A Lengthy While

It has been a while since I've written here and that has been out of necessity as I've been working. To be completely honest the semester pulled me in too many directions at once. I'll try to get back to doing this semi-regularly soon, but for now I'd just like to update everyone on a couple of things that have happened since I last posted:

• The Underpants successfully opened and closed.
• My RROAPS play was rejected for reasons currently unknown to me. (That said, the selected plays are lovely).
• I'll be directing one of the RROAPS plays next semester: A BOX TO SCREAM IN.
• I completed another draft of my Lawson play. (Note the unattended to blog).
  
• My short play Stars Old Man was produced at the LimeLight theatre... I felt like I was seeing my own work for the first time. (It was wonderful. Thanks to everyone who worked on the show!)
• I'm almost finished teaching another semester of the large cinema course. It's been great fun.

Those are some of the highlights and catch-ups of my professional/academic life this past semester. You can find my equally ignored blog about personal life here. Hopefully I'll get back to that too.

That's all for now. Time for sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep is very good. So is the weekend. More to come (maybe).

The Beginnings of my RROAPS play

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At the request of a "car wreck"...

Someone who will remain not-so-vaguely-referred-to-in-the-title-of-this-post asked if I would ever post another blog here. The answer is "yes I will," but the infrequency must be explained.

Link:
kylesleep.jpg: http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll297/K_REY_C/?action=view¤t=kylesleep.jpg

Content:




You see, this amazing thing happened. "A child was born" and that child is my son. While I don't have to spend a great deal of time with him because my wife provides for his every need (eating) he does require some time from me which I am happy to give. He also makes my schedule less predictable than it was (and it was pretty unpredictable before).

The other factor, sadly, is my change of occupation. Last year I was teaching a 20-ish student acting course. This semester I am dealing with a 400ish student Film course. While the teacher still "learns" my learning is more managerial than educational. This limits the appropriateness of my current occupation to the overall theme and meaning of this blog.

I am, however, working as a dramaturg this semester. That is pertinent and will be discussed when some time appears and I can commit some reflection to the process. At the moment I am still adjusting to the drastic changes this semester has brought upon us (and by "us" I mean "me").

A quick update about dramaturgy (and something I'll certainly be writing about) is that I have an asst. dramaturg. This wonderful individual is from outside the department but will be working with me on The Underpants. This is a new situation for me and should prove to be an interesting one. I must admit that one of my failings as a person is delegation. Four years spent obtaining a business degree taught me that you can't trust most people and that even if they do get the work done you would likely have been far better off had you done it yourself.

While I know this won't be the case concerning my current project and the participants involved the feeling and experience of the past has always been hard for me to shake. This will be a struggle and a challenge in the coming months. You, dear readers, will get to see that struggle in digital print.

Dramaturgy Part II

I've got the internet again so I'm back up and running on the blog.

Even though I was without the web (my primary dramaturgical research tool) I was able to work on the Dramaturgy for the upcoming production of The Underpants. How?

You see, preliminary work on a production involves a number of things. For simplification, I'll speak of some broad generalities first.

1) You need to speak with the director.

This is not an option. Why? Well, suppose that Hamlet will be transported to the year 2500, on the moon, and that everyone is androgynous. That's something you'd want to know while reading the script. For The Underpants I checked with the director to make sure that there weren't going to be any changes in Time or Place and that there wasn't going to be some strangely applied concept to the production. With those issues taken care of I can move on to something else.

2) Researching what you need to research.

Okay, this isn't what you think (or maybe it is). At this stage I read the play again (yes, I've already read it a number of times). And again, and again and again. After reading the play several times I begin another reading of the play, and read very slowly in order to start taking notes (normally digitally) about anything that I don't "get." This could mean a great number of things including:

• Definitions of words
• Pronunciations of words
• References
• Jokes that aren't funny anymore
• Uncertainty about character word choice
• Confusion about events, time frames, locales
• Any number of other things

For clarity I've included some of my preliminary work for this play. While I don't yet have the script that the cast will be using you'll note that I include page numbers for reference as I find that an easier way to locate information for both the production team and the actors.

Also note that I haven't explored any of these items yet. What I'm doing is giving myself a large "To Do" list. Once "complete" (there are always things you miss) I'll set myself the task of answering all of those questions. Definitions are quick to find, but sometimes references and historical information can take much longer.

Sometimes you need to do math to equate the U.S. Dollar of today with other currencies (or even the same currency) at a different time period. What does it mean that a bottle of champagne is $12? Well, if it was 70 years ago that bottle actually costs closer to what we understand as $90. This information changes how the actors will say it, receive it, and handle the prop. Have you had a $90 bottle of wine? (I actually have... it was at a tasting but it was really good... though I thought the $120 bottle was crap.)

Lastly, it is important to remember that directors will choose to use your information in different ways. Of the limited number of times I've served as dramaturg I've had directors:

• Do almost nothing with the research. Rarely divulging the secret information to the actors in any form.
• Ask for only specific types or items of information for me to look up, rejecting much of the preliminary work I speak of above.
• Request a presentation to the cast.
• Go over each item with the cast during a slow read-thru to ensure they know what we know.
• Ask for tangential information to create a tangential/referential production/comment on the words, materials, etc...

I know there are even more ways for a director to use (or not use) the research of a dramaturg. What is important is that you know as much as you can on Day 1 about the play. Asking yourself the questions in the manner I've described above means that, at the very least, you'll be able to address numerous issues, questions, concerns on Day 1. Will you be able to answer every question? No way... but those questions simply add to your "To Do" list. Dramaturgy is on-going. Are you ready?

Internet Problems

Okay... so for those of you desperately awaiting part II (and III, IV, V, etc...) of the dramaturgy blogs please keep waiting and checking back.

Right now I'm without internet access with any regularity as I've just moved and my service provider is being difficult. That said, I should have everything back up within the next 2 weeks. I'll try to hop on in a coffee shop and get part II up soon.

Thanks for being patient!

~Kyle

Part I

A little bit about me. I have, at the time of writing, served as the official dramaturg for 5 productions: Solve for Castrato* by Margie Pignataro; Wonderland in Alice by Margie Pignataro; The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan; We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! by Dario Fo; and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. I am scheduled to serve as the dramaturg for Dr. Jonathan Marks' production of The Underpants by Carl Sternheim as adapted by Steve Martin in the coming Fall of 2009.

I have, however, found that dramaturgy is what I have been doing despite my non-knowledge of the concept. My peers have, for several years, sought out my advice and opinion about their scripts, performances, productions, and other creative activities. This, I have found, is one part of dramaturgy.

Now, perhaps this part is presumed as a natural part of dramaturgy. While I now have both an undergraduate degree in Theatre as well as a Master's degree in Theatre Art, peers have long valued my opinion(s) about their work. Did I have some special skill that led my opinion to be worth something? Do I have some superior knowledge that let my opinion to be valuable?

First, let me dispel the degree myth. While I now have a Master's degree it has always been peers seeking this opinion/advice. So, while I was an undergraduate it was other undergraduates. While a graduate it was (and still is) other graduates. So it is not my degree(s) alone which make my opinion valuable. What is it then?

I have a theory about this. It's very simple: I tell the truth. I am honest about my opinion of the work itself. What does that mean?

It's time for an example. I'm assuming that you've been around actors and or the theatre, but if you haven't I'll fill you in: actors (young ones especially) are in constant need of kind words and support. What this ends up leading to is an environment where truth isn't valued as highly as guarding other people's ego's and feelings. It has always been my opinion that those who cannot take constructive criticism are not meant for the field. Improvement tends to be based on hearing, understanding, acknowledging, and correcting what you have done poorly or wrong outright.

Why do I think this is my “secret power?” If someone brings their script or scene or performance to you and you have a reputation for being honest that means that they value honesty and that they seek .improvement. These are the people who will continue to work in the field, and so will you.

A quick note about this. I have left something very important out: you have to be willing to take constructive criticism as well. While telling the truth as you see it is very valuable in its own right, you need to understand that constantly learning about the art of theatre is required for your opinion to be valuable and true. You don't have to know everything, you just have to be willing to seek out knowledge about the things you don't know. This concludes Part 1 of the dramaturgy blog.

Part 2 will tackle preparatory work for serving as dramaturg on a production.

Until next time,

KYLE

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Dramaturgy 101 - Part Zero

I've decided to write a multi-piece article about my dramaturgical process.

What's that you say? Your dramaturgical process. Why would I want to read about your dramaturgical process?

• Dramaturgy is contested territory in terms of a strict definition.

• Each dramaturg's process will inevitably be different, and therefore useful for:

  • Someone looking for how someone could approach dramaturgy if they've never done it before.

  • A director intrigued by the idea of dramaturgy and wanting answers about what a dramaturg might do during the course of a production.

  • A working dramaturg interested in finding new ideas, applications, processes, or anything else having to do with someone else's definition of dramaturgy (inevitably implied within their process.

• I learned that I've been a student of dramaturgy ever since my first involvement with the theatre and if you're reading this initial post in the series than you'll probably find that you are interested in many of the same things that make you a dramaturg without appearing in any program or carrying the title to your name.

What will follow in this series are my ideas about dramaturgy “so far.” I stress the “so far” because it is evident to me that the field of dramaturgy is a broad one. I do not claim, in any way, to have all of the knowledge about the field and its potentials. In fact, I claim the opposite: I do not have all the knowledge. If this is enough to drive you away from reading further then dramaturgy is not for you. Devoting yourself to a problem which, perhaps, has no single correct answer, seems to be at the very heart of dramaturgy as it is devoted to the service of an ever evolving collaborational artistic craft. If, however, you're still interested, read on. I hope that you do.