Student Blog: Unpacking My Dramaturgy Experience

Dramaturgy is a nebulous thing with no one clear definition. However, as University of Michigan Resident Dramaturg Dr. Karin Waidley always says, when you open up a production and examine its anatomy, dramaturgy should course through its veins like blood.

When I first arrived at the University of Michigan’s Department of Theatre & Drama, I had a very loose idea of what dramaturgy looked like. At my high school, we would often have a student dramaturg on one production a year, if even. This person was hand-selected by the directors as the most historically inclined cast member, and the majority of their responsibilities in this position were creating several posts throughout the process on our cast-wide Facebook group; sadly, these posts were not highly engaged with. Seeing as this was my initial experience with the art form of dramaturgy, I didn’t come into college particularly interested in the origins or responsibilities of the role. I assumed dramaturgy to be an exclusively academic, inaccessible supplement to a production, rather than a flexible practice that can be crafted around the needs of a performing arts piece.

However, when I was scrambling for three credits to round out my second semester of sophomore year, it was the department’s only official dramaturgy course that I turned to. As the only dramaturgy class, this catered to a wide range of students: underclassmen just learning how to pronounce dramaturgy, experienced upperclassmen dramaturgs, stage managers looking for a more comprehensive view of what dramaturgy looks like, and a select few students who, simply, just needed another elective credit. This class paired reading and discussion with hands-on production dramaturgy experience, assigning each student to a departmental production and a piece of new work being produced through a different class in the building.

Over the past year and a half, I have committed myself to exploring different genres and styles in an effort to discover my identity as a dramaturg. From devised theatre to new work to Agatha Christie to Guys and Dolls to John Proctor is the Villain, I’ve submerged myself into the diverse world of theatre. In this journey, I’ve discovered my values as a dramaturg and the types of stories I wanted to help craft. As I became more comfortable, I realized that, while dramaturgy is a research-based practice, I am passionate about making this information more accessible and engaging. As the years and shows pass, I’ve begun to incorporate more mixed media and more approachable language (both verbal and written) into my dramaturgy practice.

Dramaturgy is not a formalized concentration for students in my program, which is certainly a double-edged sword. While there are no official classes associated with dramaturgy, students have the option to engage with both curricular production dramaturgy through University Productions, the producing wing of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Additionally, U-M’s rich student theatre scene provides a multitude of dramaturgical opportunities across campus – you just have to know where to look. Because dramaturgy is still an up-and-coming art form on campus, I’ve found it’s vital to learn how to advocate for myself to be incorporated into theatrical spaces. As a student dramaturg, I not only have to create opportunities for myself by suggesting dramaturgy be a part of a process, but I also have to be very cognizant of staying artistically involved throughout rehearsals.

As I reflect on my dramaturgical education over the past two years – which feels like a lifetime but is really only the blink of an eye – it’s fascinating to see how my view of what dramaturgy is has shifted and transformed. What once existed in my mind’s eye as an inaccessible, optional aspect of a production process has become the very foundation of any project I work on artistically, regardless of my role.