Re/View: Asian Dramaturgs’ Network publication and dialogues

ADN Re/View is a series of three E-zines which offer snapshots of the work of the Asian Dramaturgs’ Network (ADN), drawing from the transcripts of the presentations and dialogues that occurred at varied ADN events since 2016.

Together, the E-zines are an assemblage of ideas about the kinds of thinking and talking that ADN has made happen, and they communicate a sense of what dramaturgs in Asia have been doing and thinking. They are intended to continue discussions begun at past ADN events and represent a step towards making sense of and theorising Asian-based dramaturgies.

ADN Re/View (Vol.1) draws from the ideas in the very first ADN session titled Mapping the Terrain, which began with a discussion of how different Asian languages referred to ‘dramaturg’. This edition charts some of the key ideas that emerged and circulated about dramaturgy and dramaturging in Asia.

ADN Re/View (Vol. 2) considers how ‘tracing’ offers a frame to work with when making sense of how dramaturgy affects lives – in performance-making and in the everyday. In tracing the ways dramaturgs think about their work and articulate key approaches in their practice, the volume observes lines of connection and disruption, moments of synergy and separation.

ADN Re/View (Vol. 3) plays with the notion of framing in dramaturgical thinking and the work of a dramaturg. A recurring challenge for a dramaturg is to work out what really needs to be done and how best to do this. Varied options may emerge as to the kinds of frames and framing mechanisms that would best serve the work, and shaping the frames is an aspect of artistry that may not always be noticed.

Discussions around these themes were conducted in online events, and the recordings of these discussions can be found on the ADN website.

ADN Re/View is published by Centre 42, with support from the National Arts Council Singapore.