This essay proposes a form of perceptual dramaturgy: a set of tools that has been developed through the application of a cognitive lens to the craft of dramaturgy. Pil Hansen argues that theories of perception and memory can enable the dramaturg to work with some of the implicit dynamics of experience that precede both artistic choice-making in the developmental process and the spectator’s arrival at interpretation in performance. As the theoretical basis and tools of perceptual dramaturgy are introduced, Hansen explores their application through the case of the devised solo piece Swimmer (68)