Re: RE RAT alternative dramaturgy

["Adam" <kafclown@well.com>]

I explained to a public planning friend of mine that the dramaturg is the 
city planner of the play.

Here's my take why:

The dramaturg takes the materials presented (play, directing vision, acting,
design work,  previous criticism of play, etc.) and puts into a social,
intellectual, and cultural  context for the benefit of the artists and the
public.

The dramaturg is not the artist, but rather a scholarly and cultural conduit
between the artists and the public.  (That's not to say that dramaturgy can
not be done artistically, or that dramaturgs can't be artists also.  But the
act of dramaturgy, is not about art.  It's about connections,
communications, viewpoints, etc.

It is not the director's or the playwright's or the actor's or the
designer's job to assess the cultural or intellectual impact of the play.
Their jobs are to create compelling art.  The dramaturg's job is to
interpret the art and to place it in context.