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            Michael Chemers states that the theatre is “a cure for human barbarism and degradation” and he has in mind “training some new dramatic medicos” to help! The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama will launch a new Production Dramaturgy Option; an area of study positioned as a win for not only the School of Drama, but for the whole university as well. The Production Dramaturgy Option within the B.F.A Drama Program would coincide with existing sub-majors; Acting/Music Theatre, Design, PTM and Directing.

            For those who want to be part of the world of theatre, but do not see themselves fitting into the currently available areas of study, the Dramaturgy Option offers another splendid way to make an impact by way of creating research that brings drama to life. Individuals schooled in this course of study would also have the necessary skills for a number of rewarding jobs in theatre, television, film, publishing and academia. Heading the Dramaturgy Option will be Assistant Professor of Dramatic Literature Michael Mark Chemers. He boldly states that Dramaturgy is the number-one growth field in theatre practice.

            Students studying dramaturgy have the opportunity through research and understanding to help raise theatre to its highest levels. The dramaturg does not create the concept for a production but rather helps the idea shine as sharply and resolutely as possible. We live in a world where it is often said that knowledge is king and it is no different in the production of drama. In a great sense a dramaturg educated at Purnell is expected to be a crucial source of context for the realization of a play.

            Chemers plans to educate dramaturgs to work with directors to ferret out authorial intent and ways to communicate that message to an audience. The main charge for these dramaturgs lies in research and judicious script analysis. In the European theatre, dramaturgs are an essential part of the production process. In the American theatre, the director often takes on these duties him or herself. What a dramaturg could add to these productions is painstaking research within a lifelong study of dramatic literature that can clarify and enhance the overall vision of any given production.

            In short, a Chemers’ dramaturg would be steeped in aesthetics, with a deep sense of history and a comprehensive knowledge of the context surrounding the writing and the production history of a given text. Chemers himself worked as a dramaturg on the recent Carnegie Mellon production of Lysistrata. During this production the first dramaturgical duty was recommending a translation. After getting a sense of director Jed Allen Harris’ overall vision for the production, Chemers read, analyzed, and reported on some twenty translations, finally recommending a select few for Harris to read closely.

            The second dramaturgical duty for the Lysistrata production was described by Chemers as “to act as an intellectual medium through which the original intent of the author, Aristophanes, can be heard.” This was done with several of the jokes within the script. The goal was thorough study to determine what the joke meant in its original context and whether it would still carry the same aesthetic impact today. If changes were necessary the challenge was to re-tell a joke so as to invoke the same aesthetic response. The final decision always falls with the director. As Chemers says “I love to stand at the director’s ear and say, ‘here are a bunch of options. What best fits your vision?’”

            Besides helping to clarify a director’s vision and helping actors and designers to a deeper understanding of a script, a dramaturg also provides the “front line” of the show with the audience. Dramaturgs at CMU write extensive program notes and useful study guides which are utilized by school groups coming from the off-campus community to see the plays. Chemers also visits area high schools and student groups to give lectures and answer questions about the productions, and organizes specialized interdisciplinary symposia for students and faculty.

            Carnegie Mellon graduate student Lavina Jadhwani has had the opportunity to work as Dramaturg on two very different productions at Purnell. Most recently she added her touch to the successful run of Urinetown! Some of the most important work done by Jadhwani was in preproduction where she strived through research to educate the actors on the real issues being engaged by the musical. Director John Carrafa says Urinetown! is funny because of the truth within it. Jadhwani says “Carrafa made it clear to me that the play lives and dies with if the actors truly believe it.” Through research, Jadhwani worked to instill that understanding with the actors.

            Jahdwani also is responsible for the striking water shortage facts seen in the bathrooms of Purnell, as noted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review of Urinetown by Christopher Rawson. Rawson credited these facts as one of the various aspects that gave the Carnegie Mellon production more seriousness than the one on Broadway. In fact, no fewer than three recent press reviews of Carnegie Mellon productions have specifically mentioned the work of the School’s dramaturgs as significantly enriching the audience’s experience.

            Last year Jadhwani worked as a dramaturg on the production of Arcadia. Jahdwani says the process on this play was about educating the actors about the dense subject matter. Through research on the text she was able to enrich the production by enabling the actors to reach a deeper understanding of the material and the relationships within it.

            Recent graduate Renee Blinkwolt worked in a similar way on the 2004 production of Serious Money. The play is set in the 1980’s England and revolves around a world with a very particular language. Blinkwolt worked to make the text more accessible to the actors through extensive research. In the end she produced reference material and an extensive glossary.

            All of these examples illustrate the goal to stay true to the author’s intent. This takes a great deal of knowledge, integrity, and objectivity. It is not the dramaturg’s duty to “dress up” a script or to twist it to a personal agenda. According to Chemers “It is not about what I want to say. If I have something that I want to say then I write my own play.”

            Some might argue that Dramaturgy is not as glamorous as other theatre careers, like acting and directing, and that dramaturgs must be satisfied with a quiet sort of behind-the-scenes prestige. But Chemers says that Dramaturgy is a calling, and that he is drawn to it through an understanding that “there is more at stake in the production of drama than my personal fame and glory. The creators of the Sanskrit theatre believed, and I agree, that theatre is a sacred medicine to cure human barbarism and degradation. A good dramaturg enhances the healing power of theatre by making a production stronger, richer, and more relevant.”

            Would you make a good dramaturg? Chemers says if you like to read, write and have a passion for the process of making powerful, relevant theatre, the answer is yes. He wants to take a bunch of minds that share his attitude and use the fine facilities of one of the world’s top research Universities to produce a group of dramaturgs who can make a mark on theatre culture in the United States and across the world.

For more information, contact Dramaturgy Option Coordinator Michael M. Chemers, PhD, at chemers@andrew.cmu.edu, or (412) 268-2399: visit our website at development-www-drama.cfa.cmu.edu, and click on “Season” to see the archives!