Dramaturgy in the Making

Dramaturgy in the Making maps contemporary dramaturgical practices in various settings of theatre-making and dance to reveal the different ways that dramaturgs work today. It provides a thorough survey of three major areas of practice - institutional dramaturgy, production dramaturgy and dance dramaturgy - with each illustrated through a range of case studies that illuminate methodology and which will assist practitioners in developing their own 'dramaturgical toolbox'. In tracing the development of the role of the dramaturg, the author explores the contribution of Lessing, Brecht and Tynan, foundational figures who shaped the practice. She excavates the historical and theoretical contexts for each strand of the work, uniquely offering a history of dance dramaturgy and its associated theories. Based on extensive research, the volume features material from the author's interviews with fifty eminent professionals from Europe and North America, including: Robert Blacker, Jack Bradley, DD Kugler, Ruth Little and Hildegard De Vuyst. Through these, a detailed and precise insight is provided into dramaturgical processes at organisations such as the Akram Khan Company, les ballets C de la B (Gent), the National Theatre and the Royal Court (London), the Schaubühne (Berlin) and The Sundance Institute Theatre Lab (Utah), among others. Dramaturgy in the Making will prove indispensable to anyone working in theatre or wanting to better understand the dramaturgical processes in performance-making today. The book features a foreword by Geoff Proehl, author of Toward a Dramaturgical Sensibility: Landscape and Journey.

Katalin Trencsényi is a London-based dramaturg. She completed her PhD in Philosophy (Aesthetics) at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. As a freelance dramaturg, Katalin has worked with the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, the Courtyard Theatre, Deafinitely Theatre, Corali Dance Company, and Company of Angels amongst others. Katalin co-founded the Dramaturgs' Network with Hanna Slättne in 2001, and has worked on its various committees ever since. From 2010 to 2012 Katalin served as President of the Dramaturgs' Network. Katalin is one of the contributors to the Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy (2014). Her monograph on contemporary dramaturgical practices, Dramaturgy in the Making, is to be published by Bloomsbury in 2015.

Acknowledgements Foreword: The Roles We Play, by Geoff Proehl Preface PART ONE - Institutional Dramaturgy Chapter 1 - Institutional Dramaturgy - The Beginnings Chapter 2 - Methods: Curating Chapter 3 - Methods: Dramaturgy and Translation Chapter 4 - Methods: New Drama Development PART TWO - Production Dramaturgy Chapter 5 - Production Dramaturgy - A Theoretical Overview Chapter 6 - Methods: Product-led Production Dramaturgy Chapter 7 - Methods: Process-led Production Dramaturgy PART THREE - Dance Dramaturgy Chapter 8 - Dance Poetics - The History of Dramaturgical Thinking in Dance Chapter 9 - Dance Dramaturgy - The Development of the Role Chapter 10 - Methods: Dance Dramaturgs at Work Conclusion: Two Things about Dramaturgy Notes Select Bibliography Index