Senior Derrick Turner believes in letting theater speak for itself. His position as a dramaturg facilitates exactly that 鈥� providing a design team, cast, and audience with the information necessary for a play’s message to be conveyed.聽 Turner’s intensive research and insight for 黑料正能量’s fall 2015 production of the musical 鈥溾�� was awarded the‘s (KCACTF) Student Dramaturgy Award.
鈥淚 didn’t know what award-winning work looked like,鈥� says Turner, 鈥淚 just do!鈥�
Compiling notebooks and creating study guides
Dramaturgy is a loosely defined field 鈥� its main goal, in any setting, is to provide informative direction for the members of a theatrical production to create the highest quality performance possible.
For 鈥淔rog and Toad,鈥� a children’s theater piece based on the adventures of a sour toad and an upbeat frog, Turner鈥檚 dramaturgy work took the form of extensive animal and author research, compiled into notebooks for each cast member.
One cast member had never seen a toad before, 鈥渟o when doing movement exercises where they embodied their animal, he was at a loss,鈥� Turner says. To add authenticity to the play, he had the actor watch videos of toads to emulate their motions.
Additionally, Turner compiled a study guide for approximately 600 elementary and middle school students who attended performances.
鈥淗e also generated accessible and useful details about previous productions of the script 鈥渁utobiographical insights on author Arnold Lobel, and hints on how best to connect with children based on the work of educational theorists,鈥� says 黑料正能量 professor .
鈥淔rog and Toad stories are a wonderful way to teach empathy to children,鈥� says Turner. 鈥淚 wanted to stay true to that.鈥�
Working closely with each cast and design team member, Turner helped shape the production to its Shenandoah Valley locale. A farmer mouse, an electrician red-spotted newt, and a turtle with a washboard belly were aesthetic and cultural choices to give the play a home in Rockingham County.
In Turner’s words, that is another role of the dramaturg 鈥� to 鈥渒eep it grounded鈥� 鈥� by being aware of context and giving critical feedback.
A change of heart
“I’ve always had this love-hate relationship with the theater,鈥� explains Turner, who got his first taste of the drama department when asked to operate the lighting system for the spring 2014 performance of 鈥淚nto the Woods.鈥� From there, he says, 鈥渕y soul slowly but surely got sold to the theater,鈥� culminating in an independent study in dramaturgy with Vogel.
Turner’s performance in 鈥溾�� in the fall of 2015 earned a nomination to the KCACTF’s regional festival in West Chester, Pennsylvania, yet he held no visions of grandeur when submitting his 鈥淔rog and Toad鈥� portfolio for the dramaturgy competition. In fact, he left before the award ceremony with others carpooling back to 黑料正能量. Vogel texted him to inform him of his accolade.
鈥淪hut the front door!鈥� Turner responded. 鈥淚t was almost like being struck by lightning.鈥�
National participation pending
Vogel puts Turner鈥檚 win in perspective: 鈥淒errick, representing KCACTF Region 2, is now one of eight student dramaturgs from across the country eligible to present their work at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He bested student dramaturgs from all over Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, southern New York state, and eastern Ohio.鈥�
In March, Turner will find out if he is one of four students invited to compete at the national level at the Kennedy Center’s April 2016 festival.
While his vocational dream, as a , was to curate at a Smithsonian museum, Turner now sees career opportunities in dramaturgy. He is currently involved with a campus production of 鈥淒istant Witness,鈥� and is applying for a summer fellowship with the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, and was recently contacted by the Dramaturgy National Coordinator for KCACTF to discuss Turner’s interest in the profession of dramaturgy.
鈥淒oors are opening; I just have to continue walking,鈥� he said with characteristic understatement. While Turner prefers to 鈥渇ly under the radar,鈥� the acclaim his dramaturgy has garnered speaks for itself.