study dramaturgy and find a related career?"
I obviously do not know what dramaturgy means anymore or what dramaturgs (an
extremely un-aesthetic word) do these days. My bookshelves do not contain any of the
various theatre dictionaries in English, but I do have the Italian translation of
Patrice Pavis's _Dizionario del teatro_ which, under the entry for "dramaturgy", offers
this explanation of the "Re-utilization of the term 'dramaturgy' in the sense of
'activity of the Dramaturg'": "In the sense of the 'activity of the Dramaturg',
dramaturgy consists of preparing textual and staging materials, bringing to light the
complex meanings of the text and selecting a particular interpretation, and orienting the
production in the desired direction. Dramaturgy thus fixes the whole of the
aesthetic and ideological choices that the production équippe, from director to actor, is
driven to carry out.... Dramaturgy, in its most recent sense, then, tends to surpass
the limits of a study of the playwright's text to include both !
the text and its stage realization."
Personally, I see this as the director's task, but that still leaves me
wondering about other potential "careers" for those who have studied dramaturgy and how
anyone could imagine studying dramaturgy without an "artistic background in theatre".
Hoping for enlightenment,
Tom Pallen
