Dramaturge

Welcome to Geva Journal!

Welcome to Geva Journal, a new place for conversations about the work at Geva Theatre Center, inRochester, NY. My name is Jenni Werner, and I’m the director of literary and artistic programs here at Geva.  This is my first season here, so I’m learning new things about Geva, Rochester and the five county area almost every day.  Here on this blog, we’ll talk about the artistic process of creating the work on Geva’s stages – and maybe about some of the work that you never see, the conversations in our conference rooms and rehearsal hall.  I won’t be the only blogger, but I’ll be your host here on Geva Journal, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

My background is in dramaturgy.  As a dramaturg, my main responsibility is to help paint a full picture of the world being created onstage.  Dramaturgs do this for artists primarily by sharing information about the context of the world – the historical, biographical and social background. And we do this for audiences by creating opportunities to more fully engage in the world of the play – through lobby displays, articles online and in print, and conversations.  And we ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.

I’m working, as we speak, on preparing to serve as the production dramaturg for our production of A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Robert O’Hara, and for the next couple of months, this blog will follow our creative process.