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. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy
Definiton from Dictionary:
Dramaturg. One who studies a play to interpret it for a company of actors, answering questions about the text, the language, the period, the manners and mores of the characters, the clothing, and the customs. He or she may share in selecting plays, their revisions, or adaptations; choosing translations; writing program notes; www.actorchecklist.com/resources/dramaturg
The most unusual definition:
The dramaturg’s task, essentially, is to sit between chairs and to build bridges: between theory and practice; between the director, the actors, and the script and/or playwright; between artistic intention and the realities of the budget; and not the least between a theatre, its productions, and the audience. This course develops and rehearses these multiple roles and proficiencies, from production dramaturgy to PR-work, from scholarly background research to budgeting, producing and creative programming, with which dramaturgs help to realise, support, and publicise productions that genuinely fulfil theatre’s cultural function as a place for a society’s self-reflection and critical inspiration rather than as mere outlet for cultural commodities and fast-food entertainment. www.kent.ac.uk
Brief History:
Lately Aristotle has been applied in numerous tv- and filmwriting guides, and the courses of "basic dramaturgy" usually rely heavily on Aristotle's thoughts.
In western canon the seminal work is Poetics by Aristotle (written around 350
BC)A dramaturge or dramaturg is a position within a theatre that deals mainly with research and development. It has gained its modern-day function through the innovations of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, a playwright and theatre practitioner who worked in Germany in the 18th century .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy
Various Job Descriptions:
A thorough text/story analysis.
Research into the prior productions of the text as needed.
Historical research of various sorts.
Attendance at at least one quarter of the rehearsals, the first read-through, and as many run-throughs as possible.
Oral or written notes for the director.
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/Job.html
Dramaturgs often are labeled Literay Managers:
In a company which accepts script submissions from playwrights, a Literary Managers primary task is usually to deal with (or oversee the dealing with) those scripts. Each script needs to be read and reported on.
The Literary Manager makes recommends scripts to the artistic director for production.
In companies with "play development" programs, the Literary Manager oversees these programs. These can include workshops or public reading of scripts, or other forms of supporting a playwright's process in crafting a new script. www.dramaturgy.net
When working with a playwright or tranlsation of a play:
resident playwright
critic
liaison with other playwrights
verifier of authenticity
deconstructionist
adviser on repertory
text preparation and oversight
translation and adaptation
After performances:
conducting audience discussions and related work in conjunction with the marketing and media departments
script evaluation and communication with writers and agents
www.actorchecklist.com
My Definition:
A Dramaturg possess a variety of skills and gains an extreme insight to the play. He or She must work between the director, actors and playwright to help bring the play to fruition with a specific mission. This will help make it understandable to the
audience. A dramaturg should be a walking encloypedia of the production at hand so questions that arise during the rehearsal process can quickly be answered. So they can quickly get back to the task at hand.
