We explain what dramaturgy is and what is the structure of a dramatic work. Also, the main Mexican playwrights.
What is dramaturgy?
Dramaturgy is a literary genre, whose works consist of dramas theatrical, that is, in representations of fictional situations through characters, shares and dialogues, in principle to be staged in a theater. However, this term also includes works by performing arts similar, intended for dance, the opera or the circus.
The word dramaturgy comes from the Greek dramaturgy, which means "dramatic composition", since at the time, philosophers and scholars of fiction such as Aristotle (384-322 BC) studied the drama, that is to say, the "performance".
At that time, any theatrical, tragic or comic representation was understood as "dramatic", and it was much later in the history that “drama” began to be spoken of as a subgenre different from theatrical fictions.
However, the term dramaturgy began to be used in the 18th century, in German (“Dramaturgy”), Thanks to a series of essays by the critic Gotthold Lessing (1729-1781), published between 1767 and 1769 under the title of The Dramaturgy of Hamburg.
Dramaturgy has been greatly cultivated throughout the world. It is one of the few literary genres that have not been significantly modified over the centuries, although they have been updated according to the sensibilities of the time.
Structure of a dramatic work
Contemporary dramatic works respond to the dramatic model imposed by aesthetic theories of the classicism 20th century. Thus, all dramatic work is expected to respect the so-called "rule of three units" proposed by Aristotle himself:
- Weather. Moment in history in which the action takes place.
- Place.Space physical and / or geographical in which it develops.
- Action. The set of events contained in the work.
In this way, dramatic works are also structured in three stages or phases, which according to Aristotle defined any type of story:
- Exposition. The introduction the time and place in which the events occur, the presentation of the characters and the arrangement of the elements necessary to tell the story.
- Knot. The complication of plot, through the management of the elements previously presented.
- Outcome. The resolution of the plot, by reaching a new situation of stability like the initial one, and therefore the end of the work.
Playwright and playwright
A playwright is a person who writes dramaturgy, that is, he is the author of plays. Is the person who writes the text and carries out a work of literary composition. Therefore, he is a very different figure from the one who creates the staging of the play, who would be the director. The latter is in charge of interpreting the playwright's text.
The dramaturgist term seems to delve into this difference. It is a word of ancient use, with which the person who serves as a literary or theatrical adviser of a company, a theatrical director or a person in charge of preparing a show is designated. Therefore, he is not involved in the production of the theatrical text, but only in its staging.
Therefore, we must never confuse the playwright with the playwright.
Mexican playwrights
Mexican dramaturgy has a very long history, which begins with the religious representations of native cultures. Mesoamerican, and later acquires the richness and complexity of the syncretism between the culture Spanish colonial and native. The following authors are important representatives of Mexican dramaturgy:
- Rodolfo Usigli (1905-1979). In addition to being a playwright, he was a poet, writer, and diplomat, and is considered the father of modern Mexican theater. His work transcended inside and outside the country, and is considered central in the formation of the identity Mexican cultural culture, being also the first Latin American playwright to write a treatise on dramaturgy: Itinerary of the playwright .
- Xavier Villaurrutia (1903-1950). Poet, literary critic and playwright, he was a member of the famous contemporary literary group, along with personalities such as Salvador Novo, with whom he directed the magazine Ulises from 1927 to 1928. He was a professor at the National University of Mexico and directed the theater section of the Department of Fine arts, and is considered one of the great names of his generation.
- Celestino Gorostiza (1904-1967). Playwright and director of movie theater and theater, he was co-founder of the Ulises Theater in 1927 and the Orientation Theater in 1932, in Mexico City. Mexican. He was director general of the National Institute of Fine Arts (1958-1964) and vice president of the National Union of Authors, among other important positions in the cultural scene of the time.
- Emilio Carballido (1925-2008). Playwright, writer and comedian, began his career thanks to the influence of the Villaurrutia theater, of whom he was a disciple, as well as Usigli and Celestino Gorostiza. His career was mainly academic, although he belonged to the Generation of the 1950s, extremely important at the time, along with authors such as Jaime Sabines, Rosario Castellanos and Luisa Josefina Hernández, among others.
- Luisa Josefina Hernández (1928-). Mexican writer and playwright, she ventured into both theater and novel and in 1955 she was awarded a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. She was the first woman to be appointed Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She is also emeritus creator of the National Council for Culture and Arts and winner of a significant number of national and international awards for playwriting.