Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 4B - Media Packets - Program Notes

When people see the words, "program notes," they often think of a small blurb by the director or maybe something that the playwright included with the play to put in a playbill (or program). The notes are probably about one to three paragraphs in length. There is nothing wrong with this, but a dramaturg can prepare program notes that are more in depth.

Since I started my previous example with The Crucible, I will keep using that as the example for the media packet posts. A media packet for The Crucible might start out with asking a question such as, "Have you ever been witness to something you thought was wrong?" It might continue with another question like, "Did you report the incident?" Or it might start with story about a group of people who one person thought was doing something undesirable.

From there, the program notes could go into the fact that Reverend Parris saw his niece and her friends dancing in the forest. Of course, the whole play is not given away. However, some significant plot points in the play will be mentioned. Sources should also be used in the program notes.

The notes may then go into how there is a confrontation about the Reverend's daughter, Betty, being sick and that it couldn't be natural, so it must be of the devil. Deeper research would be done to find quotes about the situations.

One or two more points about the plot or how characters respond to situations may be mentioned and deeper research to find quotes about the play or the characters would be included that support the program notes.

The end of the play is not revealed. It is only some key details are revealed in the program notes. These go along with quotes and commentary found during the research. The program notes are supposed to interest potential audience members.

They are called program notes because they are made to go into the playbill (or program). However, some theatres may not want to include such a large portion of notes. Yet, some do include them. I've heard that in Germany, they are adept at dramaturgy and when people go to the theatre, the people basically receive a small booklet to read before the play. I don't know if this is true as I have never been to Germany, but that is what one of my textbooks said.