What kind of socks do medieval monks wear? Do roses grow in Africa? What
does a 19th-century doorbell sound like?
"You get all kinds of crazy questions," says Cindy SoRelle. She is a dramaturg
in Texas. "As a dramaturg, you are the resident expert. If you don't know
the answer to something, then you get busy and find out. How do I know what
a 19th-century doorbell sounds like?"
She doesn't. But if someone needs to know for the production, she will
find out. "We are expected to be the person with knowledge, the one who can
find answers to all the hard questions."
So what kinds of things do actors, directors and costume designers need
to know? "You would be absolutely amazed at the questions I get," she says.
If an actor wants to know what a line in a play is referring to, she asks
the dramaturg.
"I'll get to work and find out that the line is a reference to a poem by
Shelley, and then find out the rest," she says. Sometimes, a dramaturg doesn't
need to hit the books to find answers. "If you ask around, you find that people
can point you in the right direction."
Theaters perform plays from ancient Greece right up to the modern day.
"That's a lot of different time periods to keep track of," says SoRelle.
Recently, she helped with the theater company's production of Richard III
by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's plays are produced in many different
ways. Some are set in the Elizabethan era, others in the 1920s
and some in modern-day dress.
"I looked into all the different interpretations over the years and did
historical research for the play," she says.
In addition to research, SoRelle worked on the script. "We did the script
a bit differently, and I had to work out whether we would have the ghost appear
on the battle scene or appear throughout the play."
Part of a dramaturg's work can be to educate the audience. SoRelle designed
the promotional material, and also set up a website. "It was a lot of fun
to set this up," she says.
Denis Johnston is involved in the educational side of dramaturgy. "The
main part of my work is providing background for the audience that is going
to see the play," he says. "I try to understand where the artists and directors
are coming from so that I can prepare the audience."
To do this, Johnston prepares program notes. "I edit the historical detail
so that it makes sense to the audience." Johnston also talks to the audiences
before and after the play to help them understand.
"This is a wonderful experience," he says. "The audience has already committed
to the play. They have bought the ticket. They have come to be educated and
are very grateful when you help them understand."
At the moment, Johnston's theater is producing a play called All My Sons,
which is set just after the Second World War. Several of the characters in
the play either work on airplanes or are pilots. "So the actors want to know
how to play the part of a pilot," says Johnston. "We find that out for them."
Historical details in the play need to be correct. "We need to know what
was in the newspaper that they were reading," says Johnston. He adds that
although plays should be historically accurate, there doesn't need to be as
much research as there is for a period movie.
"On the stage, some of these things are left up to the imagination," says
Johnston. "With a movie, all the detail has to be there."
Johnston is currently giving talks and holding study sessions for this
play. "We moderate discussion between the artists and the audience," he says.
"We're not afraid that they're going to start fighting, but we need to be
there to grease the wheels and make sure that people are using the same vocabulary.
"There is a thrill to teaching others that I really enjoy," he says. "There
is lots of job satisfaction."
SoRelle agrees that life as a dramaturg is enjoyable. "It can depend on
the director you are working with," she says. "Some feel so much ownership
over the script that it can be difficult. But there also is so much to learn
and to discover."