ONE-ON-ONE WITH A DRAMATURG
Personalized matching with an experienced dramaturg to help you revise and strengthen your script.
A DRAMATURGY SERVICE FOR PLAYWRIGHT MEMBERS
This dramaturgy program provides playwright members an opportunity to get a response to and constructive feedback on a draft of their play as they prepare to move into a revision, with the goal of getting their play ready to submit to future opportunities. The sessions have differing degrees of engagement with the member playwright, but each one entails a reading of their play and a response with either written or verbal feedback (and sometimes both).
ROLE OF THE DRAMATURG
The dramaturg is the first audience member of the play. Their role is to respond authentically, share what they see and hear, be curious, and ask questions. They are the artist who notices if what the playwright is trying to accomplish in their play is translating to the page. The dramaturg brings their own expertise and experiences to the session. The dramaturg can make recommendations, share resources, and advice to the playwright as they continue to develop their craft.
NOT THE ROLE OF THE DRAMATURG
It is NOT the role or responsibility of the dramaturg to:
-
Tell a playwright whether or not they should continue working on this play or if the play is “good”
-
Offer line or grammatical edits
-
Teach a playwright how to format a play or offer any other “playwriting 101” lessons
-
Tell a playwright how to “fix” something that isn’t working or tell a playwright how they might write a scene “better”
-
Provide prescriptive feedback
-
Suggest where playwrights should submit/send their plays for production
-
Speak for or represent a specific cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, sexual, gender, ability, age, or income identity location
GOALS FOR THE PROGRAM
-
Provide meaningful analysis, inquiry, and feedback on each play to help playwright members dig deeper into their own work and ultimately find a way forward from these questions and feedback to write the plays they want to/mean to write
-
Identify harm when it shows up in plays so that we help to reduce harm in the theater field
-
Provide work and a responsible wage to freelance dramaturgs for their expertise and services
-
Grow the cohort of dramaturgs that are working with Playwrights’ Center in support of our members, to better reflect the identity locations of the writers we are serving and the world we live in
How it works:
FULL-LENGTH PLAY
Option 1 - $250:
- A playwright dramaturg reads your play and schedules an hour-long phone or zoom meeting to talk about the play with you and give you verbal feedback. (No written notes are included)
Option 2 - $320:
- A dramaturg reads your play, writes up a constructive feedback and comments and sends them to you via email.
Option 3 - $380:
- A dramaturg reads your play, writes up constructive feedback and comments and sends them to you via email. Later, the dramaturg meets with you over the phone or via zoom to discuss the written comments and answer your questions.
10-MINUTE OR ONE-ACT PLAY
Option 1 - $200:
- A playwright dramaturg reads your play and schedules an hour-long phone or zoom meeting to talk about the play with you and give you verbal feedback. (No written notes are included)
Option 2 - $250:
- A dramaturg reads your play, writes up constructive feedback and comments and sends them to you via email.
Option 3 - $300:
- A dramaturg reads your play, writes up constructive feedback and comments and sends them to you via email. Later, the dramaturg meets with you over the phone or via zoom to discuss the written comments and answer your questions.
To sign up
Click the sign-up button, choose two dramaturgs from the list, and we will connect you with the one who has the earliest availability. You can read more about each dramaturg by clicking their name at the top of their bio.