ABSTRACT

Discussions of dramaturgy in theatre circles in Australia can register ambivalence to the apparent academicism of dramaturgy as a factor that might constrain the creative process and/or inhibit directorial and authorial voices. At the same time, a parallel trend shows the rise of dramaturgy in the interdisciplinary field of contemporary performance. Whereas only a small number of dramaturgs are employed in a full-time capacity in theatre companies, the number of dramaturgs working in devised-performance contexts has increased in the last decade, popularized by influences from European ideas of new dramaturgy and organizations such as Dramaturgies, as well as the Australia Council for the Arts pilot program of fellowships for dramaturgs that was funded for two years, 2005 and 2006. 1 This situation has also been aided by a curatorial approach to programming new work in venues such as Melbourne’s Malthouse theatre and Arts House and Sydney’s the Performance Space, and by a greater mobility among performing artists both geographically and in terms of their chosen mediums and practices. The current popularization of dramaturgs in contemporary performance has been aided by developments in theatre in the 1990s as well. Companies that were established in this era such as Marrugeku (artistic director Rachael Swain) and Not Yet It’s Difficult (artistic director David Pledger) extensively used dramaturges; and indeed, I was the dramaturg for the NYID. 2