Theatre Arts Dramaturgy - Columbia University in the City of New York

Theatre Arts Dramaturgy from Columbia University in the City of New York is a Campus Master Theatre degree that prepares you for a Art and Design career. In its most general sense, dramaturgy is defined as the process by which stories are built for the stage. In this most fundamentally collaborative art form, many people contribute to the dramaturgy, or making of plays: actors, directors, designers, playwrights, producers, and indeed, people called dramaturgs. What is a dramaturg? The origins of the profession as we know it lie in Germany and England; until late in the eighteenth century, there was no one designated by that name, and in contemporary American theatre , the same is often still the case. There has, however, always existed the need for a person of ideas who could function as a fluid, creative, motivating liaison among all the components of a creative team. Dramaturgs are at once theatre generalists and specialists who delve deeply into the world of the play at hand and are instrumental in its development, whether it be a new script undergoing revision, or a classic text in the process of being revived. They possess sharp critical faculties, unrestrained creative abilities, identification both with their fellow artists and the audience, and highly developed interpersonal skills. Most of the best dramaturgs are individuals who have excelled in and continue to work in one of the other theatrical disciplines. In the Columbia program, we seek to define the career prospects of dramaturgy students broadly and ambitiously. We are looking to train the individuals who will reshape and redefine the American theatre in the new century. While traditional positions of literary management and production dramaturgy will be a goal for some, we want to encourage our students to think of themselves as future artistic directors, producers, and institution-builders as well, and to make the most of the inter-disciplinary nature of the field. Students receive a foundation in dramatic theory, history, and literature as well as classes in producing, playwriting, directing and various forms of theatrical collaboration. Each will gain extensive experience in the development and production of new plays and classic texts. In recent years, through a cooperative agreement with the Film Division, interested students have been able to expand their professional horizons by exploring the worlds of screenwriting, and film and television project development. Dramaturgy students work on all Theatre Division productions and class projects as well as with playwrights and screenwriters on readings. The Columbia MFA Dramaturgy program seeks highly self-motivated, entrepreneurial, creative thinkers who are interested to deepen their total knowledge of the theatre , while finding new collaborators and newly expansive ideas about their professional prospects. View more details on Columbia University in the City of New York . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Theatre courses.