Skeleton


Katherine Profeta uses the word ‘skeleton’ to define the concept of dramaturgy in her book Dramaturgy in Motion. The definition of the skeleton as stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is something forming a structural framework or reduced to its essential parts. This describes the core of what dramaturgy is.

Profeta uses ‘skeleton’ when speaking of dramaturgy and its relationship to text. In the introduction, she refers to dramaturgy as the ‘skeleton of the work’. She later explains why she refers to dramaturgy as such being the most essential part of a body of work. The dramaturgy of any art piece is the foundation on which it is built and compromises of its key components and concepts. She also states that dramaturgy compromises of a ‘textual skeleton’. Profeta writes, “text serves as both recipe and main ingredient for performance”. A dramaturgy cannot be made if the text is not first made. Henceforth the main component of a dramaturgy is the text. This text can be anything, from the script of a play to the musical sheet of a song.

I chose the word skeleton to discuss due to the Profeta’s use of it throughout the first two chapters of her book. She defines dramaturgy as the act or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation . Profeta explained this using the description of dramaturgy as a skeleton of work. It is viewed as the most essential components of any art piece. Henceforth, it is valid both as text and as a performance. The dramatic composition being the text and the theatrical representation, the performance. Profeta’s use of the word ‘skeleton’ shows that dramaturgy builds a piece of art both from it pages and gives instructions for its performance.

 

Merriam-Webster "Definition of skeleton." Accessed 5 Jan 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeleton.