Workshop: Seeing Between the Lines

The dramaturg's job is to read between the lines and enhance a script with specificity and accuracy. This 1-night workshop will teach you to watch and read a play from the perspective of a dramaturg and see what you've been missing. For our upcoming Virtual Reading of Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist, you will read the script in advance of class and then delve into the text with Primary Stages Associate Artistic Director Erin Daley - giving you an exciting perspective and insight when you watch the reading later that week! With your eyes opened, you'll be able to incorporate dramaturgical practice into your work as a writer, actor, or director.

This workshop might be for you if:

• Would like the ability to translate what you see on stage to your own work.
• Are a theater artist seeking to refine your analytical skills when talking about live theater.
• Are a theater lover who would like a new perspective on what you see.

In this workshop you will:

• Meet with your class after viewing the production. The instructor will facilitate a class discussion about the production, exploring the questions of why this play, in this place, at this time.
• Discuss what it means to be a dramaturg, what dramaturgical inquiry is, and how you can incorporate dramaturgical practice into your work no matter your role in a production.
• Watch a performance of the Primary Stages Virtual Reading of The Tribute Artist by Charles Busch after your class! (Tickets will be provided for students at no additional cost.)

By the end of this workshop you will:

• Have a better understanding of the role of a dramaturg and dramaturgy in any play.
• Be able to bring dramaturgy into your work as a writer, actor, or director.
• Be equipped to see any production with a more discerning eye.

About The Tribute Artist by Charles Busch

We are thrilled to kick off our renewed partnership with 59E59 Theaters by virtually reviving the last show we presented on their stage – The Tribute Artist by Charles Busch. This show, originally presented in our 2013/2014 Season, features Busch as an out-of-work female impersonator who, when his elderly landlady dies in her sleep, takes on her identity in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. This ‘perfect’ scheme goes awry and leads to a wild path of twists and reversals plotted by an eccentric rogues gallery of outrageous schemers. Expect Busch’s signature blend of quick-witted banter and gender-bending hijinks in this play by the master of farce.

Note: All tickets will be provided for students. Upon registration, we will provide you with a link to select your performance date.