Facts: Basics

TITLE: ANGELS OF AMERICA

AUTHOR: Tony Kushner

LANGUAGE/TRANSLATOR: English and some French
YEAR OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATION: Written and workshopped in 1989-1990, Premiere in 1991, but published in 1992.

GENRE/LENGTH/STRUCTURE: Political drama (preoccupied with themes of democracy, community and personal responsibility)/Three Acts within scenes

AGENCY CONTROLLING LICENSE: The Gersh Agency

ROYALTY FEE: Will be there next week by Kandice

CAST BREAKDOWN: 21 Characters- 8 actors- 5 male, 3 female and double casting if possible

TIME AND SETTING: October-November 1985-January 1986 New York City with a few scenes in Salt Lake City, Moscow and an airliner flying to San Francisco, along with others in Heaven, Hell, dream sequences and places imagined by the characters.

BRIEF BIO OF AUTHOR:
Born in Manhattan in July 16, 1956, Tony Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana where his family moved after inheriting a lumber business. He earned a bachelors degree from Columbia University and later did postgraduate work at New York University. In the early 1980s, he founded a theater group and began writing and producing plays. In the early 1990s, he scored a monster hit with the epic, seven-hour, two-part, Broadway blockbuster Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes which earned for Kushner a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Evening Standard Award, two Olivier Award Nominations, the New York Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and the LAMBDA Liberty Award for Drama. This groundbreaking play focuses on three households in turmoil: a gay couple, one of whom has AIDS; a Morman man coming to terms with his sexuality; and the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, a historical figure who died of AIDS in 1986, denying his homosexuality all the way to his deathbed. NEWSWEEK wrote of Angels in America:
"Daring and Dazzling! The most ambitious American play of our time: an epic that ranges from earth to heaven; focuses on politics, sex and religion; transports us to Washington, the Kremlin, the South Bronx, Salt Lake City and Antarctica; deals with Jews, Mormons, WASPs, blacks; switches between realism and fantasy, from the tragedy of AIDS to the camp comedy of drag queens to the death or at least the absconding of God."
Kushner has also written A Bright Room Called Day and Slavs! (from material not used in Angels in America), as well as several adaptations including Goethe's Stella, Brecht's The Good Person of Setzuan, Corneille's the Illusion, and S. Ansky's The Dybbuk. His work has been produced at the Mark Taper Forum, the New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, Hartford Stage Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center as well as theatres in over 30 countries across the globe. He is the recipient of a 1990 Whiting Foundation Writers Award and playwriting and directing fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Kushner is currently an adjunct faculty member of New York University's Dramatic Writing program.
www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc51.html

Plot Summary
Angels in America focuses on the stories of two troubled couples, one gay, one straight: "word processor" Louis Ironson and his lover Prior Walter , and Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt and his wife Harper . After the funeral of Louis's grandmother, Prior tells him that he has contracted AIDS, and Louis panics. He tries to care for Prior but soon realizes he cannot stand the strain and fear. Meanwhile, Joe is offered a job in the Justice Department by Roy Cohn , his right-wing, bigoted mentor and friend. But Harper, who is addicted to Valium and suffers anxiety and hallucinations, does not want to move to Washington. The two couples' fates quickly become intertwined: Joe stumbles upon Louis crying in the bathroom of the courthouse where he works, and they strike up an unlikely friendship based in part on Louis's suspicion that Joe is gay. Harper and Prior also meet, in a fantastical mutual dream sequence in which Prior, operating on the "threshold of revelation," reveals to Harper that her husband is a closeted homosexual. Harper confronts Joe, who denies it but says he has struggled inwardly with the issue. Roy receives a different kind of surprise: At an appointment with his doctor Henry , he learns that he too has been diagnosed with AIDS. But Roy, who considers gay men weak and ineffectual, thunders that he has nothing in common with them—AIDS is a disease of homosexuals, whereas he has "liver cancer." Henry, disgusted, urges him to use his clout to obtain an experimental AIDS drug.
http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/angels/summary.html

Graduate Schools

Graduate Schools

1. University of Iowa

The University of Iowa
107 Theatre Building
Iowa City, IA 52242-1795
Phone: (319) 335-2700 or (800) 553-IOWA
Fax: (319) 335-3568
E-mail: theatre@uiowa.edu

Master of Fine Arts in Dramaturgy (Two Years)

The MFA in Dramaturgy is central to the mission of training theatre artists who will create the theatre of the future by building on theatrical traditions of the past. While providing the training needed to work as dramaturgs on works of all periods and types, the MFA in Dramaturgy at Iowa focuses on the training of new play dramaturgs with special skills in the development of new work. At Iowa, the tradition of new play dramaturgy extends back to the founding of the department in the 1930s. Along with such figures as Columbia's Brander Matthews and Yale's George Pierce Baker, Iowa's first Chair of Theatre Arts, E.C. Mabie, pioneered the development of drama as an independent discipline in which scholars and artists could train to create and lead the theatre of the future. Under the leadership of Oscar Brownstein in the 1970s, the MFA Program in Playwriting offered one of the country’s first courses in Dramaturgy, through which MFA candidates in Playwriting served as dramaturgs on department productions of classic plays. In the 1990s, the department developed a pilot program in Dramaturgy in close association with the Playwrights Workshop. The program was formally approved by the Graduate College in 1999. The Department of Theatre Arts sponsors semester-long residencies and short-term workshops by leading playwrights, dramaturgs, and other theatre artists. Many of their courses and workshops are open to MFA Dramaturgs. The MFA Program in Dramaturgy requires a minimum of sixty-four semester-hours of coursework in dramaturgy, theatre history, and dramatic literature/theory/criticism. Although students must fulfill particular course requirements, each student’s plan of study is individualized in consultation with the program head. In addition to developing expertise in traditions of Western theatre, students are encouraged to situate their work as scholar/dramaturgs in the context of nontraditional and non-Western forms. In the final year of enrollment, students are required to complete a thesis that represents their dramaturgical philosophy and its application to theatre practice. While coursework in history, literature, and theory is essential to the program, so is the development of applied skills in dramaturgical research, analysis, and collaboration, through which students draw on their knowledge and skills in helping facilitate the creation of works for the stage. Students are required to serve as dramaturgs in the Playwrights Workshop, the principal course of the MFA Program in Playwriting, and on the annual Festival of New Plays, a weeklong series of productions and readings developed by MFA playwrights in collaboration with students across department programs. Students are also expected to serve as production dramaturgs on the department’s Mainstage and Gallery productions. For interested students, there are production opportunities in the Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre and our department’s companion units in the Division of Performing Arts - the Department of Dance and the School of Music. Must have a 3.0 or better.

2. Roosevelt College
Masters in Directing/Dramaturgy (Three Year Program)
They offer to help with tuition for graduates.
Chicago 430 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 341-3500

3. Ohio State University
PhD. in Dramaturgy (Ninety credit hours)

The Ph.D. program is designed to serve prospective teachers, critics, and scholars in theatre studies. Also, in support of the scholarly degree, it provides some training opportunities in production. Each candidate, working with an adviser, develops an individual program of study that includes not only a wide range of general courses in history, critical theory, dramatic literature, performance analysis, and research methods but also a specialized group of courses in the candidate's areas of interest. Each candidate also selects at least one area of production for training (acting, directing, design, or dramaturgy). In addition, candidates have the opportunity to take courses taught by adjunct faculty outside the department. Candidates will thus develop a strong foundation in theatre studies; they will also be able to design special programs of study, appropriate to their backgrounds and professional aims. The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 90 credit hours (including the credit hours for the dissertation).

Areas of Study
Theatre history and historiography, critical and dramatic theory, genre history and theory, production analysis and dramaturgy, women and theatre, archival access and training, contemporary performance arts, and design technology; Russian theatre, Greek theatre, ancient and modern, Asian theatre, English and American theatre and drama.
Department of Theatre
1089 Drake Performance and Event Center
1849 Cannon Drive
614/292.5821


4. University of Hull (United Kingdom)
Master’s in Performance Translation and Dramaturgy (Two Years)

The Department offers supervision of research degrees (MPhil and PhD) in a wide range of subjects, reflecting both the individual interests of staff and the three overlapping research groups (Historiography, Performance Translation and Dramaturgy and the Processes of Performance and Production) that constitute our research culture.
Your research might take the traditional form of a wholly written thesis, or might be centrally based on experimental practice supplemented by written critical commentary and other forms of documentation. Either way, you are offered the opportunity to expand your own knowledge, and that of the subject area, through original research in a form tailored to your needs, under expert guidance.

Postgraduate and Research degrees
For further details about our research degrees, please contact Director of Studies
Prof. Richard Boon
r.boon@hull.ac.uk
+44 (0)1482 465206

5. University of Aarhus (Denmark)
MFA In Dramaturgy (Two Years)
In the Department of Dramaturgy we study scenic art ranging from Greek tragedy to present day performances. We scrutinize the theatrical nature of everyday interaction. And we investigate the overall structures of communication and experience framing the manifold theatrical events. In research and teaching we take into account the multidimensionality of scenic art: theatre as a public institution, children’s theatre, theatre experiments, events, role play, digital theatre, the dramaturgy of exhibitions, film, video and television. We deal with the role of theatre and of the dramaturg in teaching, society and culture. Our teaching mixes analysis, practical production, experiments in our two theatre halls with theory and analysis.
Dramaturgy offers an undergraduate and a graduate program, a supplementary program and a program for high school teachers.
Department of Dramaturgy, University of Aarhus, Langelandsgade 139, DK 8000 Aarhus C, dramkj@hum.au.dk , Tel. +45 8942 1810, Fax +45 8942 1828


6. University of Washington
PhD. of Criticism/Dramaturgy (Three Years of Studying)

The Ph.D. program provides comprehensive training in theatre and performance scholarship with a dual emphasis on theatre and performance history and dramatic theory. Particular strengths of the program include American, English and Classical studies, race and gender studies, semiotics, Asian and post-colonial theory. The three-year plan of study addresses a full range of Western and Non-Western materials from the ancient to the postmodern.
Graduates of the program have gone on to careers as university professors, arts administrators, dramaturgs and critics. Most applicants have theatre degrees and stage experience, but production work is not an integral part of the doctoral program. The enrollment is small, and individual attention to scholarly projects shapes the student's experience throughout the course of study. Whatever their particular interests, Ph.D. students are expected to develop the broadest possible understanding of theatre theory and history.
UW School of Drama
Box 353950 Seattle WA 98195
206.543.5140 phone
206.543.8512 fax

7. Wayne State University
PhD In Dramaturgy/Theatre Practice (Ninety Credit Hours)

Candidates for the PhD must complete 90 credits beyond the baccalaureate, including 30 hours of core courses, 30 hours of dissertation credits, one course in research methods, and a 6-credit minor within or outside the department. A maximum of 30 credits can be transferred from master’s level work. Dissertations normally employ critical or historical methods and do not involve production as such. The dissertation advisor, dissertation committee, or the graduate committee may provide additional requirements. Qualifying examinations cover both major and minor areas. Academic and Production Components On the academic side, the program concentrates on the traditional, broadly intellectual issues of theatre scholarship. PhD students study dramaturgy and theatre aesthetics, along with seminars in theatre history, dramatic theory and criticism, dramatic literature, and directing theory. On the production side, PhD students direct a fully-supported play with an undergraduate production team each year of 3-year residency. Core academic requirements are normally completed by the end of the second year and followed by qualifying examinations. The third year is devoted to developing a draft of the dissertation, and an additional year or two in the field is generally sufficient to complete and defend it. Part-time PhD students are also accepted, although production requirements may be different for them accordingly.
Department of Theatre
Wayne State University
4841 Cass Avenue, Suite 3225
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone (313) 577-3508 Fax (313) 577-0935
theatre@wayne.edu


8. York University (Toronto, Canada)
MFA in Dance Dramaturgy (Two Years)

York’s Dance MFA is unique — the only program in the world to offer research opportunities in both choreography and dance dramaturgy within the context of diverse contemporary dance practices. A two year program consisting relying on Choreography thesis and Dance Dramaturgy thesis. The MFA is aligned with the Dance Department’s pioneering BFA program (the oldest and largest of its kind in Canada) and builds on the 30-year history of York’s internationally recognized MA in Dance.
York University
Office of Graduate Admissions
PO Box GA2300
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON
CANADA M3J 1P3
Tel: 416-736-5000
Fax: 416-736-5536

9. Mary Baldwin College (Staunton, VA)
MFA Emphasis in Dramaturgy (Two Years)

Dramaturgy, the art of writing for the theatre, is the discipline which unites scholarship and stagecraft. Dramaturgs use their knowledge of the Early Modern social, historical, and cultural context to contribute to choices made by actors, directors and designers in rehearsal and in production. The dramaturgy emphasis leaves little room for elective classes. The program advises MLitt dramaturgy students to begin taking MFA required courses during the two MLitt years because some of the required courses are offered every other year.
Mary Baldwin College,
Staunton, VA 24401 1-540-887-7019

10. University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa,AL)
MFA Playwriting/Dramaturgy (Three Years)

Consists of a Three Year Program of Dramaturgy Classes and Playwriting plus Practicum &Thesis coursework.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Department of Theatre & Dance
Box 870239
115 Rowand-Johnson Hall
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0239

LORT THEATRES

LORT THEATRES
1. Clarence Brown Theatre Company AT UT Founded 1974
LORT Categories D
Resident/Dramaturg- Klaus van den Berg or Kim Midkiff, who is the Dramaturg there.
Contact Information
University of Tennessee , 206 McClung Tower , Knoxville , TN 37996-0420
Website: www.clarencebrowntheatre.org
Email: cbt@utk.edu

2. The Guthrie Theater Founded 1963
Founder(s) Tyrone Guthrie , Oliver Rea , Peter Zeisler
Contact Information
818 South 2nd St , Minneapolis , MN 55415
Website: www.guthrietheater.org
Email: support@guthrietheater.org
Senior Dramaturg
Michael Lupu
LORT Categories A, D

3. Barter Theatre
Barter Theatre Address:
127 West Main Street, Abingdon, VA 24210
Phone (276) 628-2281 Founded in June 10, 1933
LORT Type: D
Dramaturge
Catherine Bush
Dramaturge/Playwright-in-Residence
276/619-3344

4. Huntington Theatre Company
Contact Information
264 Huntington Ave , Boston , MA 02115-4606
Website: www.huntingtontheatre.org
Email: thehuntington@huntingtontheatre.org
Literary Manager: Ilana M. Brownstein
LORT Categories B+, B
Founded 1982

5. Florida Stage
Contact Information
262 S Ocean Blvd , Manalapan , FL 33462
Website: www.floridastage.org
Email: info@floridastage.org
LORT Categories C
Literary Associate: Jonathan Wemette
Founded 1987
Founder(s) Louis Tyrrell

6. Asolo Repertory Theatre
Previously known as: Asolo Theatre Company
Contact Information
5555 N Tamiami Trail , Sarasota , FL 34243
Website: www.asolo.org
Email: asolo@asolo.org
Literary Manager/Assistant to
the Producing Artistic Director- Lauryn Sasso
Founded 1960
Founder(s) Eberle Thomas , Robert Strane , Richard G. Fallon

7. Alley Theatre
Contact Information
615 Texas Ave , Houston , TX 77002
Website: www.alleytheatre.org
Email: webmaster@alleytheatre.org
Senior Dramaturg and Director of New Play Development- Mark Bly
LORT Categories B, C
Founded 1947
Founder(s) Nina Vance

8. Northlight Theatre
Contact Information
North Shore Center , 9501 Skokie Blvd , Skokie , IL 60077
Website: www.northlight.org
Email: postmaster@northlight.org
Dramaturg/Literary Manager- Meghan Beals McCarthy
LORT Categories C
Founded 1974

9. Geva Theatre Center
Previously known as: Geva Theatre, Inc.
Contact Information
75 Woodbury Blvd , Rochester , NY 14607
Website: www.gevatheatre.org
Email: gevatalk@gevatheatre.org
Literary Manager/Resident Dramaturg- Marge Betley
LORT Categories B,D
Founded 1972

10. The Wilma Theater
Contact Information
265 S Broad St , Philadelphia , PA 19107
Website: www.wilmatheater.org
Email: info@wilmatheater.org
Dramaturg/Literary Manager- Walter Bilderback
LORT Categories C
Founded 1973

What Is Dramaturgy?

What is Dramaturgy?
Dictionary:
· the art of dramatic composition for the stage
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dramaturgy
Online: the procedures through which dramatic material is organized and ordered to generate performative meaning.
www.aber.ac.uk/performance/sg/scheme/glossary.htm

Notable and Unusual: Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. Some dramatists combine writing and dramaturgy when creating a drama. Others work with a specialist, called a dramaturge, to adapt a work to the stage.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy

Historical Context: It is a German origin as the Lessing and the Hamburger Dramaturgyis explained. It’s an English dramaturgy and French dramaturgie, where both are borrowed from German Dramaturgie. It is a word used by the German dramatist and critic by the name of Gotthold Lessing. It is describle as being an influential series of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie or (“The Hamburg Dramaturgy”), published from 1767 to 1769. The word comes from the Greek dramatourgía, “a dramatic composition” or “action of a play.”, which is ininvolved in theatre
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/171026/dramaturgy#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=dramaturgy%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia )

My own Definition:
A person whether if it is a he or she of beginning the apects of plays of knowing and understanding the research. The historical understanding of knowing how to develop the play in a unique version. They are to view the notes, criticisms, past productions and etc of making sure that the show can be more unique and interesting. It is possibly the most underrated person in theatre, but is the director’s assistant in helping the mission of showing plays to the audience. Also can be the creator of having the mission of spreading theatre, where he/she is the most important ingredient of starting a play.

Other Unique Meanings:
The role of a dramaturge can vary depending on the needs of individual productions. www.usq.edu.au/performancecentre/schoolresources/fivewomen/dramaturgy .htm
The following resource explores dramaturgy and give explanations for the term: http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/
Meanings
· the art of writing and producing plays
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
· Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective stemming from symbolic interactionism. The term was first coined by Erving Goffman, who developed most of the related terminology and ideas in his 1959 book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy (sociology)

· Literary advisor, supplier of information about past productions and interpretations of scripts and about the milieu out of which a play has come.
www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/artsed/scos/theatrearts/tglossary
· (Pronounced drama-turj) A person who works alongside writers to develop their plays for performance. Although not necessarily a writer him/herself, a dramaturg is skilled in knowing what will or will not work on stage. Performs much the same function as a publisher's editor.
www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/glossary/glossdf.htm
· A person who serves as an editor for a theatre company, helping select plays and helping writers refine their work. Sometimes called a literary manager.
www.nwatalent.com/glossary_theater.htm
· a person who assists in the preparation of any playtext for production.
www.terrace.qld.edu.au/academic/arts/drama/drama/curriculum/seniordrama/syllabusglossary.doc
· In the theatre, a dramaturge or dramaturg holds a position that gained its modern-day function through the innovations of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturg http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=4&oi=define&q=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturg&usg=AFQjCNHO7h_pXMj2Ev2pJi_TuRm-IrSm-g

A Dramaturg's Tasks
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/List.html
· reading and assessment of new plays.
· in production, works primarily with director but may also be a resource for actors, designers and technicians.
· consultation with artistic director on the development of artistic policy and repertoire.
· the supervision of the public pronouncements of the theatre insofar as they reflect its repertoire and aesthetics.
· preparation of texts for performance. this is the main work of a dramaturg, can include:
o revising/editing scripts
o adapting non-theatrical text into a script
o translation of scripts from other languages
o advisor for playwrights writing or workshopping a new script.
o liaison between playwright and director
· "official representative" of audience to the theatre company
· writing program notes
· writing of mission statements about artistic goals
· dramatic editor
· distinction is often made between a production dramaturg and literary manager.
o production dramaturg's duties relate to a specific show
o a literary manager (or company/resident dramaturg) has ongoing duties within the theatre company, including review and selection of scripts, etc. (as described above).
· some distinguish, within what I'm calling the work of the production dramaturg, between production dramaturgy and audience dramaturgy.
o i.e. distinguishing between the work a dramaturg does:
1. with cast, management and crew of the production--as described above
2. and in "meeting" the audience, e.g. lobby displays, program notes, study guides, post-show discussions, seminars.
· dramaturgs, through their written work, leave a detailed documentation of the productions they work on, which can prove quite valuable to those attempting to do research the production in the future. otherwise newspaper reviews are often the only lasting documentation.
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/List.html

Researching www.dramaturgy.net and http://www.usq.edu.au/performancecentre/schoolresources/fivewomen/dramaturgy.htm
· The playwright
· Analyzing the play
· The era(s) in which the play has been set
· The location in which the play is set
· Specific people and places mentioned within the play ... and so on
Advising/Informing
· The director
· The cast
· The crew
· The designers
· And other personnel on the information collected
Representing
Many playwrights whose work is in production today are no longer alive. In this case, it is the responsibility of the dramaturge to represent to the best of their ability the wishes of the playwright. Particularly in the case of playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Sam Shepard, who where very particular in wanting their plays depicted the way they intended them. Even in the case of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, where Alan Ball is still alive, it is important for the dramaturge to have a good understanding of the playwright's intentions, background etc - the things that have had an impact on the style and purpose of the play.
In addition to researching, advising/informing and representing, the dramaturge is responsible for providing program notes.
The dramaturgy of an institution.
A dramaturg can perform many of the same roles in the dramaturgy of the institution as in the dramaturgy of a production. Based on an understanding of the institution's goal, vision, and approach, the dramaturg can provide supervision of the public pronouncements of the theatre insofar as they reflect its repertoire and aesthetics (as well as contributing to the shaping of the repertoire and aesthetics)
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/Description.html

Definitions

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