Bio: Rebecca Hammonds earned her Bachelor's Degree in Theatre from California Baptist University (Riverside, CA) and her Master's Degree from Regent University (Virginia Beach, VA). She will begin her Doctoral Program in August at Bowling Green State University where she was awarded a position as a graduate assistant. Her first experience with Dramaturgy was during her last year at CBU (2009). She collaborated with Director Krista Jo Miller and Playwright Jessica Davenport on a new play celebrating the life of William Cary and his mission in India. Since then, Rebecca has worked as a Dramaturg, Box Office Manager, Prop Mistress, and Marketing Assistant at California Regional Theatre (Chico, CA). (Examples of her work can be found by searching on Academia.edu)
Focus for the week: I want to discuss my experience as the first dramaturg to work with a large theatre company in this area -what it was like to offer my services to a director who had never heard of dramaturg before, how we developed my role in rehearsal, and how I've developed my role as a resource for audience/community participation materials.
Questions from LMDA:
What is your definition of dramaturgy? Dramaturgy is the idea that stories are not two dimensional. A Dramaturg, whether they work with the playwright, advise in rehearsal, are working on Packets, or are writing a blog for the public are simply exposing to everyone the multidimensional possibilities of any work that will be performed. We are those who bridge the gap between the abstract fiction on the page that can be recited by rote, and the audience who comes in with myriad experiences looking to see themselves reflected on the stage...and to see themselves transformed.
What is your dream project? In all honesty, my dream project would be to find a way to make allegories work well on stage: books like "The Pilgrim's Progress" and "Hinds' Feet on High Places". I want to find a way to take those stories (full of dialogue and various locations) and place them, in tact, on the stage. Such stories are usually chopped up and lose their power. I want to keep it real.
A second project would develop a better understanding among we Dramaturgs about how to help our theaters meet the needs/wants of our demographics. What shows, resources, communications, names, ideas can we use as a theatre that will help us to engage with our community and draw them into a meaningful experience with us? What theatres are successfully doing that now? How can the average community, regional, or repertory theatre do it?
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