Q&A with CAC senior John Kennedy. John used his love of history to help the cast and crew of The Diary of Anne Frank.
You recently served as the dramaturg for the CAC Drama Department’s performance of The Diary of Anne Frank. What exactly did that entail?
In a play based off of realistic events, the dramaturg makes sure all the facts are portrayed correctly on stage. I looked through the script and translated anything that needed translating, and I researched any historical contexts or significant events, dates or places. Then, I informed the cast and crew so they could not only understand the gravity of the theatrical performance we were putting on but also understand their characters better.
After I did the research, we all sat down before rehearsal and I just kind of ran through some of the big facts. After that, if they ever had a question, or if they wanted to know how something was done, they would come ask me and I would address it just with them or with the group, depending on who it applied to.
In The Diary of Anne Frank, we needed to understand exactly what Hitler was doing and how the Nazis worked. Someone has to know all of those details – that’s what the dramaturg is there for.
That sounds like a really interesting job. How did you get assigned to this position?
I approached Mrs. Thomas wanting to either be a stage manager or the set designer. She had already somewhat designed the set, but I helped her out a little bit. We worked through a couple of problems together, I made a few suggestions and she made a couple of revisions.
After that, she asked me to be the dramaturg. They needed someone to help keep it historically accurate, and I have a huge passion for history (don’t tell Mrs. Noble), so I agreed to do it.
Click here to read the rest of the interview with John Kennedy on our website, www.cacmustangs.org.
