practical dramaturgy for actors

336 Pages·2014·1.25 MB·English

by  Tricia Rodley

PRACTICAL DRAMATURGY FOR ACTORS: APPLYING RESOURCES OF THE
OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL TO THE CHALLENGES
OF LANGUAGE AND PREPARATION

by

PATRICIA D. RODLEY

A DISSERTATION

Presented to the Department of Theater Arts
and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

December 2014
DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE

Student: Patricia D. Rodley

Title: Practical Dramaturgy for Actors: Applying Resources of the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival to the Challenges of Language and Preparation

This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Theater Arts by:

John Schmor Chairperson
Theresa May Core Member
Michael Najjar Core Member
Forest Pyle Institutional Representative

and

J. Andrew Berglund Dean of the Graduate School

Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School.

Degree awarded December 2014

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© 2014 Patricia D. Rodley

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DISSERTATION ABSTRACT

Patricia D. Rodley

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Theater Arts

December 2014

Title: Practical Dramaturgy for Actors: Applying Resources of the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival to the Challenges of Language and Preparation

This dissertation investigates the relationship between acting and dramaturgy. It
proposes a change in the contemporary actor’s work to more purposefully integrate
practical dramaturgy as a preparation that parallels character analysis. Despite how the
actor’s focus frequently aligns with character, current trends in American playwriting
suggest a need for a different approach as well because many plays defy expectations for
the kind of naturalistic, character-driven acting that suits plays written in the style of
realism. New playwriting, especially as codified by Paul C. Castagno, reflects a need for
the actor to focus on other dramaturgical structures. In response, this dissertation considers
the actor’s dramaturgical approach. It expands upon Geoffrey Proehl’s concept of
“dramaturgical sensibility” as it relates to the dramaturg and explores the actor’s
dramaturgical sensibility. Research into production processes at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival reveals a scope for the actor’s dramaturgical sensibility through three kinds of
awareness beyond character: story, language, and performance structures. This
foundation then informs a proposed process of dramaturgical script analysis, which
functions as a practical dramaturgy for actors.
This project also includes a secondary case study related to a University of

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Oregon production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, which helps to establish the components
of dramaturgical script analysis for actors. In order to consider a benefit for actors in
response to new playwriting strategies, the same components are then applied to two
contemporary plays: Apparition: An Uneasy Play of the Underknown by Anne Washburn
and God’s Ear by Jenny Schwartz. The process overall reveals a persistent binary related
to internal and external preparation for actors and a resistance to new methods owing to
lack of time in processes of contemporary theatrical production. Ultimately, however,
outcomes also suggests how a practical dramaturgy for actors may expand the actor’s work
in any context and may support various theatrical production processes in the United States
by maximizing the actor’s ability to discern the needs of a play.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME OF AUTHOR: Patricia D. Rodley

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

University of Oregon, Eugene
The Central School of Speech and Drama, London

DEGREES AWARDED:

Doctor of Philosophy, Theater, 2014, University of Oregon
Master of Arts, Classical Acting, 2005, The Central School of Speech and Drama
Bachelor of Arts, Theater and English, 1994, University of Oregon

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Actor Training
Classical Acting
Shakespeare, Moliere
Dramaturgy
Classical texts, new playwriting, plays in development
Voice and Text

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon 2010-2014

Co-Artistic Director, Mad Duckling Children’s Theatre, 2011-2012

Learning Coordinator, Cushman & Wakefield Learning Institute, 2007-2012

Founding Member, Printer’s Devil Theatre, 1995-2001

GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS:

Arnold, Isabelle, and Rupert Marks Graduate Scholarship, Department of Theater
Arts, University of Oregon, 2011-2014

Graduate Research and Travel Grant, Department of Theater Arts, University of
Oregon, 2011-2014

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks are owed to John Schmor as my advisor and also my Chair for this
project. It definitely does not go without saying. Michael Najjar and Theresa May
generously questioned and guided me as well. Before the process began, Tres Pyle helped
me to get here, and then helped my writing to go further. I would not have much of this
content or much of my inspiration without the willing participation of Scott Kaiser, David
Carey, Rebecca Clark Carey and Lue Morgan Douthit. I thank them very kindly. Two
people at the OSF Archives have also been instrumental in helping me pull together
Festival research: Debra Griffith and Maria DeWeerdt. I owe much gratitude to the
students from the Arcadia case study as well for helping me to learn with and from their
processes. Sara Freeman helped me to frame the first associations with dramaturgy, and
this project also builds on work that began for me at Central with Rob Clare. For their
kind words, willing ears, and sustenance, I greatly appreciate Toni Rodley, May-Britt
Ostersen, Susan Tate, Zeina Salame, Kori Rodley, and Teri Schlesinger. Jean Manning
put the fire under me when I needed it most, reminding me to make every day count.

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For my family: near, far, and already gone on. You remind me that I’m always part of
something bigger. And for Ron and Toni, who showed me how to work hard every day
and taught me to use my imagination.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1
Notes...................................................................................................................... 12
II. ESTABLISHING A DRAMATURGICAL VOCABULARY............................... 14
New Playwriting/Language Playwrights............................................................... 15
Why Dramaturgy?.................................................................................................. 35
How Does Dramaturgy Currently Inform the Actor’s Work?............................... 49
Prepare for an Unknown Journey – Redefining Mode.......................................... 63
To Listen/To Question – The Actor’s Dramaturgical Voice................................. 73
Summary................................................................................................................ 76
Notes...................................................................................................................... 77
III. THE OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL – A DRAMATURGICAL CASE
STUDY........................................................................................................................ 80

Direct and Indirect Resources................................................................................ 81
Direct Resources.................................................................................................... 86
Indirect Resources.................................................................................................. 120
Summary................................................................................................................ 142
Notes...................................................................................................................... 142
IV. THE ACTOR’S DRAMATURGICAL SENSIBILITY........................................ 145
Dramaturgical Script Analysis............................................................................... 148
Story Structures...................................................................................................... 152
Language Structures............................................................................................... 178

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Chapter Page

Performance Structures.......................................................................................... 203
Summary................................................................................................................ 218
Notes...................................................................................................................... 220
V. PRACTICAL DRAMATURGY FOR ACTORS................................................... 222
Apparition: An Uneasy Play of the Underknown.................................................. 228
God’s Ear............................................................................................................... 252
Summary................................................................................................................ 278
Notes...................................................................................................................... 279
VI. ENVISIONING A PRACTICAL DRAMATURGY FOR ACTORS................... 280
Production Concerns.............................................................................................. 286
Final Departures..................................................................................................... 292
APPENDICES
A. OSF FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN RETROSPECT..................................... 294
B. PRODUCTION DETAIL FOR OSF 2013 SEASON....................................... 304
C. OSF INDIRECT RESOURCES IN RETROSPECT........................................ 305
REFERENCES CITED................................................................................................ 316

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