Re: RAT dramaturgy

[Leon Martell <belon@ucla.edu>]

The biggest problem I've witnessed is that the "dramaturg" postition is
used by institutions as a stepping stone job.  "We can't hire a playwright,
but we can give you work as a dramaturg."  This often results in someone
who spends their time wishing the theater was doing THEIR play instead of
the one they're dramturging.  I know this has nothing to do with the actual
job, but it's a situation I seen far too often.  The dramatug sitting there
thinking, "I should be directing this..." or numerous other day dreams.
I've been lucky to work with those who understand the job and take it
seriously, but I've seen more disasters.  A friend in a major regional
theater "new works fest", whose dramaturge had said and done very little,
at the debriefing with the theater's artistic staff, opened with, "I don't
really think this is a play."  (NOW you tell me.)  There's nothing wrong
with the job, but institutions are misusing it as a way to fund people who
want to be doing something else.  I suppose this is no suprise to RATs.  My
2cents.

Also, thanks to Chris Jefferies for his recent postings:

Chris wrote:
Ah, but Sharon, it's not quite that simple.  You have to read at least a
bit of something before you can decide to delete it.  And when that
something is 50 emails in a day, 49 of which pertain to nothing in
particular, it still takes a while to delete them all, if you're like me
and don't want to risk missing something great....  (Here here!)

And his defence of opera. Something I'm just discovering.

						Leon Martell