Thinking Dramaturgy Together: A Conversation with LMDA

by Zeynep Nur Ayanoğlu

Dramatist: To begin, for readers who may not yet be familiar with LMDA, could you introduce the organization? How would you define its founding mission, and how have your approaches evolved over the years?

Sara Freeman: Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) is a professional organization that bridges the theatre industry and academia. LMDA advocates for all artists and creative producers working in any field where storytelling, collaboration, audience engagement, and research converge. When it was founded, it was most focused on advancing the role of dramaturgs and literary managers in building-based, producing theatres and establishing dramaturgs as members of the collaborative framework of directors, playwrights, designers, and producers. It was both a support circle and a mutual aid society for many dramaturgs in its first decades. It has expanded its reach over the years so that it can address the needs of institutional, freelance, and academic dramaturgs and meet members at different phases of their careers, from early career activities onward. LMDA Canada and LMDA Mexico built their branches to make LMDA an organization with leadership and programming in all three countries of North America, and we deeply value our international reach and connections.

Lindsey Barr: The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) is a member service organization based in New York, United States. Largely, we advocate for the professions of literary management and dramaturgy throughout the North American continent by providing resources, community, and collaboration to dramaturgs and those who engage in dramaturgical work.

We were founded in 1985 by just a handful of folks—dramaturgs who saw the need for community and advocacy for a profession that was often misunderstood or seen as not vital to the American theatrical landscape. What started as a small gathering of folks meeting once a year to discuss challenges and opportunities unique to the field has, over time, blossomed into the organization we have now, with over 500 annual members, year-round programming, and members from across the world.

We really strive to meet dramaturgs and artists where they are by updating our resources, creating new avenues for advocacy, and curating our programming to respond to the needs of our members.

Dramatist: How would you define dramaturgy and the role of the dramaturg within the theatre ecosystem? Have you observed any significant shifts in the function or importance of dramaturgy in North America over the past decade?

Lindsey: I think of dramaturgs as creative artists in rehearsal and new play development processes who are there to help bring the work into its fullest self in whatever way makes sense for that process. I always go back to Michael Chemers’ definition of a dramaturg in his book Ghost Light: An Introductory Handbook for Dramaturgy: “A dramaturg is a member of the artistic team of a production who is a specialist in the transformation of a dramatic script into a meaningful living performance.” This can include many things: actor packets, historical research, feedback to the director, and working on script changes with the playwright. It’s all up to the process and what it needs!

One of the biggest observations I’ve seen over the last 10 years is how much earlier in the academic process students are learning about dramaturgy. When I was in undergrad in 2008, my theatre program had one dramaturgy class you could take as an elective. It was something that I largely saw as a degree you could get if you went off to grad school. Now, we see entire undergraduate programs dedicated to dramaturgy, and even some high schools in the US have started to incorporate it formally into their theatre curriculum. I think what that does is helpful, though. It shows how essential dramaturgy is at all levels of production and introduces students to new avenues to be involved in theatrical processes.

I think there are ways that this has, interestingly, also parallelled a decline in institutional dramaturgy positions, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Theatre companies across the US are still trying to recover from the financial impact, and some theatres laid off their in-house dramaturgs and didn’t hire them back, or simply chose to prioritize other types of jobs when they were building back up. So, it seems like we’re at a moment where there are more people than ever who are familiar with dramaturgy and its contours, while at the same time contending with fewer full-time positions. I think that’s why we, at LMDA, really share that there is no right way to be a dramaturg. In fact, one of our past presidents would say that we welcome people who “commit acts of dramaturgy,” and that’s true! If you call yourself a dramaturg, you are welcome here! If you practice some elements of dramaturgy but would shy away from fully giving yourself that title, we also want you to join us!

Sara: I define dramaturgy as a set of interrelated practices about understanding and mobilizing performance material that is necessary to all theatre making; the role of dramaturgy within a theatre ecosystem is to always bring the work back to itself and to protect and maintain the focus of the artists and the connection between the art and the audience. The practice of dramaturgy, no matter your job title, means always focusing on the soul of the theatre moment, which is the fusion of the story’s structure and the playwright’s language to the spatialization of the event and the collaborative creation of meaning. I have seen a shift in the past decade as we have more fully understood and embraced the dramaturg within new play development processes. With that as a bedrock, I see a shift to being able to understand and advocate for the breadth and fullness of dramaturgical work, its visionary quality, and its vitality in text-based, physical, musical, and immersive forms of theatre, and more.

Dramatist: In your opinion, what strategies can dramaturgs develop to protect their rights and improve their working conditions within artistic processes? How does LMDA support dramaturgs in this regard?

Lindsey: I think this is really dependent on the dramaturg and the process they’re working in. I’m a huge advocate of outlining your scope of work prior to any formal rehearsal beginning and making sure that what you understand to be your responsibility is articulated in your contract. Some directors want a dramaturg there frequently, others significantly less so—and that’s okay! But, before starting any work, outlining what is expected of them, what they are meant to produce (program notes, actor packets, lobby displays, etc.), when they should be in rehearsal, and how they are being compensated is crucial.

At LMDA, we provide a ton of resources for folks to use to start those critical conversations. We have sample contracts and employment guidelines for people to reference, depending on the type of process they’re working on (new play, commercial, community theatre, etc.). We also have a compensation calculator where, based on your education and experience, you can figure out what a reasonable per-hour payment rate should be for your services. We’ve also partnered and supported some of our sister organizations in doing this work, and the Dramaturgs’ Network, based out of the United Kingdom, just published an incredibly comprehensive contract packet that further offers examples and verbiage for what you might want to include in any negotiation processes.

Sara: The first, most practical strategy is that dramaturgs should develop close partnerships with particular writers, directors, choreographers, or scenographers because this will give them a strong entry point for advocating for their rights and payment in artistic processes they work on with those collaborators. If a dramaturg has a sustained relationship with a company, it works similarly. More conceptually, dramaturgs must develop the strategy of consistently asking the questions that move a process forward or toward artistic discovery and then naming the junctures where that happened. LMDA supports dramaturgs by providing sample contracts and outlining best practices, and by being a forum where people can ask questions or seek mentorship as they develop relationships, feedback processes, and research and rehearsal tactics.

Dramatist: Especially within the independent theatre scene, the labour of dramaturgs often goes unrecognized or underpaid. In your view, what kinds of models could be developed to make dramaturgical labour more visible and economically sustainable?

Sara: One of my baselines is that a dramaturg is a key member of a production staff and should be as visible as any other member and paid on par. So, for small companies, if you are finding a small stipend for the designers, find one for the dramaturg, too. Dramaturgs are as central to an artistic team as designers, choreographers, and intimacy directors. For some processes, maybe they are defined as being more connected to audience engagement and education work; that should be clarified.

For some processes, dramaturgs are producers, which is a good space for dramaturgs to inhabit and build in support for dramaturgy. In any case, they should be involved from concept meetings onwards. They should be part of production meetings and in rehearsal to support the director, the writers, and the actors in the way that best serves the vision for the show. Dramaturgical work is theatre work.

Lindsey: I think that’s the case in many pockets of the United States, as well! I don’t know of any specific models I’d point toward to make it more visible, but that is what the work of LMDA hopes to accomplish as an organization. By offering space where we can say “hey, here’s a group of people who belong in artistic processes, and their labor is worth $X, because they bring skill set Y” we hope to make the value of dramaturgs more tangible since so much of our labor can be unseen, though deeply impactful.

I’m hopeful that the more our members and dramaturgs use our resources to advocate for payment and just contracts, the more institutions and organizations will see how dramaturgs deserve codified work and expectations just like any other in the artistic process. At least in the US, I don’t foresee a windfall of new full-time positions for dramaturgs, but I do feel like we’re seeing dramaturgs take on other jobs in arts management where they can utilize their skills of critical thinking, clear communication, synthesis, and research to the benefit of the theatrical landscape writ large.

I think, fundamentally, that people should ask for the compensation they think they deserve and help educate those hesitant to pay it on how and why they came up with that number. I know that’s an incredible amount of additional labor on dramaturgs, but it is one way to advocate and help people understand how vital our services can be.

Dramatist: How do you think the formation and growth of international dramaturgy networks are influencing the field of dramaturgy? What steps is LMDA taking to strengthen such international connections?

Sara: I think it keeps the profession vital! More dramaturgy networks, more creation, discovery, and joy! LMDA aims to strengthen these connections through information sharing, in-person and digital conferences, and co-sponsoring events.

Lindsey: Yes! The more international connections we establish, the more our efforts to advocate for the profession benefit. At LMDA, we try to be in conversation with our sister organizations (like D’N in the UK and the Asian Dramaturgs Network based in Singapore) to keep abreast of what they’re doing and how we can mutually support one another. We’ve held panel discussions where representatives from our organizations have gotten together to talk about dramaturgy on a global scale, and we frequently have members from these groups join us at our annual conference.

All the grants and awards LMDA gives out are eligible for international applicants, so we similarly recognize the importance of global dramaturgical work through these avenues when folks from outside North American apply and receive these awards. As the oldest dramaturgy advocacy organization in the world, we know that we’re uniquely situated to offer some of these financial awards that others might not be able to. (Though, to be sure, we operate on an incredibly lean budget from year to year.)

Dramatist: Although there are university programs offering dramaturgy education in Turkey, many graduates struggle to build a sustainable career in the performing arts. Are similar challenges present in North America or other regions you have observed?

Sara: Yes, I have seen those challenges everywhere, and they are the same challenges for almost everyone in creative fields. There is no set career pathway. There is no ladder. We live in deeply inequitable economic structures, funding for the arts is meager, and commercial production is a bit like a casino—you can make a lot or lose your shirt, but salaried work is hard to find. So, one of the functions of a professional organization is to continually ask: what structures might provide both the artistic vitality a culture wants and needs, but also livable conditions for artists? And then we try to build those structures, which means being able to dramaturg fundraising, sales, budgets, contracts, and ideas about profit and wages, as well as dramaturg plays.

Lindsey: We definitely do. I think this is something that LMDA tries to support and celebrate as an opportunity for dramaturgs to demonstrate how far-reaching and impactful the skills we bring can be. For example, some of our members work in grant writing. We celebrate that because dramaturgs are generally excellent communicators who need to distill an incredible amount of information down into clear and concise narratives—that’s grant writing in a nutshell! And you can expand that to any number of careers: marketing, fundraising, production management, etc. So, at least in my eyes, I try to posit it as an opportunity for dramaturgs to demonstrate how critical we can be to any number of positions both within and outside the performing arts.

But I know that’s a bit fraught to say: at least in my undergraduate experience, I was being taught and trained for something incredibly specific, and I felt that if I worked outside of professional theatre, I was a failure. No one told me that directly, but it’s sort of what I absorbed implicitly. It took years (years!) for me to realize that my dramaturgical practice made me better at everything else I was doing, and once I started framing my professional work that way, it was like a light bulb went off. I wouldn’t be the Executive Director of LMDA if I didn’t realize that I could be an arts manager, utilizing all the dramaturgical skills I gained.

So, in short, I don’t think that’s a unique experience for many programs here. But, at LMDA, we’re reframing the conversation a bit to celebrate all the varied ways in which dramaturgy shows up, rather than defining what defines a dramaturgical career.

Dramatist: LMDA has built a significant network of solidarity and professional development by offering grants, mentorship programs, and professional opportunities for dramaturgs. What efforts are you making to encourage international dramaturgs to take an active role within LMDA? Do you have specific initiatives or support mechanisms for dramaturgs who work in languages other than English?

Sara: We have members who focus strongly on theatre in translation, including the founder of the Theatre in Translation network (TinT) and The Mercurian, a journal that bills itself as a theatrical translation review. We’ve developed programs like the International Dramaturgy Lab, spearheaded by my immediate predecessor as President, Lynde Rosario. If dramaturgs are members of LMDA, all of the organization’s grants and awards programs are open to them, regardless of their nationality or place of residence.

Lindsey: As Sara mentioned, LMDA’s work spans the United States, Canada, and Mexico. LMDA Mexico was founded in 2020, and we’re continuing to support them as they identify how we can best build a coalition between our countries.

The question about language is a good one and one that we continually revisit. We have translated some of our documents into Spanish, and we’re in conversations about doing the same for French, but that is largely driven by the common languages (other than English) in Canada and Mexico. But it is a conversation we have frequently: how can we build on our support for our international partners and artists? It’s not an easy answer. I think there will come a time sooner rather than later when we’re really having these conversations in earnest.

To be completely honest, right now in the United States (mid-March 2025 as of this writing), it feels like we’re simply trying to understand how we can operate under continually changing and restrictive measures on free speech and artistic freedom being handed down by the Trump Administration. Much of this year has just felt like we’re trying to play catch-up. So, I look forward to the moment when we, as an organization, can step back again and really turn our attention toward continuing to expand and build our international resources. It’s just been a really, really hard time over here in the United States as an artistic non-profit with international ties.

Dramatist: Dramatist Türkiye was recently founded as a space for dramaturgs and playwrights in Turkey to connect, collaborate, and engage in collective thinking. Our primary aim at this stage is to strengthen professional solidarity, support intellectual exchange around dramaturgy and playwriting, and make the creative processes of theater more visible. Based on LMDA’s longstanding experience, what do you think are the key aspects to consider in developing such a platform?

Sara: Consider accessibility for members, where the energy for initiatives is stemming from, and how capacity changes across a career or in life cycle phases. People need different things from a platform at different stages; people can gather in different ways in different geographies. It’s ok for your platform to focus on a few things you can do well rather than trying to do everything for everyone at every phase and in every geography.

Lindsey: Connection, connection, connection! We have a great working relationship with the Dramatists Guild here in the US, and we frequently invite them to our conference. We want to put playwrights and dramaturgs in the same room as much as possible. (The relationship between playwrights and dramaturgs in Canada and Mexico is less bifurcated, so I’m only speaking within my experience in the US here, as I have not taken part as a dramaturg in a Canadian or Mexican production process.)

We also intentionally make space at our conference every year for sessions that think about building relationships between playwrights and dramaturgs. For example, in the United States, the National New Play Network—which we also collaborate with closely—houses a database of New Plays called the New Play Exchange (NPX), and sends representatives to our conference every year. This allows members to learn about new features NPX is offering and to provide feedback directly on how the platform can continue to connect dramaturgs and playwrights.

I’d say our success in this area has come from inviting folks into the room and asking about mutual aid. What do dramaturgs and playwrights want to accomplish together? How can we all advocate for one another in the interest of mutual, sustainable growth? There aren’t easy answers, but we at LMDA believe that we have to be in conversation with our peers about it, and that we can’t assume in a silo what needs to be done.

Dramatist: As a newly emerging initiative, one of our main priorities is to engage with dramaturgs and playwrights, build a collective memory, and foster a community-driven approach. How did LMDA establish its community, and what strategies did you find most effective in reaching out to dramaturgs? In terms of outreach and engagement, what methods have been particularly impactful?

Sara: It's been moving to look back into the archive of LMDA. I think this idea of building shared memories is huge—the more you can have dramaturgs talking to each other and talking to other playwrights and directors in casual, connected ways, the more you will see them generating work together. In terms of outreach and engagement, LMDA has done many things, but nothing succeeds so well as sharing a beautiful piece of writing, going to see a show together, and getting into a workshop or rehearsal room together.

Lindsey: I will say that we build community primarily through both our free programming (our digital conference, one-off panel events throughout the year, informal gatherings, affinity spaces, etc.) and our paid annual conference. While the in-person conference is really our tentpole event, we offer spaces for dramaturgs to gather throughout the year around different topics and initiatives. Many of these are free to attend or only require someone to hold an active LMDA membership (which starts as low as $15 USD for the entire year). So, we just made space and invited people to join us. But we listen too: we poll our membership yearly to ask how LMDA can better support them. We know that circumstances change! What dramaturgs needed last year, for example, very well may be different than what they need this year. So, I’d say that’s a big one: offer moments of connection throughout the year with low barriers of entry. Follow up with those people! Make sure they know that you’re interested in having them in your community. But also respond to what people are saying they’re looking for. You won’t be able to meet everyone’s needs, but following the trends of conversation as they show up is vital.

I’ll also say that one of LMDA’s greatest strengths is its effectiveness. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn that we operate on an incredibly tight budget (~$100,000 USD a year!), and that we only have one part-time employee, three part-time contractors, and the rest of the work LMDA undertakes is graciously supported by volunteer labor. Because of our smaller size, we can be very nimble and which allows us a great deal of flexibility and adaptability.

That’s a bit of a tangent, but I think the sentiment holds: invite people into your community and listen to what they need while remaining responsive and flexible. It can be a lot of legwork to follow up with folks, but it is well worth the effort to do so.

Dramatist: Dramatist Türkiye was born from the challenges we have encountered in our personal experiences and from our need to stand together. We believe that theater—especially a field like dramaturgy—expands not through complaints about difficulties but through persistence, insistence on being together, and continuing to create despite obstacles. From your perspective, how can we further strengthen this practice of solidarity and creative resilience?

Sara: I really love your focus on persistence, connection, and overcoming obstacles. Solidarity and creative resilience stem from really believing in the performance work you want to bring forth and building a group that feels the same way. Build a platform that has its members talking and connecting about the plays, writers, processes, companies, and stories they most believe in, and you will build solidarity and creative resilience.

Lindsey: Simply by continuing to do it and aligning your values, goals, and programming to reflect what’s important to you. LMDA is uncompromising on our values. And a lot of our solidarity comes from being a community-focused advocacy organization. I won’t speak for everyone in LMDA leadership (though I think we’d all agree) that none of us are “spokespeople” for dramaturgy. I don’t think that I know better than anyone in this field what we need in this moment. But what I know I can do in my role as ED of LMDA is listen. And then we can make decisions about resources, advocacy, and community spaces in support of what people are saying they need. When people feel that they’re being listened to and advocated for, it is solidarity making in action. Or at least I think so.

It can be hard, emotional, and tense work for sure. Sometimes we have organizational limits that keep us from doing all that we would want to do. And, if that’s the case, we communicate that to our members. But then we always try to ask: okay, we can’t do what we want to do, so what can we do? Where can we affect change? And, in many ways, that’s where a lot of the resilience comes into play.

As an organization based in the United States, we’re doing this a lot right now. We’re having to pivot and move away from processes that have existed for decades. For us, the question isn’t “do we continue to do it?” but rather “how do we continue to do it in a way that is true to our values?”

Originally published on Dramatist Türkiye and reposted here with permission of the author: Thinking Dramaturgy Together: A Conversation with LMDA