ABSTRACT
The creation of a musical production involves a wide variety of experts, each bringing in their own area of expertise, while collaborating with the other creative artists. This chapter explores the role of the physical dramaturg as separate from, but closely linked to, the roles of director and choreographer (and at times, traditional dramaturg). It explains a physical dramaturg is grounded in two diverse approaches: creating an imagined environment of the world of the libretto in which discoveries can occur, and using Rasaboxes for discoveries of emotions. The chapter demonstrates the actors become artists who not only create the environment of the production but also fill in the small details through embodied action. Actors, as their characters, entered into and milled around the square. The guidelines provided were simple: to avoid language and to look for relationships. During this improvisation, characters began to be fully formed, relationships established, and elements of secrecy exposed.
