Anno Drewmaturgy

Hello all. According to my records, I haven’t written to you in a while—since May 12, to be exact. So what have I been up to? (Warning: links ahoy in the coming paragraphs.)

Well, for one thing, I got married in early June (which you can read about here and here). Having just celebrated my two month anniversary, I can report that being married is wonderful, provided you have chosen the right person. And I have.

One of the quirks of the regional theatre schedule is that we get about one month off per year, based on the closing of the last show in one season and the opening of the first show of the next season. Usually this falls in July. Which is not to say that we take July off. Most theatre people take their vacation when they can get it, dotted throughout the year in small bites, and reserve the summer for industry events. For example, this summer the TCG conference was in D.C. for a week that was filled (for me) in getting coffee with friends and colleagues. Last summer, I went to Omaha for a new play conference.

This summer was similarly intense. Beside TCG in June, in July I went on trips to Montreal and San Francisco for (top secret) projects in development. I also went to Shepherdstown, West Virginia for a visit to the Contemporary American Theatre Festival with my lovely wife and the council of Theater J, with whom she works. So far in August, the work has shown no signs of abating. We’re in the middle of rehearsals for our Free For All production of The Tempest (which I wrote about here, calling it Ethan McSweeny’s finest STC production to date, “blending spectacle and language, comedy and serious drama expertly”). And by the time you read this, we’ll be in the thick of rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet. Also, I just celebrated my birthday on August 3, making me a dramaturg of a certain vintage which might be guessed from the title of this post.

I’ve done an unusual amount of preparatory work this year. Because our production of King Charles III is a co-production with two other theatres, I’ve done my dramaturgy on that piece already, and I’ve also written my annual season preview piece for the STC scholar guide. Along with my dramaturgy piece for Romeo & Juliet, that’s more than a third of the season already in the can. I figured it would be fun to run those pieces on Drewmaturgy as a preview of what’s to come—we will do just that in the coming weeks.

These are exciting times for STC and for yours truly. Let’s keep it rolling.

Yours in dramaturgy,

Drew Lichtenberg