Essential Dramaturgy

Theresa Lang is a teacher, director, and dramaturg. She holds a BA in Drama from the University of Dallas, an MA in Theatre from Brown University, and a PhD in Drama from Tufts University. A theatre historian, her areas of specialty include popular entertainment, the censorship of urban space, and the development of the American theatre. As a practitioner she is particularly interested in the development and production of new work and under-represented voices. She is the dramaturg of Come on Over Ensemble Theatre and is on the faculty at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and at Boston College. Theresa is the Chair of Dramaturgy and the Coordinator of Devised Theatre for Region 1 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and was the Associate Director of the inaugural New Play Dramaturgy Intensive at the Kennedy Center.

• Chapter 1 - IntroductionPart One: The MindsetChapter 2 – Unpacking the QuestionChapter 3 – The Forest and the TreesChapter 4 – TimingChapter 5 – Why This, Here, Now?Part Two: The SkillsetChapter 6 – What You NeedChapter 7 – How You Apply ItChapter 8 – When It Works

Theresa Lang's Essential Dramaturgy: The Mindset and Skillset offers a productive theoretical and methodological contribution to a growing literature on the field of dramaturgy. Lang argues for shifting away from task-based definitions of dramaturgy, advocating instead for understanding a dramaturgical mindset through the use of to dramaturg as an active verb. The book is divided into two parts, beginning with a theoretical approach (mindset) and concluding with practical applications (skillset). This structure makes for engaging and accessible reading that will appeal to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students with interests in dramaturgy, and to early career dramaturgs.-Daniel Smith, Theatre Topics