Theater: My Career in Dramaturgy

Part of the reason I keep this blog is to reassure myself that I'm doing something with my life. I post about poems published, plays produced, and books released as the occasions arise. I've also posted about my Korean movie blog, readings I've curated, and that time I was a judge for the Publishing Triangle's Ferro-Grumley Award. But today, I'm going to write a little bit about dramaturgy. It's one of the more enjoyable, less egocentric things I've gotten to do in the artworld lately. I started working in this capacity to some degree when my friends, Jerry Mouawad and Carol Triffle -- the two Artistic Co-Directors of Imago Theatre -- would ask me for feedback on their shows in development, starting probably with Serial Killer Parents in 2007. ("More magic tricks," I said.) Then things took a more serious turn when Jerry started hiring me to consult on various productions: his revival of John Glover's and Kelley Rourke's Lucy for the Eugene Opera, his own libretto for Satie's Journey, an oratorio with composer Marisa Wildeman which premiered on K-BOO FM... Eventually, my role became more official with the Imago revival of The Seafarer in 2023 and the premiere of Julia's Place in 2022. As for David Hertzberg's The Rose Elf at OrpheusPDX, that opera credit led me to being listed as a dramaturge in the OperaBase database online. My work in this capacity has extended beyond Imago, too. I "dramaturged" for Linda Manning's inventive Bite the Apple when it was revived at Rattlestick Theatre in 2022 and the Super Futures Haunt Qollective's gorgeous L'eulelogy for our super(re)latives at UC Berkeley in 2025. The former involved sitting in on nearly all the rehearsals; the latter, a handful of phone calls and Zoom meetings with creators with C. Ree, Sam Jung, and my dear friend Angie Morrill. Each of these productions has gotten under my skin in beautiful ways. I currently have the program for L'eulelogy... in my bedside table!

Photo Credit: The above image comes courtesy of SFHQ re: their production of L'eulelogy for our super(re)latives at UC Berkeley.