The Drolls

A Dramaturgical Mini-Zine

Abstract

As one part of a set of audience-centric lobby materials for a new play development workshop at the University of Central Florida in summer 2025, I created this small zine to synthesize essential historical context and translate intensive research into an accessible, bite-sized format for audience engagement. This document had the goal of providing needed information to audiences to help them understand a historically complex new play. Audiences were receptive to this unique form of dramaturgical outreach and reported enjoyment of both the information provided and the inclusion of entertaining activities, indicating the enrichment of the play-world through interaction with the zine as a program insert. 

This approach to the public-facing role of the dramaturg emphasizes playful, approachable, and audience-focused strategies to translate dramaturgical concepts to diverse audiences with variable levels of understanding about both the show’s historical context and the nuances of dramaturgy. The zine provides formal constraints on the amount, type, and organization of information that can be communicated, which is useful when attempting to share a lot of context in short-form with a public. It is also a cost-effective DIY interactive element, printed here in black and white and on a single double-sided page, then cut and hand-assembled by the author in the days leading up to opening night. This nontraditional dramaturgy method garnered praise from collaborators and audience members alike, proving its efficacy and meriting further exploration, especially for low-budget and educational productions. My project demonstrates the potential of zines as a sustainable, replicable, and engaging tool for dramaturgical outreach to audiences.