What the hell is dramaturgy!?!?

Dramaturgy! That one word that sends shivers up the spines of Drama Students. What the hell is it?

I will try and explain as simply as possible...

Dramaturgy is the composition or structure of a play and the process of making theatre. It covers all the elements of the text in hand including: the context of the play, the history of it's adaptations/translations etc.,

Dramaturgy is not a fixed process, it is a development of a play from text to stage. There are many things to think about when considering the dramaturgy of the play: the stage space, the spectator, the live performance text vs. the original text, etc. The list is endless; from scenography to performance style, all this is part of the dramaturgy. 

To create a successful performance analysis, you would have to consider the dramaturgy otherwise you would be creating a review of a performance rather than an analysis. You can analyse the dramaturgy of a performance in terms of the play, which includes the text, context, scenography, acting style, etc. Then you can analyse the dramaturgy of the performance in terms of the spectator, which includes how the audience interprets the play etc. And finally, you can analyse the dramaturgy of the performance in terms of the framing of the play, which includes the space in which the play is produced, the theatre, etc.

Basically, dramaturgy is all the elements of a performance that you can possibly think of and how they contribute to the final performance.