How does creative development work for theatre?
How does creative development work for theatre?
#1How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 9:03pmI'm starting to think about a career in creative development for shows. How does the process work? Is it just writing, costume designing, directing etc.?
#2How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 9:18pmWhat, specifically, is the context of what you are asking? "Creative development" is a broad, general term that can be different for each instance it applies to an individual.
--Aristotle
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#2How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 9:39pmThere is no "think tank" if that's what you are looking at. Each of the areas you suggest (and more) is its own specialty, to be studied and crafted.
#3How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:02pm
What, specifically, is the context of what you are asking?
When a show is being developed, what are the jobs (besides the designers)?
If these are stupid questions, I'm sorry. 
Updated On: 5/26/14 at 10:02 PM
#4How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:05pm
There is a job in regional theaters called "dramaturg", who does assist in the development of new works. They were very popularly positions in the 1990s, but the approach is confidential (ET: I meant "controversial")--whatever her training, does the dramaturg really know more about the play than its writer?--and I don't know how many dramaturgs survived the Great Recession.
It is not usually a position found in NYC theater except at institutions like The Public.
Updated On: 5/26/14 at 10:05 PM
#5How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:09pmThat's not true Gaveston. A dramaturg was used during the creation of Bombshell, and it was implied that he was a full time dramaturg in both New York and London.
#6How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:13pm
There is a job in regional theaters called "dramaturg", who does assist in the development of new works
Very nice, I'll look it up. :) Is there anything equivalent to that?
Updated On: 5/26/14 at 10:13 PM
#7How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:33pm
Equivalent? The job of "dramaturg" is sometimes credited and sometimes not. Thank to the internet, I've done dramaturgical work all over the globe.
Whizzer is right that SMASH imagined a full-time Broadway/West End dramaturg, but it was news to me. I'm sure sure some people have acted in that capacity--read books on Broadway in the 60s and 70s and you'll find every project going to Hal Prince for his opinion and suggestions. George Abbott and Jerome Robbins and, later, Michael Bennett, were also people who were sent every script and score or brought into every preview for a look.
But those people also worked full time as directors, writers, producers, etc.
The "controversy" (I miswrote "confidential" above) is that in resident theaters with full-time, permanent dramaturgs, they tend to eventually have more power than directors or playwrights. This isn't to say dramaturgs are bad people; it's just that there's a systematic imbalance when the dramaturg stays for years while other collaborators come and go.
#8How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/26/14 at 10:36pm
One more thing: as dramamama told you, being a dramaturg does not relieve you of having to know what producers, writers, directors, designers and actors do.
Quite the opposite! I've worked with all those positions as a dramaturg and I had to understand exactly what they did and how they approached a play.
Few dramaturgs choose it as a career path. In my experience, it is more a path that chooses you.
Updated On: 5/26/14 at 10:36 PM
#9How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/27/14 at 12:26am
Writers
Directors
Choreographers
Designers
Dramaturgs
Producers
Actors
Orchestrators
Those are the artists that generally collaborate to develop a new show.
Once a show is ready to be staged, many more technicans and administrators and specialists may then get involved, sometimes even earlier on in the process. There is no one standard way to develop a new show.
--Aristotle
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#10How does creative development work for theatre?
Posted: 5/27/14 at 12:37am
Capn, I would revise your list thusly:
Writer
Producer
First there is product (the property), then someone wants to spend money to get it going. Only then are the others brought in. True, a writer may come with a director, star and/or others attached but until somebody signs on to produce it, there's only the show in your mind.
JohnyBroadway
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/12
#11How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 12:43amI know at Disney theatrical they do have a creative development department. But even that department is broken up and delegated to work with the specific designers,
#12How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 7:14amThank you so much all of you :)
#13How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 7:27amGaveston, in situations where work as a dramaturg is uncredited (not considering an in-house dramaturg who is known to work on everything at a particular regional theatre), is there typically also a contractual requirement to keep it a secret, or is it considered acceptable for the dramaturg to list their work on a particular play on their resume (for example)? If they are not allowed to list it, how do others end up hiring them - is it by word of mouth from people who hired them before but won't say what they worked on, or through some other channel? I've always wondered how people who do secret work get found for subsequent work.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#14How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 8:52am
Based on the OP's name, I can only assume he/she is in fact referring to the Creative Development department at Disney Theatrical.
Creative Development oversees the creative development (writing, planning, designing, etc.) of Disney's original theatrical works and screen-to-stage adaptations. They are in charge of exactly what you imagine: attending and "producing" the readings/workshops/etc., shepherding the commissioned writers and other artists (ex. orchestrators), and so on.
There is nothing you specialize or major in for creative development. Just having some kind of theatre background will put you on that track, but it's an extremely small field. Most theatrical ventures and companies do not have entire departments devoted to creative development except for the theatre divisions of the huge places like Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Fox, etc.
In most theatre companies the creative development is overseen by the Artistic Director and, if large enough, the Director of New Works. There may also be a Resident Dramaturg or Literary Manager at the larger theatre companies that commission and develop many new works; most of those individuals have some kind of legitimate education and background in english or literature.
#15How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 10:30am
Haha I was actually thinking of Disney and the theatrical company for Dreamworks Animation too :) Thanks for the info, Headband!
#16How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 10:15pm
adam.peterson, good questions! I'm a playwright and not really interested in dramaturging for people who aren't already friends or artists I greatly admire. Mostly, these are people I know from grad school.
If they have money in the budget, I get paid a little; if not. I figure I'm contributing to the art form (and I assume that others help me on my plays, whether they use the title "dramaturg" or not). If they remember to credit me (they usually do), great; if not, there's nothing stopping me from putting the credit on my resume.
So I am not analogous to professional dramaturgs who hope to build a career at the Mark Taper, Public, or some Rep company. Take Oskar Eustis as a contrast: he worked as a dramaturg in SF in the 1970s and eventually came to direct first productions of plays such as EXECUTION OF JUSTICE and ANGELES IN AMERICA. And look where he is now!
As you probably know, many playwrights have become leery of dramaturgs since the woman who worked with Jonathon Larson sued his estate to be granted credit (and royalties) as a co-author of RENT. The case was covered in great detail in the DRAMATIST'S GUILD. (I think she lost, but the Guild now recommends a playwright/dramaturg contract to protect the writer and his/her project.)
One advantage of working with friends is I don't worry much about such things. I approach work with the mind of a playwright, so I'm not likely to claim co-ownership of somebody else's work. I know the difference between an idea and a scene.
If you are looking to build a career as a dramaturg, I would recommend education in play analysis and theater history (plus a good liberal arts education). Then hang around playwrights whenever possible; you'll find most of us are hungry to get feedback on our work or help with historical research. From there, word-of-mouth is your best friend.
Updated On: 5/27/14 at 10:15 PM
#17How does creative development work for theatre
Posted: 5/27/14 at 10:30pmThe person in the room with the most money. lol.
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