I'll be honest, I was quite nervous and interested to see how the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival respondent would take in many aspects of The Arsonists. I was of course interested for all the other designers and actors, but my own components of the show were of more importance to me.
I was less worried about props than dramaturgy. The reason is that although I could literally see places for improvement, the style and design were all pretty clear- cut. The budget allowed for high quality products to be purchased for the show. This meant that everything from the food to the candle sticks were actually of very high quality. There were inconsistencies (such as no pickles on the lunch plate, or new looking wine bottles) but those details are so minor that regular audience members did not think about them for even a second. Props is also an area I had dealt a lot with, so I knew even before beginning the show what the expectations were.
Dramaturgy is a different story.
In all reality, I was nervous about how EVERYONE would think of my work on dramaturgy, and how that reflected in the show. After spending so much time engulfed in the research, was the stuff I found too deep for the audience? Would they understand why one corner of the lobby looked like a little time capsule? Would the program note reflect our production's message in a way that spoke to the audience members?
Not all of these questions were directly answered by the ACTF respondent, but one thing was certain- he saw my hard work and he really liked it. Getting the certificate of merit is proof of that for sure. He made it very clear that my work was both obviously in depth- and also transformed into an easily digestible form. This was a huge relief because it confirmed that dramaturgy is an area of theatre that I have skill at. This show has definitely showed me that dramaturgy might be a future for me, I am more than excited to see where this new confidence leads me!
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