Ithaca College

Walter Byongsok Chon, Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Theatre Studies in the Theatre Arts Department, publishes two articles “Dramaturgs Reflect on the ATHE Dramaturgy Focus Group (DRFG) Part I: The Foundation” and “Part II: The Present” on the online global theatre journal The Theatre Times.

Excerpt from “Part I: The Foundation”

“Originally, this article was conceived as a section of an extended piece called, “Dramaturgs Reflect on the ATHE Dramaturgy Focus Group (DRFG),” with recollections about the DRFG from both founding members and current core members.  The enthusiastic responses to my interview requests, however, made it necessary for the article to be divided into two parts, “Part I: The Foundation” and “Part II: The Present.”

The current article ‘Part I: The Foundation’ contains interviews with members who were involved in the creation of the DRFG and the Dramaturgy Debut Panel. These practitioners have played an indispensable part in the continuing growth of not only the Focus Group but also dramaturgy in academia and the professional performing arts industry. This article also looks back at ATHE in the mid-1990s, when the DRFG first came into being, examining the issues explored back then as well as how the DRFG functioned in ATHE.  Records of the ATHE programs from the 1990s, generously provided by Geoff Proehl, served as invaluable resources for this retrospective.”

Link to the whole article:

https://thetheatretimes.com/dramaturgs-reflect-on-the-athe-dramaturgy-focus-group-drfg-part-i-the-foundation/

Excerpt from “Part II: The Present”

 “The annual ATHE (Associations for Theatre in Higher Education) conference took place in Orlando, FL, from August 7 to 11, 2019, with the theme, “Scene Changes: Performing, Teaching, and Working through the Transitions.”  The theme reflects the conference’s return to Orlando since 2013, what has transpired in Orlando in recent history, and the resulting nation-wide shifts in culture, politics, the arts, and the academia.  

The Dramaturgy Focus Group (DRFG) was dramaturgically engaged with the theme and the conference as a whole.  After the 2019 Conference, I asked several core members of the DRFG, past and present, to share their thoughts about what the committee means to them, how the group helped them to develop their practice as dramaturgs, and their ideas about where the field of dramaturgy is headed.”

Link to the whole article:

https://thetheatretimes.com/dramaturgs-reflect-on-the-athe-dramaturgy-focus-group-drfg-part-ii-the-present/