ABSTRACT
Dramaturgy is the world of the play. This play-world may be based on historical realities or it may be a world made wholly from the playwright's imagination. In this chapter, the author describes in detail the physically based dramaturgical techniques he developed and used as director and physical dramaturg of the Gogol and Chekhov productions. Embodying the playwright through the creative process of writing and performing a solo show gives a director the opportunity to use her writing, performing, and directing skills to serve as a model of a completely realized scholar-practitioner, while fulfilling varied needs of the university community. Universities often present seminars or talk-backs in conjunction with their theatrical productions in order to illuminate various aspects of the production and enrich students' experience of the play. The author describes his method of physical dramaturgy: the physical approach we will be taking to create the play-world. He starts with two key Chekhov techniques: 'radiating' and 'atmospheres.'.
