New and Like New

New and “Like New” Work

If you’ve been reading these for a while, you know that I do support work for a lot of new plays, as well as underproduced classic plays (hello Expand the Canon ;) that are similarly hitting many audience members’ ears for the first time. If you have ever asked me what I’m up to during a given week and I’ve said something vague about dramaturgical projects and you’ve wondered, “Natalie, what does that mean?” then this month’s blog is for you! By way of a spotlight on some of my more behind-the-scenes work, here are a few things I’ve been up to lately:

Readings and Play Development

Not all of the new plays that I contribute to have reached the stage of rehearsals or a full production. Early on, supporting new play development can look more like discussing a script draft with a playwright, answering their questions about which scenes or characters are grabbing your interest. This month I got to attend an early reading with playwright Ashley Griffin, whom I stage managed for earlier this year, and I can’t wait to see where the piece goes from here. As part of my front-of-house day job, I also got to hear some presentations during the annual NAMT Festival of New Musicals, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for where these shows pop up next!

Audience Guides

Dramaturgy can mean helping a playwright understand the play they’re writing, but it can also mean helping an audience understand the play they’re about to see. Not sure where the time has gone, but I’ve somehow now been writing and designing Student Activity Guides for The Growing Stage for ten seasons, which offer background material and activities to enhance kids’ enjoyment of each mainstage production at this New Jersey gem serving young audiences and their families. This month I worked on the guide for TGS’s 45th Season-launching production of Matilda, and next up will be the December 4-20th run of Mo Willems’ The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! 

Let Me Tell You About It!

Want to hear me and my fellow researchers talk more about dramaturgy? We’ve got you covered! Over at Expand the Canon, we’re releasing new fall episodes of ETC’s This is a Classic podcast each Wednesday. We began with a series of conversations amongst my Research Team discussing favorite ETC projects and different aspects of their work, and now we’re focusing in on Susan Glaspell’s incredible play The Verge  – now in previews Off-Broadway in an exciting new production from Fiasco and The Public Theater. Throughout the run, you’ll be able to hear podcast chats from everyone from members of the production team to scholars from the International Susan Glaspell Society, and this week on Wednesday 11/4 I’ll be on mic as a co-host along with other members of our ETC dramaturgy squad. 

Upcoming: November Calendar

Mondays @ 8pm - Take Root with Forager Theatre Company 

Take Root is a pay-what-you-can, all-levels dance class from Forager Theatre Company, and our Monday evening classes offer a rotation of instructors teaching in varied styles. Our fall session continues through Monday 11/16.

Weekly Wednesday Episodes - This is a Classic Podcast from Expand the Canon

Alongside The Verge’s NYC opening in November, we’ll also be releasing a series of chats highlighting different aspects of this brilliant and underproduced play. I’ll be working behind the scenes as your audio editor for many of these discussions, and you may hear me on mic as well! 

Thursday 11/12 - ETC Night @ The Verge at the Public Theater

Over at Expand the Canon we’ve been abuzz for months about the Off-Broadway revival of this play that we adore and featured on our 2023 List, that we’ve described as “by turns devastating philosophical portraiture, droll farce, and scathing feminist cry.” Ready to get your tickets? Consider using our promo code ETCFRIEND, and checking out our ETC Community Night post-show discussion accompanying the November 12th performance. 

Saturday 11/28 - Santa’s Holiday Market @ The Growing Stage

I’ll once again be starting the holiday season at TGS’s fun annual event as a craft vendor for Queequeg & Paulina – come stop by from 12-4pm for festivities including one-of-a-kind gifts, concessions, and live music!

Recent Highlights & Recommendations

Some favorite performances and adventures from the past month!

Out of Town  Pictured above, enjoyed a bit of whirlwind sightseeing in Williamsburg and Norfolk, VA en route to an October wedding.

On Stage  Caught some super cool performances of different styles around NYC, including the shadow puppetry show The 4th Witch (from Manual Cinema), and the full-length mime piece Myth (from Broken Box Mime).

In Community  Circling back to wrap this up with one more new work development anecdote, it’s always a thrill to see projects come full circle. After hearing playwright Julia Labusch pitch Lightkeeper at an indie theatre event last year, I was delighted to catch the play in production in Brooklyn this month.