I also interviewed Dr. Meron Langsner
Meron Langsner, MFA, PhD, is an award-winning playwright, theatre & performance scholar, and educator as well as a critically acclaimed fight director & movement specialist for theatre, film, & opera. He is also a stage director, dramaturg, and author.
Sent to Meron
Langsner
My name is Amber Cummings and I am
studying dramaturgy, at Utah Valley
University. I have an assignment to find a professional dramaturg and ask them
about five question I feel would be important to my work as an up and coming
dramaturg.
I have been doing some research on whom to talk and I came across your pages and
blog, and I think you may have some very valuable information to help me through
my journey. I would very much like to email you a few questions and just have
you help enlighten the process. If this is at all possible please send me an
email back.
1. After reading the script how did you decide where to start
your research?
2. Did you come up with a process that you used for every
script?
3. How did you interact with director, actors and designers?
4. What was your job during the rehearsal process?
5. What would be the one piece of advice you would give to
someone, like me, looking to be a professional dramatrug?
Thank you again,
Amber N. Cummings
from: Meron Langsner meronlangsner
to: Amber Cummings
Hi Amber,
I tried to answer your questions in order,
and went on some tangents that I hope are useful (I may end up adapting my
answers into a blog post sooner or later):
1. After reading the script how did you
decide where to start your research?
2.
Did you come up with a process that you used for every script?
I'll try to do these two together:
I've come to the belief that dramaturgy is
at once both a way of thinking and a job description, and that the way of
thinking is more important than the job itself and can be applied to any other discipline. I was at an LMDA conference a few years back
where it was said that in an ideal situation, everyone on a production is a dramaturg.
I always work on a case by case basis with
the regulating factors often having more to do with the situation I'm working
in than with the script itself. These
days my dramaturgical contribution to a production is most likely to come
through my work as a fight director.
In the case of using dramaturgy in a stage
combat context (I've started calling this "fightaturgy" as a joke and
then it sort of stuck), I'm always looking for how the violence and the work surrounding
it supports the story. I need to say
that my first concern in that area is always safety, but I'll proceed with the assumption
that that's being taken care of.
I always read the script and take notes as
to any incident of scripted violence, as well as where I feel violence might
add to the story, and where the rest of the production staff and the cast might
need to know information relating to the violence. As I've studied this stuff for a while much of
it I can relate off the top of my head, but if certain aspects need to be
researched I make notes of that for myself.
If the actors are wearing weapons I try to
give them instructions on the etiquette & customs of whatever they're
wearing. Usually this is modified for the production to some extent but I've
come to believe that consistency is more important than historical
accuracy. By way
of example: a Japanese sword worn on the
right side means that the wearer comes in peace, whereas on the left it means
that they are prepared to draw the sword at any moment. There may be scenes that do not contain a
fight where the tension can be escalated simply by
switching the position of the sheathed
sword. This would be applied fighturgy
outside of the context of choreography.
In an ideal situation I would send this
list to the director and we would have a meeting based on it and go over it
point by point. We might discuss the intensity
of various fights and what the characters want and need, as well as scripted
repercussions that should be addressed.
If there are things that would benefit from a presentation (customs
around dueling for example) we might set a time that I can give one before
choreographing, or if an actor only wears/carries a weapon but does not fight I
will find a time to pull them aside and instruct them.
If this is a situation where I am writing a
program note or blogging, it depends on deadlines and company procedures.
Outside of violence, it depends on what I
do and don't know about the script/period/subject/whatever. I once turg'd (and FD'd) a show that used
blackface. As the details of blackface
performance aren't really taught anymore I helped educate the actors on the
stock characters from the 1800s that their characters were based on.
3. How did you interact with director,
actors and designers?
Again, this is all context. The last time I was a production dramaturg I
was also fight directing the same show so there were a lot of gray areas.
If the session was dedicated to me, I instructed
the actors directly. The director may or may not be in the room but I would
bring them in to ask questions about how things were fitting into the larger picture. Ideally no one should know where their work
ended and mine
began and vice-versa. If I was watching a run I might give the director
notes that would go to the actors through him/her or I might get a moment to
give notes directly. Other times my
notes go only to the director.
With designers it depends on overlap. We discuss options and availability of
resources and make choices from there.
4. What was your job during the rehearsal
process?
Again, all context. This very much depends on the relationship with
the director and/or the writer in the case of new work. One of the things about dramaturgy as a
discipline as opposed to a methodology is that there is influence but not
necessarily power. As different
people have different styles of diplomacy
and facilitation it becomes all about the chemistry of different working relationships. Asking the right questions is one of the most
important skills. Learning when to pick
the right moments to ask those questions is just as important.
It's important to learn to prioritize. You will find yourself in situations where
you are working with a director who does not know how to use you. Or one old enough to be your grandparent who
lived in the era the play is set in. In
the first case, there is an element of
teaching them how to benefit from you without
appearing invasive. In the second, you
might think about how to make their knowledge more accessible to the audience
and/or cast in ways they might not be aware of.
5. What would be the one piece of advice
you would give to someone,
like me, looking to be a professional
dramatrug?
Thing one: Cultivate multidisciplinarity in
yourself and others. The broader your
range of competencies the better you will be.
That said, don't become the cliched "Jack of All Trades Master of
One." Ideally think of mastering 2
-3 disciplines (including dramaturgy if that's
your thing), and develop reasonable competency
in other stuff as it comes up. One of my
best friends is a prop & costume designer as well as a dramaturg. I sometimes think that she gets to apply more
dramaturgical thought as a designer than when she is strictly working
as a dramaturg. Multidisciplinarity is hard, and you may find
that you aren't taken seriously until you've accomplished enough in each of your
main disciplines to be taken seriously in them separately as if they were your
only focus. That takes time but can pay
off very well.
Thing two bonus advice: Get to know playwrights,
and to be especially gentle with the early career ones. You'll find as you transition out of academic
contexts that investing in good collaborators pays off in the long run. Be good to work with, be good to work for.
Thing three: become aware of job prospects
as early in your studies a possible. The
money tends to be pretty bleak, moreso than other disciplines. That is not a reason not to do it, but it is
a reason to cultivate multidisciplinarity (see Thing One). Multidisciplinarity might extend outside of
theatre, and if that's the case figure out what else you can do that enriches
your theatre work if that's your first priority.
Also, just FYI: in theatre contexts I go by
my first name, but in formal/academic contexts where first names aren't
appropriate I go by "Dr" (I'm not offended by "Mr," but
you'll want to be aware of protocol as many people do stand on ceremony). When dealing with
academics default to the higher title (if
it's wrong, you're flattering).
I hope that was useful. Let me know if you want me to clarify
anything.
Good luck on your assignment!
