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A.Word.A.Day--dramaturg

dramaturg (DRAM-uh-turj) noun, also dramaturge or dramaturgist

1. A playwright, especially one affiliated with a specific theater company.

2. A member of a theater company staff who selects, edits, and adapts plays for performance, and writes program notes.

[From French, from Greek dramatourgos.]

"The script, Shakespeare's second-longest, has been very well cut by Russotto and dramaturg Cam Magee (who did the impressive surgery on `Cymbeline'). It retains its vigor while losing all the extraneous stuff about Richard's dull, royal relatives." Lloyd Rose, `Richard III': A Slithering Monarch for Our Times, The Washington Post, Nov 20, 1997.

"In his turn, George C. White, the founder of the O'Neill center and its board chairman, said of Mr. Richards: 'What is known as the O'Neill Process should rightfully be known as the Richards Process. Lloyd instituted the practice of dramaturgs who work as go-betweens between director and playwright.'" N. Graham Nesmith, A Stage Champion's Summertime Good-bye, The New York Times, Jul 18, 1999.

This week's theme: words from theater.

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