ABSTRACT
Since I first added film and television to my work in theatre, over ten years ago, there has never been a time when the dramaturgical skills I’ve learned in the theatre have not been of profound and immediate use. If we define dramaturgy as a broad set of activities that may include researching, pattern-finding and structuring, questioning, and reflecting in order to help artists do their best work, as well as creatively educating the public about works of dramatic art, then film dramaturgy has long been and still is widely employed. Since the night in 1896 when the Lumière brothers, in one of the first films projected for the public, terrified Parisian audiences with that steamy train entering a station, the above activities have been much prized and practiced in the motion picture world. 1 Yet the term “dramaturgy” is seldom used in film and the official title “film dramaturg” doesn’t exist. There are both genuine differences and unnecessary barriers between the media of film and theatre. Superficial differences include those of terminology, deeper differences, those of professional practice and of medium, including the live vs. recorded and projected or screened nature of the performance. A few barriers to the free flow of artists and ideas persist, like an invisible curtain, propped up by oversimplified assumptions about the respective media. There is a need for greater understanding between those working in theatre and film and for more opportunities for dramaturgs and other artists to move between worlds. These opportunities, once created, will in turn release the immense potential for sharing ideas and for new synergies. As new digital media are developed there will also be chances to jointly explore their dramaturgical possibilities. On both sides of the curtain, we have much to learn from each other.
