Playwriting - Part 8D - Honing Skills Outside of Writing, Dramaturgy

While there are a few posts about "what a dramaturg does," those are overall posts for what a dramaturg does when a play has already been written. Playwrights have to be their own dramaturgs. Sometimes plays can be written from one's own perspective and they turn out fine. However, usually research into something needs to be done.

This will always depend on the play, of course. If a play can be written with just information that a person would be able to remember from their own life experiences and imagine, it is fine to write that play. However, eventually, when writing plays, new content will be needed. This does not mean that a lot of the play will have to be researched.

No matter the amount of research needed for a play, the playwright needs to be able to do the work of a dramaturg when research is necessary. It is true that sometimes this may only be called research. Things that may need to be research are terms used in certain professions or hobbies. Then, if a play is set in a certain time, research is needed for what things were like in that time. What were the slang words? What was popular? What did people do for fun? What things were popular? A play set in a certain year and/or a certain place needs to seem authentic. After all, the playwright usually isn't writing publicity for the play or finding countertext for the play. Yet, if these things are important for the play, maybe a playwright is doing them.

Some playwrights prefer to give more than "just the play" to readers. When that's the case, it is extremely important that they playwright does understand how to be his own dramaturg. What is the playwright including? Are there certain ways to publicize the play? Are there certain educational materials that should be distributed with the play? If so, the playwright needs to be in charge of at least starting to create these.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.