Dramaturgy and playwriting

Written for 'Women, Collective Creation and Devised Performance' (Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva and Scott Proudfit, eds), this chapter explores concepts of writing and authorship in the work of Monstrous Regiment, focusing particularly on the ways in which collaboration, the writer’s role and notions of authorship evolved throughout the processes of making Scum and Vinegar Tom, their first two productions. Although the company’s approach to writing and devising changed throughout their history, the methodological shift between these first and second productions was useful for company members in terms of negotiating a rough model of working with writers. This chapter demonstrates how this shift became symbolic of the change that ultimately occurred between the 1970s, when Monstrous Regiment utilised processes that were more influenced by devising, and the 1980s and 90s when they produced more singly-authored, commissioned work.

En el siguiente trabajo me ocupo de contrastar la idea de lo trágico en El último fuego de Dea Loher (2008) a partir de los trabajos de Albin Lesky y Nietzsche. La relación “comunidad” y “visión trágica” es explorada, criticada y reactualizada desde la contemporaneidad en la obra de Loher.

How do we as writers resist the dominance of narratives dictated primarily by a market mentality and/or assumed homogeneity? In this paper, Nina Rapi, will explore how certain theatre practitioners, e.g. Howard Barker, Debbie Tucker Green, Sarah Kane, have resisted dominant narratives and created oppositional aesthetics, through stylistic/thematic choices and/or foregrounding cultural identity. N.R. will also refer to her own work.

The quest to bring education to global standard and for it to compete favourably in the international space remains a challenge in today's Nigeria. Theatre Arts as a discipline accommodates all ideas that make society functional, because it is progressively becoming a more functional tool for sensitisation, and mobilisation and thus, resulting into massive development. Theatre-for-Development (TfD) is an aspect of theatre which is highly applied in solving societal problems. TfD however applies the interventionist approach in sensitising and conscientising the people; nevertheless, it is anchored on the search for appropriate means of addressing the issue of industrial disharmony in Nigeria especially between ASUU and FGN. Consequently, advocacy crusade which is more fashionable and focal in social engagement and critical discourses has emerged in scholarship more than ever as an alternative forum for community dialogue and action. The aim of this study is to address the issue of industrial disharmony in Nigeria especially between ASUU and FGN using "Gbuji" TFD workshop experience. Hence, it will encourage collective participation in decision making with the use of "Gbuji" production workshop. The realities of the state of Nigerian universities are pressing demands for all hands to be on deck in order to get it redeemed. The study interrogates the use of strike actions by ASUU in confronting the Federal Government of Nigeria on issues that affect the Ivory Tower. This study adopts Paulo Freire's "Teaching Theory" (Critical Pedagogy)". This research discovers that theatre can always be taken as an alternative means of conflict resolution. "Gbuji" graphically demonstrated efficient and effective ways of attaining peaceful resolution between the ASUU and FGN without any blood bath or closure of the universities for a second. The research therefore recommends that henceforth Nigerian government should take the issue of funding university education seriously, as constant nose-diving of her budgetary provisions in this sphere will forever portend doom.

‘I didn’t anticipate that INDECENT would be as relevant today as it is; we again are witnessing an upheaval of fear, xenophobia, homophobia, and yes, anti-Semitism. […] We must remember where the closing of borders in the 20th century led nations around the globe. […] Theatre is living memory.’ –Paula Vogel, Playbill

First performed in 2015, Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman’s Indecent tells the story of the Yiddish play God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, from its beginnings in the theatres of turn-of-the-century Eastern Europe to its scandalous downfall in 1920s New York. Director Taichman and writer Vogel developed this project together, aiming to tell the story of the play (censored for its depiction of the first lesbian kiss on an American stage) and also to reflect the rise of populism, racism and anti-immigrant sentiment today.

In contrast to its contemporary, the Broadway hit Hamilton, Indecent does not champion the narrative of America as a country where the success of immigrants is merely a question of perseverance; it problematizes ideas such as assimilation, acceptance and achievement by confronting the audience with the xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and homophobia of the early 20th century. Indecent is told from the perspective of an Our Town-esque stage manager figure looking back on his life from within the Łódź Ghetto; the metatheatricality of the play-within-a-play conceit allows the piece to reflect the changes in the socio-political landscape occurring during the creation and production of the show, from the Obama to the Trump Administration.

This paper was presented at the American Dramaturgies for the 21st Century conference at Université Paris-Sorbonne, March, 2018.

In this chapter, David Crespy shares his dreamwork for dramatic writing workshop that he has taught through such venues as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the Mid-America Theatre Conference, the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Hollins University PlayLab, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The work here focuses on dramatic writing , but the notion of the dream cache is useful to any storyteller looking for a creative method to innovate their story technique. Using the lens of phenomenology, and techniques suggested by performance theorist Bert O. States, Crespy attempts to "unmask" the way dreams and fiction interact for the playwright or screenwriter. Dreams offer an unlimited supply of ideas, form, technique, and structure for writers who are trying to surprise themselves out of clichés received from the echo chamber of Broadway and Hollywood. This form of dreamwork is about transforming as a storyteller and changing one's ideas about what makes an adventurous tale.

The Nucleus of Arts, Languages and Subjectivities (NALS), located at
Education Faculty, in the Federal University from Pelotas (UFPEL), Southern Brazil, develops many activities in education, extension, and
research. The Project “Landless Daisies” consists in the production of a
theatre play with students from post-graduation and graduation together
with some artists in the city Pelotas/RS, Southern Brazil. The playwriting
tells about life histories and reports from women who are from the Landless Movement, in Brazil. The main focus of interest of this play shows the importance of women in this Movement and gender discussions in general society. The NALS develops its activities based on principles of Border Pedagogy and Aesthetic of Ginga. By doing works based on these principles, the members of the NALS can put on a practical level what is indicated in the theoretical presuppositions.

Oyun yazarlığı 2500 yılık bir tarihe sahiptir, fakat ilgili akademik eğitimin tarihi ancak 100 yıllıktır. Lisans düzeyindeki ilk dramatik yazarlık dersleri 1905’te Harvard Üniversitesi’nde, 1925’te Yale Üniversitesi’nde verilmiştir.Ardındanfarklıüniversitelerdeçeşitlikademelerdedramatikyazarlıkeğitimiyaygınlaşmıştır.Türkiye’de ise ilk oyunyazarlığıeğitimi1964’teAnkaraÜniversitesi’nde,1976’daEgeÜniversitesi’ndebaşlamış,bugün yedi üniversitede sürdürülmektedir.Türkiye’de dramatik yazarlık eğitimi programlarının değerlendirilmesi vegeliştirilmesi için önerilerüretilmesibağlamındabirçalışmabulunmamaktadır.Bununlabirlikteyurtiçi ile yurt dışındakieğitim programlarını karşılaştırılmalı olarak ele alan biraraştırmaya da alan yazın taraması sonucunda rastlanmamıştır. Bir bilim alanında yürütülen eğitim programlarının geliştirilebilmesi için farklı programların kapsamlarınıincelemek,tartışmayaaçmakönemlivegereklidir.Buyönüyle araştırmamızın alan yazına katkı sağlayacağınainanılmaktadır.Buaraştırmanınamacı,Türkiye’deveABD’desürdürülendramatik yazarlık/oyun yazarlığı eğitim programlarınınkarşılaştırılmalı olarak incelenmesidir. Araştırmanın kapsamını, Türkiye’de ve ABD’de dramatik yazarlık eğitimini aktif olarak sürdüren üniversitelerin 2018-2019 eğitim/öğretim yılı verileri oluşturmaktadır. ABD, dramatik yazarlık eğitiminin lisans düzeyinde verilmeye başlandığı ilk ülke olduğu için seçilmiştir.Buçalışmabirprofilçıkarmaçalışmasıdırveyöntemolarakkarşılaştırmalı eğitim araştırmalarında kullanılanyatayyaklaşımbenimsenmiş,nitelaraştırmayöntemlerindendokümanincelemeuygulanmış,farklılıklar program seviyesi,kontenjanları,giriş ve mezuniyetkoşulları,zorunlu ve seçmeliderslerbağlamında sunulmuştur.

Las obras que integran el libro, presentadas por orden de aparición, son las siguientes: "Cuatro versiones del hecho", una pieza compuesta por cuatro largos e intensos monólogos que apelan fuertemente a la interacción con el público, escrita durante el verano de 2007.
"Memory Test", del año 2002, surgió primero como obra teatral y más tarde tomó la forma de un guión cinematográfico protagonizado por sólo dos personajes, un hombre y una mujer, quienes elaboran un suceder de abúlicos días dedicados a jugar un extraño juego: el mismo que da nombre a la obra. "Párpados", el monólogo de una voz, que apela a una segunda persona ambigua e indeterminada entre intervalos de luz y oscuridad, fue escrita en 1999, durante los años iniciales de su formación como dramaturgo. "Una Pena (Muerte en Retiro)", que surgió en el año 2000, está ambientada en la estación de Retiro de la Línea C de Subterráneo en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. "Silencio todo el tiempo" fue escrita en su mayor parte durante el 2001, y nuevamente corregida en el 2009, en ocasión del rodaje de un cortometraje basado en la obra, con el aporte de los actores Silvio Bertero y Flavia Sinsky, quienes protagonizaron el film. Nos encontramos nuevamente, con un hombre y una mujer, los silencios, las palabras y muy especialmente la música abarcando por completo el universo de la obra.

"In an imaginary space of expiation, punishment and mainly self-punishment six characters, under strict surveillance, retrace their stories and their ‘sins’ which are all related to the expression of desire. Specifically, the typology of the characters of the play (Bodyguard, Bodybuilder, Anorexic, Dominatrix, the Priest) which makes them paradigramic but not unhistorical, is connected to universal kinds of repression or self-willed control of a bodily desire but also to the expulsion from the assumed normal (body).

The condition within which these characters are placed, angel-state, is an existential condition of «being», which is transformed dramaturgically into an ambiguous, border space of an existential state of suspension (a laboratory-prison cum Purgatory, where the characters of the play act confessionally under the constantly watchful eye of the controlling authorities which historically produce obedient bodies and entrenchment  ).  As a result, these types become dramaturgical beings, reliving their endogenous weaknessess and contradictions (always in connection with a social rule) way beyond the everyday. Angel-state is primarily a situation of coming-into-being/self-realisation, but also of a reconstitution of the boundaries of desire for those willing to perform the transition to a new personal structure (of exoneration and refusal of previous guilt). "
George Sabatakakis, Senior Lecturer, University of Patras, Greece.

“Viaje de invierno. Estas nueve piezas de Maximiliano de la Puente forman – sí – un viaje de la noche hacia la noche sonidos exactos de unos pasos titubeantes sobre una superficie en tinieblas nada parece suceder y – sin embargo - todo se desmorona. En tiempos en donde la anorexia no sólo parece atacar los cuerpos sino también las emociones y el centro mismo de cualquier deseo, este conjunto de obras pareciera querer resistirse al inefable signo de la época”. Extracto del Prólogo de Alejandro Tantanian  "Caen pájaros literalmente del cielo" es un libro del dramaturgo y director teatral Maximiliano de la Puente, que reúne una selección de nueve obras teatrales de su autoría, escritas en un período que abarca desde 1999 a 2008.

The concept of playwriting and the playwright have remained invaluable assets to the theatre industry across the ages. This is premised on its documentation power and critical disposition that have not only crated the mirror for the society but also a resource material for the different collaborators in the theatre. This paper examines the art of playwriting as a medium of criticism and the place of the playwright as a critic using Alex Asigbo and his plays. The paper through the content analysis and literary methods observe that what stands Alex Asigbo as a distinguished playwright among his peers is his unique approach of crafting plays that are not just for entertainment and pedagogy but magnum opus that are embodiment of criticisms on the playwriting processes in particular and the society at large. His technique is thereby encouraged to be maintained while calling on budding playwrights to emulate this unique approach in other to remain relevant and creative in the theatre industry and improve the craft of playwriting and the society

El libro que el lector tiene en sus manos, reúne una selección de cuatro de las obras teatrales más significativas de Maximiliano de la Puente. Acá y allá, la obra que abre el volumen, ha obtenido el Primer Premio Municipal de Literatura, Teatro y Música de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Narra la historia de un hombre y la relación que mantiene con su única hija a través de los años. El padre, quien ha tenido que emigrar a un país muy lejano, le envía cartas a su hija para paliar su ausencia. Durante su infancia y su adultez, la hija le responde del mismo modo. Así establecen una correspondencia escrita a lo largo de un tiempo indeterminado. El relato confuso, cambiante y contradictorio que el padre elabora para su hija nos hace dudar acerca de cuál es la realidad que vive en ese fantástico, lejano e innominado país foráneo.  Boris, la segunda obra de este libro, aborda el vínculo ambiguo y contradictorio entre dos hombres encerrados en una habitación. Jamás sabremos quién es la víctima y quién el victimario en esta comedia no exenta de humor negro, inspirada en el universo narrativo del film noir y las novelas de Raymond Chandler.
Boris o la amarga historia de una vida en el teatro, la tercer obra de este libro, obtuvo una mención en el Concurso Obras Inéditas de Teatro 2015 del Fondo Nacional de las Artes. Esta obra es una posible versión en clave biodramática del fallido intento de montaje de Boris, que fue llevada infructuosamente adelante por el propio autor y por su actor fetiche, Sebastián Saslavsky, ambos protagonistas excluyentes de este texto. Una hilarante reflexión sobre el estado de las artes escénicas en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, en la que prima una mirada burlona, socarrona y muy impiadosa en su acontecer autobiográfico. Finalmente, Diagnóstico: rotulismo, ganadora del Primer Concurso de obras teatrales de Konex-Argentores, relata la historia de dos pacientes que sufren una enfermedad lingüística de origen desconocido: el rotulismo. Ambos son atendidos por la misma profesional: una mujer muy seductora. La cura jamás tendrá lugar. Los límites entre lo personal y lo profesional se borran en esta sesión de foniatría interminable.

I had purchased my ticket to Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance (Part One) the night before, but cautiously. The show was scheduled to end its Broadway run soon and Covid-19 was looking ever more unpredictable. For both reasons, I wagered the March 10 matinee was probably going to be my last chance to see the production. Italy had just gone into national lockdown on March 9. Neither I nor any of my loved ones had begun stockpiling masks or hand sanitizer yet. Still, when deciding whether to traverse Manhattan by cab or subway that day, I opted to walk, just to minimize risk where I could.

The master’s thesis “Mythopoetics in the early plays of Jordan Plevneš” comprises interpretations of the plays of the Macedonian writer Jordan Plevneš, which point out to the mytopoetics system formed in his early creative phase.

In the first part, the pre-apocalyptic predictions in the drama world of Plevneš are presented, as well as his dramaturgical efforts for politically engaged theatre and his poetics in the Balkan theatrical context.

The second part observes the five early plays of Jordan Plevneš: “Erigon”, “Mazedonische Zustände”, “Yu-Antithesis”, “R” and “Free Hunt”, with all of their mythopoetical elements and features. In the analysis of the dramatic pieces, special emphasis is given to the mythopoetic recognition of: the pathos, the double and the shadow, the animalism and the grotesque, the mirror principle, the Hamletian acting, the poetics of dream, the metaphors of birth /death and the symbolism of birds.

The third part consists of insights through which Plevneš’s dramatics, as a continuation of the European postmodernism, enables dialectical modelling of a new, our mythopoetic sphere.

Considering the timeless significance of the dramatic pieces of Jordan Plevneš with open opportunities for staged performances, we hope that this thesis is an appropriate contribution to the study of phenomenology of the new Macedonian dramatic literature.