Dramaturgy Definitions

Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. Some dramatists combine writing and dramaturgy when creating a drama. Others work with a specialist, called a dramaturge, to adapt a work to the stage.
Dramaturgy can also be defined, more broadly, as shaping a story or like elements into a form that can be acted. Dramaturgy gives the work or the performance a structure. More than actual writing, a dramaturg's work can often be defined as designing.
-Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy>


Dramaturgy the word is from the Greek dramatourgía, “a dramatic composition” or “action of a play.”
-Britanica< http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9124870/dramaturgy>

Dramaturgy Defining what dramaturgy is, is the first step to understand what the dramaturg is focussing on during the production process. The list below compiled by the LMDA (the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas) is a very comprehensive list of the elements of the performance text. The dramaturg staying on the outside of the process is supporting the choices taken by director, actors and stage designers which make up the unique production
What is dramaturgy?
(when you use these words, you’re committing dramaturgy)
Structure Action Accretion Beginning/Middle/End Conflict/Crisis/Climax/Catharsis Continuity/Discontinuity Diminishment/Emphasis Episodic Exposition/Foreshadowing Form/Content Fragmentation Key Information Innovation/Convention/Cliché/Parody Image Imminence/Closure/Openness Linearity Metaphor Musicality/Pace Part-to-Whole Plot Point of Attack/Denouement Recognition/Reversal Repetition/Pattern/Reincorporation Rhythm Story Tension
Character Choice Colors/Layers Context Empathy Familiar Faces (Hero/Villain/Braggart/Parasite/Seductress/ Dirty Old Man/Young Lover, etc.) Journey/Arc Honesty/Compassion Impulse/Incongruity Motivation Passion/Pity/Fear Probability Suffering/Pain Transformation
Meaning Contact/Relevancy Idea/Concept
Language Connotation/Denotation Figures of Speech Innuendo/Sub-text
Production Elements Locale/Time Light/Color/Darkness Song/Music/Sound Costumes/Props/Space Slides/Film/Video
Genre and Style Comedy/Romance Melodrama, Satire/Tragedy, etc. Expressionism Realism/Surrealism Epic Theater/Theatricalism, etc.

-Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas ©2004 >