Best Online Definition:
Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. Some dramatists combine writing and dramaturgy when creating a drama. Others work with a specialist, called a dramaturge, to adapt a work to the stage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy
Best Dictionary Definition:
The art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramaturgy
Most Notable or Unusual Definition:
Shaping a story or like elements into a form that can be acted. Dramaturgy gives the work or the performance a structure. More than actual writing, a dramaturg's work can often be defined as designing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy
Historical Context:
The art or technique of dramatic composition or theatrical representation. In this sense English dramaturgy and French dramaturgie are both borrowed from German Dramaturgie, a word used by the German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing in an influential series of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie (The Hamburg Dramaturgy), published from 1767 to 1769. The word is from the Greek dramatourgía, "a dramatic composition" or "action of a play."
http://www.goldfishpublishers.com/DramaturgEssay.html
Job Description:
The responsibilities of dramaturg vary from one theater company to the next, but they typically include the hiring of actors, the development of a season of plays with a sense of the coherence among them, the assistance with and editing of new plays by resident or guest playwrights, the creation of programs or accompanying educational services, and even helping the director with rehearsals, and serving as elucidator of history or spokesperson for deceased or otherwise absent playwrights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturge
A thorough text/story analysis. Historical research of various sorts. Attendance at some preproduction meetings. Flexibility.
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/Job.html
The intersection of dramatic structure, playwriting, play analysis, criticism, and theatre history. A dramaturg needs to be well-versed in all of these areas, as the job description of a dramaturg varies from theatre company to theatre company and project to project.
http://www.joesalvatore.com/a-dramaturgy.html
My Own Definition:
An indepth study of all aspects of a play.
