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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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/dramaturg.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/dramaturg.ram