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“I don’t trust dramaturgs,” said a local playwright. “They just want to rewrite your play!” That comment is typical of what many playwrights think. “They’re dangerous,” said another playwright. “Let them write their own play.”

This mistrust comes from confusion about what a dramaturg does, lack of experience working with one, and from bad experiences borne of a time when the field was new to theatre in this country.

Now, however, according to the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, there are at least 25 graduate programs in this country offering degrees in dramaturgy. And the number is growing all the time. Most college and university undergraduate theatre programs have a trained dramaturg on staff, offering classes and supervising students in the practice. As a result, few students majoring in theatre these days are confused about what a dramaturg does and does not do.

Nonetheless myths persist, the paranoia is rampant. We decided to face it directly.

On February 9, 2015, the Utah Region of the Dramatists Guild of America teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Region of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America to co-sponsor a supervised confrontation between the two camps. There were more than 30 in attendance, a little more than half of whom were playwrights.

Led by Martine Green Rogers, regional representative of LMDA, and Julie Jensen, regional representative of DG, the discussion began by articulating the suspicions, most of which were based on a misapprehension of the dramaturg’s power. “Listen, I can’t make you do anything,” said one dramaturg, “nor would I want to. My job is to look at your play from an objective point of view and articulate how it might or might not be accomplishing what you want.”

A more subtle reality came from an experienced writer, “Even if I disagree with my dramaturg, I’m afraid not to take their advice; dramaturgs represent the theatre. I am on my own, without an ally.” The answer was quick and articulate from one of the dramaturgs. “You should do nothing to your play you don’t want to do. It’s your play. Our job is to help you see how it’s working.” Another dramaturg added, “Sometimes we are a part of a theatre staff, but that doesn’t mean you’re without an ally. We all want the best for your play. That’s the job.”

A playwright with a lot of experience as both writer and dramaturg, spoke eloquently about dramaturgs, “The good ones can help a writer see his play as if for the first time, they can also plant ideas that the writer believes are his own.” Another experienced playwright said, “Dramaturgs are invariably the smartest people in the room.”

In the informal eat and drink after the session, one of the most suspicious playwrights was shared a table with one of the dramaturgs. At the end of the evening, they had agreed to work together. A couple of days later, the playwright wrote me about his conversion. “I’m a believer,” he said. “No one’s ever been smarter about any play of mine.”

By the time the evening was over, we had agreed that all the playwriting groups organized through the Guild might consider asking a dramaturg to join them. So far, most of them have.

jjensen@dramatistsguild.com