{"id":26857,"date":"2016-02-05T12:06:06","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T17:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=26857"},"modified":"2016-07-19T11:21:15","modified_gmt":"2016-07-19T15:21:15","slug":"emu-theater-experience-has-been-soul-snatching-for-this-history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturgist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/emu-theater-experience-has-been-soul-snatching-for-this-history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturgist\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU theater experience has been ‘soul-snatching’ for this history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senior Derrick Turner believes in letting theater speak for itself. His position as a dramaturg facilitates exactly that \u2013 providing a design team, cast, and audience with the information necessary for a play’s message to be conveyed.\u00a0 Turner’s intensive research and insight for Eastern Mennonite University’s fall 2015 production of the musical \u201cA Year with Frog and Toad<\/a>\u201d was awarded the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival<\/a>‘s (KCACTF) Student Dramaturgy Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t know what award-winning work looked like,\u201d says Turner, \u201cI just do<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

Compiling notebooks and creating study guides<\/h3>\n
\"IMG_8570\"<\/a>
Derrick Turner in the stacks at Hartzler Library, one of the places where he conducted dramaturgy work. (Photo by Andrew Strack)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dramaturgy is a loosely defined field \u2013 its main goal, in any setting, is to provide informative direction for the members of a theatrical production to create the highest quality performance possible.<\/p>\n

For \u201cFrog and Toad,\u201d a children’s theater piece based on the adventures of a sour toad and an upbeat frog, Turner\u2019s dramaturgy work took the form of extensive animal and author research, compiled into notebooks for each cast member.<\/p>\n

One cast member had never seen a toad before, \u201cso when doing movement exercises where they embodied their animal, he was at a loss,\u201d Turner says. To add authenticity to the play, he had the actor watch videos of toads to emulate their motions.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Turner compiled a study guide for approximately 600 elementary and middle school students who attended performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe also generated accessible and useful details about previous productions of the script \u201cautobiographical insights on author Arnold Lobel, and hints on how best to connect with children based on the work of educational theorists,\u201d says EMU theater<\/a> professor Heidi Winters Vogel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrog and Toad stories are a wonderful way to teach empathy to children,\u201d says Turner. \u201cI wanted to stay true to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working closely with each cast and design team member, Turner helped shape the production to its Shenandoah Valley locale. A farmer mouse, an electrician red-spotted newt, and a turtle with a washboard belly were aesthetic and cultural choices to give the play a home in Rockingham County.<\/p>\n

\"Derrick<\/a>
Derrick Turner performs in “Hickorydickory,” a performance which earned a nomination to the KCACTF regional festival in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this spring. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Turner’s words, that is another role of the dramaturg \u2013 to \u201ckeep it grounded\u201d \u2013 by being aware of context and giving critical feedback.<\/p>\n

A change of heart<\/h3>\n

“I’ve always had this love-hate relationship with the theater,\u201d explains Turner, who got his first taste of the drama department when asked to operate the lighting system for the spring 2014 performance of \u201cInto the Woods.\u201d From there, he says, \u201cmy soul slowly but surely got sold to the theater,\u201d culminating in an independent study in dramaturgy with Vogel.<\/p>\n

Turner’s performance in \u201cHickorydickory<\/a>\u201d in the fall of 2015 earned a nomination to the KCACTF’s regional festival in West Chester, Pennsylvania, yet he held no visions of grandeur when submitting his \u201cFrog and Toad\u201d portfolio for the dramaturgy competition. In fact, he left before the award ceremony with others carpooling back to EMU. Vogel texted him to inform him of his accolade.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut the front door!\u201d Turner responded. \u201cIt was almost like being struck by lightning.\u201d<\/p>\n

National participation pending<\/h3>\n

Vogel puts Turner\u2019s win in perspective: \u201cDerrick, representing KCACTF Region 2, is now one of eight student dramaturgs from across the country eligible to present their work at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He bested student dramaturgs from all over Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, southern New York state, and eastern Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, Turner will find out if he is one of four students invited to compete at the national level at the Kennedy Center’s April 2016 festival.<\/p>\n

While his vocational dream, as a history major<\/a>, was to curate at a Smithsonian museum, Turner now sees career opportunities in dramaturgy. He is currently involved with a campus production of \u201cDistant Witness,\u201d and is applying for a summer fellowship with the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, and was recently contacted by the Dramaturgy National Coordinator for KCACTF to discuss Turner’s interest in the profession of dramaturgy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoors are opening; I just have to continue walking,\u201d he said with characteristic understatement. While Turner prefers to \u201cfly under the radar,\u201d the acclaim his dramaturgy has garnered speaks for itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior Derrick Turner believes in letting theater speak for itself. His position as a dramaturg facilitates exactly that \u2013 providing a design team, cast, and audience with the information necessary ... read more about EMU theater experience has been ‘soul-snatching’ for this history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturg<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,7931,5595,14139,5147],"tags":[17095,6795,9152],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-26857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-arts","category-history","category-student-profiles","category-theater","tag-derrick-turner","tag-diversity","tag-heidi-winters-vogel"],"yoast_head":"\nEMU theater experience has been 'soul-snatching' for this history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturg - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/emu-theater-experience-has-been-soul-snatching-for-this-history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturgist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EMU theater experience has been 'soul-snatching' for this history-major-turned-award-winning-dramaturg - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senior Derrick Turner believes in letting theater speak for itself. 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