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Re: RAT Re dramaturgy
Not quite a one-person defender, Michael. Take heart. I'm offline during
the day, so I have to catch up on my dramaturgy defenses at night. C'est la
vie.
Returning to M. Farkash's questions:
"You are a "working" dramaturg -- so I'm assuming you get paid to "fix" and
"expedite" plays?"
You're assuming vastly incorrectly, and when did this all get to be about
getting paid?
I wrote you a lengthy post last night about the way I practice dramaturgy.
Did the word "fix," or any of its synonyms, appear in that message? No, in
fact, it did not.
Once again, then, in words of one syllable: I do not "fix" plays. I help
playwrights (sorry, cheating, two syllables) write the plays they say they
want to write, when they want me to help them.
Okay. Got it? Good.
Now, about the question of money, since you asked. In my job at The
Playwrights' Center, one element of the job description is being the
Center's resident dramaturg. So yes, on that level, and on the level that I
freelance, I get paid to practice dramaturgy. I get paid a hell of a lot
more to do other work which promotes the art and careers of playwrights.
And since you're asking for credential-slinging, I have never worked on a
piece where I got paid and the playwright didn't. In fact, as you'll see if
you ask other dramaturgs, it's much more common that the dramaturg doesn't
get paid.
I sometimes take as a model, another one of the great dramaturgs of today:
Morgan Jenness. Morgan gives her work away. A lot. Because she chooses
to. I'll give my work away 9 times out of 10. Not because I think my work
is valueless, but because I think that the practice of generosity (not the
practice of voluntarily getting economically screwed, mind you) is
preferable.
Megan
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Wright <myquagga@yahoo.com>
To: rat-list@whirl-i-gig.com <rat-list@whirl-i-gig.com>
Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 9:31 PM
Subject: Re: RAT Re dramaturgy
>these are wonderful questions. i hope my answers are
>useful to you.
>
>when i know who a dramaturg is, and know her/his
>connection to a show, then that sells it to me, yes,
>and especially if i don't know the playwright. len
>berkman, for instance, recommended ellen mclaughlin's
>play TONGUE OF A BIRD to me. i couldn't get to see it
>because it was being done in new york but i read it as
>soon as i could and found it powerful and a script to
>learn from. on that basis, then, yes, i would buy a
>ticket because of a dramaturg, and have done so in
>other situations. and, in fact, many people do so
>without knowing it, because it's often the dramaturg
>who serves as literary manager and helps shape a
>theatre's season.
>
>as for a great dramaturg of the 20th century, i
>couldn't say. i think it's the best part of the
>craft, in a sense, that there are no "star"
>dramaturgs. most people have only heard of lynn
>thompson because of the rent case, for instance, but
>from what i know of lynn she would never seek out
>notoriety. a lot of people think their work found its
>best level because of the efforts of david kranes and
>other dramaturgs who served (for free and often, by
>the way, paying their own way) at the sundance
>playwrights lab. and people speak of len berkman and
>others in highly reverent tones, but the experience i
>have of these people in both professional and personal
>contexts is that they are humble and generous people
>who love playwrights and playwriting.
>
>i feel, by now, like a one-person defender of
>dramaturgs. i am a member of the organization called
>"literary managers and dramaturgs of the americas,"
>(lmda) and hope that folks on the rat list who are
>interested in the field of dramaturgy or want to know
>more will try to connect to lmda, or, well, take a
>'turg to dinner or something. lmda, which has its own
>discussion list, often posts discussions kind of like
>this one, but having to do with coping with hostile
>directors or defensive playwrights, etc. we're all
>trying to learn from each other, all the time.
>
>michael
>
>--- Paul Mackley <paulmackley@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> michael: thnx for the names and reading list....all
>> contemporaries - in a historical context, who would
>> you name as a great dramaturg of the twentieth
>> century? (...and their host/writer) .....
>>
>> and is there a dramaturg who would sell you a
>> ticket?
>>
>> ...meaning that knowing nothing else about a theater
>> project but that this particular person is involved,
>> you would pay to see this work...
>>
>> ....i can think of actors, writers, directors,
>> producers, designers, choreographers, and even
>> translators i could say this of, but i am rather
>> ignorant of the world of dramaturgy....
>>
>> thanks -
>> paul mackley
>> paul@paulmackley.com
>>
>> --- Michael Wright <myquagga@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> > in the midst of these salvos, may i observe that
>> > this
>> > is one of the most intriguing discussions i've
>> seen
>> > on
>> > the rat list recently. this is not to put down
>> the
>> > recent spate of political commentary or promotions
>> > for
>> > shows, etc., but to say: hey, gee, we're talking
>> > about
>> > making theatre once again; cool.
>> >
>> > michael
>> >
>> > __________________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>=====
>Michael Wright, (918) 631-3174. Shameless Self-Promotion Department: my new
book, PLAYWRITING MASTER CLASS is out! (yes, in time for the holidays...)
PLAYWRITING IN PROCESS, also published by Heinemann is #4 on Amazon.Com.UK's
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(2nd Ed., co-edited with Elena Carrillo) is available; (802) 867-2223 or Fax
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>
>__________________________________________________
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