I have a sad, stupid, bureaucratic little story to tell you " No, wait, come back! I work as a facilitator, teacher and director with Rehabilitation Through the Arts . RTA started at Sing Si…
We resume the Dramaturg Spotlight interviews today with words of wisdom from LaRonika Thomas. I admire LaRonika and her work, so I am delighted to present her voice in this forum. I enjoy wh…
Asking and giving. Three videos and a question. First, Peter Sagal on letting people access the joy of giving. Next, Amanda Palmer on the art of asking. And finally, Adam Thurman on the gift…
If you have sat around a computer for any length of time over the last five years hashing out any of the 'issues' around (particularly) American Theatre you have found yourself invariably in…
Julie Felise Dubiner is one of my heroes. I first heard about her advocacy, fantastic dramaturgical skills, and undeniable sense of humor in 2003 from a friend who had been her intern. I loo…
Thesis: The American Theatre Movement has had a tendency to define itself partly by what it is not – distancing itself from community theatre and mere entertainment. This distancing sh…
Today we feature David Copelin, a renaissance man with international flair. David is a dramaturg, playwright, academic, story consultant, translator, and a citizen of both Canada and the Uni…
I am based in the DC area, and for the past few weeks, every evening that I travel from the district into Virginia or vice versa, I enjoy the blue and purple tones reminiscent of the Norther…
For many viewers, this week’s episode of Smash was their first introduction to the word dramaturg. Unfortunately for the TV show’s musical, Bombshell, (and for those of us who ne…
Thesis: Introducing bold new kinds of productions will require change. Change can be frightening. This post is basically a sermon intended to help beat back the fear. "How do you give In to …
Today’s Spotlight shines on Jaz Dorsey, a Southern gentleman whose presence and charm I first noticed on the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) listserv. Jaz alway…
Thesis: Celebrity is one of the strongest social forces in America. Increasingly, though, people are responding to apparently oxymoronic "Narrow fame;" that is, being highly salient for some…
You may know Adam Thurman from his TEDx talks at TEDxMichiganAvenue and TEDxBroadway. I hope you know him from his website, Mission Paradox. And I hope you’ll get to know him at the fi…
A shade more than two years ago, David Loehr and I met during a gathering at Arena Stage. He encouraged me to do some writing for this web site. Since that time, this is the 20th post I've w…
Introducing the dedicated and creative dramaturg Walter Byongsok Chon! Hometown: I was born in Bonn, Germany, lived there until I was eight, and then moved to Korea. I came to America to ent…
Thesis: Skills in event creation and performance can be applied to marketing appropriately and effectively. If stunt marketing is selling out, it is selling out in a very classy way. I was i…
I grew up in a household that was… healthy. Healthy healthy. Lima (bean) burgers, grinding grain blends for homemade bread, fresh milk from family friends who ran a small farm… my folks …
Thesis: Holding the idea that artists are different in kind from non-artists may create a barrier that discourages non-artists from attending or engaging with your work. Choosing to believe …
Thesis: You can learn more when you innovate if you adopt a few concepts from the scientific method. In my experience, plenty of people in the American Theatre innovate frequently. Whether t…
Thesis: People with whom you have some relationship are far more likely to attend your work than are total strangers. I am aware of two major movements within marketing over the last century…
Today we continue our second week of dramaturgical conversations with an interview with the accomplished Maren Robinson of Chicago. I think it is safe to say that Maren is eventually going t…
Today I am happy to present an interview with my colleague and friend Hannah Hessel. Since dramaturgs typically collaborate with artists in other disciplines, we do not always have a chance …
What IS a dramaturg? As a professional dramaturg and literary manager, this is the question I’m asked most often. Today, my answer is far different from it was when I first started pra…
The DC Theatre community took a hit recently when Artisphere announced that due to a policy change its resident theatre company WSC Avant Bard would be kicked out in the middle of its season…
Terror and Courage, Hope and Art We can't claim to engage our communities in important conversations if we run away from them One of the plays to generate the most interest at our recent Nat…