Paid Dramaturg ($500-700): Help Strengthen a One-Act Before Fall Festival Submissions
Organization: Colin O’Donohoe
Summary
Cleveland playwright seeks a dramaturg to challenge a complete 26-page one-act before fall festival submissions: characters, pacing, premature resolutions, tangents to cut, and staging that could be simpler.
Description
Emergency Exit is a fast-moving coming-of-age play set in a suburban basement rehearsal room in the early 1990s, where a group of teenagers navigate friendship, identity, humor, and escalating conflict over the course of a single evening.
I’m not looking for line editing. I’m looking for a dramaturg who will challenge the play. Specifically:
Character: Does every character have a distinct objective, voice, and dramatic function? Does everyone earn their place on stage?
Structure and pacing: Where does the play drag? Where does it rush past moments that deserve more weight?
Tension: Where do I release pressure too early? Where does the play explain itself instead of trusting the audience?
Cuts: If a scene, exchange, joke, or theatrical device isn’t serving the play, flag it, even if it’s something I personally love.
Producibility: Where can the staging be simplified without sacrificing impact? A play that’s easier to mount is a play that gets mounted, and I’d rather hear it from you than from a theatre that passed.
I want honest, practical, actionable feedback, not praise. The goal is the strongest, leanest version of this play.
Deliverables: written dramaturgical notes, plus one or two working conversations (Zoom or in person). Notes delivered by September 5.
To apply, send: a brief introduction, your experience developing new plays, and one sample of dramaturgical notes or a comparable work sample.
Compensation
- Compensation Range: $500-$700
- Compensation Type: Inclusive Fee
