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LMDA/KCACTF Application

The LMDA/KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award is designed to recognize student dramaturgs who show promise as participants in the diverse landscape of professional dramaturgy. Because dramaturgical work is so often intangible, the application process aims to create space for students to demonstrate how they have tuned their contributions to the needs of a college- or university-sponsored workshop, production, or dramaturgy course. The philosophical foundation of this program rests in the belief that the most effective professional dramaturgs develop an ever-evolving sensibility rather than a rigid set of practices. Such dramaturgs embrace the importance of self-reflection and learning in ways that allow them to tailor their creative work to the needs of each play, production team, and/or audience.

This initiative is the result of a unique collaboration between Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), the professional association of dramaturgs and literary managers working in North America, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), a national program dedicated to improving the quality of college and university theater in the United States. Additional support is provided by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

 

All undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to participate, as long as they have completed one of the following at a college or university during the calendar year prior to the Region 3 Festival:

  1. Work as a credited dramaturg on a full production or new-play workshop
  2. A class assignment with an explicitly dramaturgical focus

Application Process

  1. (Optional) Join the national conversation in LMDA/KCACTF-sponsored online workshops with professional dramaturgs. 
  2. Fill out this application form.
  3. Attend the Region 3 Festival in Flint, MI, to display, present, and receive feedback about your work. 

At the Region 3 Festival in Flint, MI, students will participate in conversations with Respondents about the following elements of their work:

Creativity: What is unique or innovative about your approach to the work? Where is your dramaturgical sensibility visible?

Collaboration: How did the perspectives of your collaborators affect the choices you made throughout the process?

Contextualization: How did the play itself guide your research and analysis?

Self-Awareness: How does your ability to self-reflect help position you for continued dramaturgical work?

The student who demonstrates significant promise in each of these areas will be awarded the Region 3 LMDA/KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award. 

Dramaturgy at the National Festival

After the completion of all Regional Festivals, a panel will be convened to select and invite the strongest student projects for professional development at the National Festival at the Kennedy Center.

The recipients of the National LMDA/KCACTF Fellowships will receive a one-year membership in ATHE and LMDA. Students will also be considered for additional learning opportunities, such as fellowships at the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference, The New Harmony Project, The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, and the Kennedy Center/National New Play Network MFA Playwrights’ Workshop.

Diane Brewer

Diane Brewer

Dramaturgy Coordinator

University of Evansville
John David Lutz Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts
Dramaturg/Director
Department of Theatre
Evansville, IN 47722
812-488-2369

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