Book 7 of the 19 X 19 CHALLENGE

Set the Stage

Playbill Notes: 2007 - 2026
by Mark Perry

When a dramaturg speaks, do all turn and listen?

Perhaps not, but what a dramaturg brings to rehearsal is unique. Their task is to offer an informed, well-considered perspective on a script and illuminate its path to production. Then, in the program notes, the dramaturg helps welcome and orient the audience, to bring them into an optimal mind frame, a figurative perch to view the play before them.

The UNC Department of Dramatic Art and PlayMakers Repertory Company have a rich tradition of dramaturgy. Among the longtime resident dramaturgs, Mark Perry has amassed a considerable collection of dramaturgical essays on a wide variety of plays. These include classics and new works, adaptations and devised pieces. In each essay, his analysis is insightful and informative, while he maintains an accessible, engaging style. These pieces may be enjoyed quite independently of knowing or watching the respective play.

The Plays

The Little Prince (2007, 2008)
Shipwrecked! (2010)
Noises Off (2012)
An Iliad (2012)
A Raisin in the Sun (2013)
Surviving Twin (2013)
Metamorphoses (2013)
Trouble in Mind (2015)
The Crucible (2016)
De Profundis (2017)
The Cake (2017)
Jump (2019)
How I Learned to Drive (2019)
Everybody (2020)
Yoga Play (2022)
Emma (2022)
Misery (2023)
Death of a Salesman (2025)
A Good Boy (2025)
The Wolves (2025)

Longform Review

The Skin of Our Teeth (2021)

Available in Paperback

TITLE: Set the Stage. Playbill Notes: 2007-2026

AUTHOR: Mark Perry

PRINT FORMAT: Trade Paperback, 5½ X 8½, 208 pages. $16.00 $12 until 7/31

EBOOK: Not yet available

ISBN: 978-1-953219-07-7

LOC/PCN: Pending

PUBLICATION: July 2026 by Drama Circle.