As both a verb and a noun, the word voice has many meanings and functions on multiple levels, a phenomenon that is remarkably analogous to the practice of dramaturgy. Thus, the topic title Voice of the Dramaturg allows for the requisite flexibility and provides a unifying theme for the third volume of Theatre Symposium. This volume of the proceedings from the June 1994 joint meeting of the Southeastern Theatre Conference and the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs in Atlanta, Georgia, addresses the question, What is Dramaturgy? Part I includes the contributions of the six symposium participants and concludes with the roundtable discussion by panelists. Part II is composed of refereed papers. These papers range from the highly theoretical to the practical and pedagogical. They reflect the diversity of what dramaturgy means in contemporary theatre.

In July 2005, Dr. Castagno came to UNCW from Ohio University where he served as Director of the School of Theater and Head of the M.A. Programs. Professor Castagno was the founding chair of the Department of Theatre and served in that capacity from 2005-2009. He continues to teach at UNCW. During his tenure at the University of Alabama, from 1989-2001, where he was director of the M.F.A. Playwriting/Dramaturgy Program, Castagno was founding editor of  the annual, Theatre Symposium, which is now in its eighteenth edition.