Dramaturgy
World-Building Blocks
Our dramaturgy program offers students the opportunities and skill sets to curate their own career path in the theater and beyond. With small class sizes and the ability to customize coursework in a way that fits their individual interests, dramaturgy students receive a combination of liberal arts study, pre-professional training in theater, and access to world-class faculty across disciplines. Every dramaturgy student has the opportunity to work on at least three School of Drama productions, beginning their second year.
Dramaturgy Curriculum
With seven dedicated dramaturgy courses, plus courses in directing, playwriting, design, and theater history, dramaturgy students build skills that are applicable not only to production and new play dramaturgy, but also to playwriting and screenwriting, directing, casting, marketing, fundraising, and arts administration. Through the wide-ranging and customizable coursework in both the School of Drama and the university at large, dramaturgy students are well-equipped to pursue careers in the arts and beyond.
Click the link and navigate through each program’s curriculum using the gray menu on the right hand side of the screen.
Student Work
Facilitating Conversations with Playwrights
Wendy Kuhn (Class of 2024) facilitated a discussion and Q&A with playwright Ike Holter, when he visited campus to see the School of Drama’s production of his play, Sender, for which Wendy worked as dramaturg.
Interactive Lobby Dramaturgy – “As You Like It”
Carnegie Mellon’s production of As You Like It in 2022 brought new life to the classic Shakespearean text by bringing a queer lens to this story of self-discovery and love. The creative team sought to highlight the transformational power of embracing all aspects of one’s identity, the beauty in all the forms that love can take, and the freedom of spirit that can be found in nature. With these intentions in mind, production dramaturg Caroline Holmes (Class of 2024) created an audience engagement experience that was centered on building community. The main component of the lobby display was entitled “The Tree of Love”. The tree was constructed out of recycled metal materials acquired from local Pittsburgh organization, Construction Junction. Audience members were invited to “Write about a moment you experienced a profound sense of love or a transformational sense of self” on a colorful piece of paper in the shape of a leaf and to hang the leaf on the metal tree, which blossomed into color over the run of the production.
Interactive Lobby Dramaturgy – “Macbeth”
“Our production of Macbeth is based in a world where gender doesn’t look the same as it does in our world. This was a drastic change from the source material, where Macbeth’s manhood is a source of violence and ambition. Just like in this world, our violence, ambition, and evil deeds are intrinsic to our humanity. In the installation “Will these hands ne’er be clean,” inspired by one of my favorite lines from the show, I invite the audience of Macbeth to confess their own evil deeds and feel a little more similar to Macbeth’s diabolical characters and their humanity.
The shape of the hand was inspired by the line “Will these hands ne’er be clean?” I like the idea of a permanent reminder of the interaction straight in the lobby. It’s also been my dream to know how to sew for a long time and this was the perfect excuse to learn!” – Matthew Blankley (Class of 2025)
Scenic support for this display: Louise Cutter and Hazel Froling; Sound design for this display: Iris Chiu
Creating Alumni Connections
Alesia Etinoff (Class of 2014) – pictured, center – is now an LA-based writer, content creator and comedian who recently created a Diversity Writing Intensive called the ‘Young Writers to Watch’ Program, in partnership with the Television Academy. She visited campus to talk with current dramaturgy students about her career trajectory since graduating from the School of Drama’s dramaturgy program.
Eco-Drama – a special topics seminar taught by Professor Wendy Arons
Every semester, members of the School of Drama’s faculty offer seminars on special topics that investigate some aspect of theater history, dramatic literature, dramatic theory, or a particular author, period, or genre. Here, Rebecca Perry (Class of 2025) presents her project on Eco-Drama – a special topics seminar taught by Professor Wendy Arons.
ECO-DRAMA asks: How are theater artists responding to the challenges posed by climate change and the ecological and social crises it threatens to precipitate? This course examined plays about the ecology and environment – and investigated historical and current approaches to putting the human relationship to the nonhuman world on stage and in performance.
Access to top-flight research
School of Drama dramaturgy and directing students visited the August Wilson archive at the University of Pittsburgh for a workshop on research with archival materials. They spent time perusing materials related to Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson, including early drafts of the script and the materials related to the filming of the play in Pittsburgh for the Hallmark TV film version of the play.
Facilitating Conversations with Playwrights
Wendy Kuhn (Class of 2024) facilitated a discussion and Q&A with playwright Ike Holter, when he visited campus to see the School of Drama’s production of his play, Sender, for which Wendy worked as dramaturg.
Interactive Lobby Dramaturgy – “As You Like It”
Carnegie Mellon’s production of As You Like It in 2022 brought new life to the classic Shakespearean text by bringing a queer lens to this story of self-discovery and love. The creative team sought to highlight the transformational power of embracing all aspects of one’s identity, the beauty in all the forms that love can take, and the freedom of spirit that can be found in nature. With these intentions in mind, production dramaturg Caroline Holmes (Class of 2024) created an audience engagement experience that was centered on building community. The main component of the lobby display was entitled “The Tree of Love”. The tree was constructed out of recycled metal materials acquired from local Pittsburgh organization, Construction Junction. Audience members were invited to “Write about a moment you experienced a profound sense of love or a transformational sense of self” on a colorful piece of paper in the shape of a leaf and to hang the leaf on the metal tree, which blossomed into color over the run of the production.
Interactive Lobby Dramaturgy – “Macbeth”
“Our production of Macbeth is based in a world where gender doesn’t look the same as it does in our world. This was a drastic change from the source material, where Macbeth’s manhood is a source of violence and ambition. Just like in this world, our violence, ambition, and evil deeds are intrinsic to our humanity. In the installation “Will these hands ne’er be clean,” inspired by one of my favorite lines from the show, I invite the audience of Macbeth to confess their own evil deeds and feel a little more similar to Macbeth’s diabolical characters and their humanity.
The shape of the hand was inspired by the line “Will these hands ne’er be clean?” I like the idea of a permanent reminder of the interaction straight in the lobby. It’s also been my dream to know how to sew for a long time and this was the perfect excuse to learn!” – Matthew Blankley (Class of 2025)
Scenic support for this display: Louise Cutter and Hazel Froling; Sound design for this display: Iris Chiu
Creating Alumni Connections
Alesia Etinoff (Class of 2014) – pictured, center – is now an LA-based writer, content creator and comedian who recently created a Diversity Writing Intensive called the ‘Young Writers to Watch’ Program, in partnership with the Television Academy. She visited campus to talk with current dramaturgy students about her career trajectory since graduating from the School of Drama’s dramaturgy program.
Eco-Drama – a special topics seminar taught by Professor Wendy Arons
Every semester, members of the School of Drama’s faculty offer seminars on special topics that investigate some aspect of theater history, dramatic literature, dramatic theory, or a particular author, period, or genre. Here, Rebecca Perry (Class of 2025) presents her project on Eco-Drama – a special topics seminar taught by Professor Wendy Arons.
ECO-DRAMA asks: How are theater artists responding to the challenges posed by climate change and the ecological and social crises it threatens to precipitate? This course examined plays about the ecology and environment – and investigated historical and current approaches to putting the human relationship to the nonhuman world on stage and in performance.
Access to top-flight research
School of Drama dramaturgy and directing students visited the August Wilson archive at the University of Pittsburgh for a workshop on research with archival materials. They spent time perusing materials related to Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson, including early drafts of the script and the materials related to the filming of the play in Pittsburgh for the Hallmark TV film version of the play.
Drama in the News
alumni stories
Featured Faculty
I reference things that Wendy taught us in class, still to this day. Our work as dramaturgs is valuable — that was always asserted by our teachers.
Mary-Margaret Kunze, Class of 2012
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