The Arts in Psychotherapy, Vol. 18, pp. 419-431. 6 Pergamon Press plc, 1992. Printed in the U.S.A.

U.S.A. 0197-4556/91 $3.00 + .OO

A TAXONOMY OF ROLES: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE POSSIBILITIES OF BEING

ROBERT J. LANDY, PhD, RDT*

This paper is an extension of two previous pa- The Case of Michael

pers (1990, 1991) where I argued for a role theory
based firmly in the aesthetic discipline of drama/ Michael is a 2%year-old man from Chicago who
theatre. I defined role as “the container of all the wanted to become an actor. As he worked through
thoughts and feelings we have about ourselves and various classes and showcase productions, he sup-
others in our social and imaginary worlds” (1990), ported himself through temporary jobs. He com-
and I noted that an apparent source for those thoughts mitted himself to an extensive process of drama
and feelings is to be found in the role types that re- therapy in order to ameliorate certain feelings of
occur in the history of world theatre. Many of these isolation, depression, and rage. In our two years of
types (e.g., hero and villain, victor and victim) are drama therapy, he worked on many roles, includ-
repeated within the structure of drama therapy, and ing: gay man, fearful child, victim, moral person
I offered several examples of how one works with within an amoral universe, and son to an abusive
such types clinically (1991). father. The son role was quite prominent and de-
Finally, I proposed a dramatic role model (1991) manded considerable attention. As Michael was a
that looks at the following aspects of role: role type, highly imaginative storyteller, I encouraged him to
quality, function, and style, attempting to bridge the make up stories based on his present feelings. The
gap between theatre and therapy in order to provide following is an example told about one year into our
an effective means of clinical treatment. In conclud- work together:
ing my thoughts concerning the dramatic basis of
role theory, I offered the following: The Wooden Clogs and the Rubber Boots

Further investigation might well reveal a full-blown There is a little boy who sings and goes with girls
typology of roles, a kind of theatrical archetype and stares at the ocean. His father is a fisherman.
system . If such a system is valid, it may fur- He smells of fish. He has shining eyes.
ther guide the drama therapist in practical matters The boy wears clogs. The father wears rubber boots.
of assessment, treatment, and evaluation, as well as The boy walks down the cobblestone street toward
matters of research. (1991, p. 41) the father, but the father thinks it’s a girl.
“When are you going to become a man and wear
rubber boots?”
In this paper, I will introduce the beginnings of a
“I like my clogs.”
typology or taxonomy of role as a move toward a “Women wear clogs.”
theatrical archetype system. Further, I will show The boy is in the shower, his clogs on the floor.
how such a system guides treatment by presenting a The father comes in and sees the clogs and is an-
case example and a description of the role method gry. He chops them up with an ax. The boy comes
in drama therapy. out and sees his father laughing.

*Robert Landy is Associate Professor and Director of the Drama Therapy Program at New York University. He becomes Editor-in-Chief
of The Arts in Psychotherapy in January 1992.

419
420 ROBERT J. LANDY

“I’ve made you a man. I’ve cut up your clogs.” story is an ironic one in that the Chorus can tell the
“They were mine!” The boy is furious. identity of the boy by his shoes. He, too, knows
“If you want to be a woman I will chop off your himself by his shoes. A more truthful version would
penis with my ax.” be: everyone knows who you are by the shoes you
The boy runs to his mother.
wear on your feet, especially yourself.
“Daddy’s trying to make me into a woman!”
Michael, at the time of the story, is attempting
“He’s just kidding. It’s all right, son.”
The father buys a pair of rubber boots for his son. to find his way through a morass of ambiguities. He
They fit well. He gives his son a big hug and tells wants to know how to be a son to his father and to
him he loves him. his mother, an intimate and lover to his mates. He
“Go away, I hate you!” wants to know how to be a gay man openly, how
Everyone who sees the boy tells him how well he to allow the feminine and masculine parts of him-
looks and that now he is a man. But the boy goes self to be fully acknowledged and seen. He wants
to the sea and throws away the boots and forever to know how to let go more and more of his many
after he walks around barefoot. pariah roles and stop allowing the voice of the peo-
The moral of the story is: no one can tell you who ple to control his thoughts.
you are by the shoes you wear on your feet.
It has been through my work with Michael dur-
ing the past two years that I began to develop the
This tale, dealing with the relationship of son and role method of treatment. Michael’s ease in jump-
father, is charged with much passion, fear, guilt ing in and out of roles, of inventing stories and
and, ultimately, confusion. The sexual masculine making connections between one role and another
role is very much tied up with the father in this was a constant inspiration. The harder part was fac-
story. The father’s threat is that if the son does not ing up to my own father-son issues and recognizing
take on his role as man, then he, the father, will the burden of assuming the transferential father role
castrate him, transforming him into a woman. The at a time when my immediate needs for fathering
father’s function in the story is to leave his son had barely begun to subside.
a legacy of masculinity, even if he has to force it Early in our work, Michael told a story about a
on him. criminal lawyer who was protecting a homeless black
The role of the son is ambiguous. Although he is man falsely accused of a crime. The lawyer role was
angered by his father’s attempt to change him, he is invoked when I asked Michael to find an image that
ultimately unable to walk in his own shoes, that is, embodied his ideal lover/mate. His lawyer was an
to choose his own sexual and developmental iden- adult-mature, responsible, protective, conventional
tity. In the story, the boy’s function is to resist the in taste and demeanor. Michael saw himself, in
demands of his father and to identify strongly with large part, as the black man in search of the law-
the child and with the female. At the end of the yer, as the victim in search of a protector. The black
story, however, he becomes a sexual outcast, nei- man, however, was proud, suspicious of help of-
ther adult nor child, male nor female. The barefoot fered by the conventional helpers. The lawyer/vic-
boy is a kind of eunuch, a castrated, lost soul. This tim roles would play a large part in Michael’s
role is self-inflicted because he is unable or incapa- therapy.
ble of resolving his ambiguities and choosing his I remained distant from Michael, rarely taking on
developmental/sexual role. an active role myself in his dramas. I remained wit-
The role of the mother is somewhat veiled, but ness, guide, supporter, scribe, questioner, some-
present in its inability or refusal to protect the son times teacher, sometimes interpreter. In the midst of
from the terrible threats of the father. Unlike the ar- our working together, I became a father to a daugh-
chetypal mothering qualities of nurturance and pro- ter. The months following were difficult. I felt him
tection, this mother is impotent, ineffectual. Her withdrawing, finding more sustenance in the theatre
function is to deny the threat and to refuse to pro- than in the drama therapy session. He was rehears-
tect the son. ing an adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mock-
The final human role is that of a kind of Chorus, ingbird and was cast as the idealistic son of Atticus,
the townspeople who assert the voice of convention, a criminal lawyer who is defending a black man
urging the boy to take on his father’s legacy, the falsely accused of a crime.
boots, the trappings of manhood. The moral of the All my father needs were met in relation to my
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 421

daughter. So we danced around each other for thus preserving the thrust of Darwin’s argument that
a while. Then something shifted. For one, I was evolution proceeds in a linear and ordered pattern
enjoying my father role tremendously and it began from simple to complex.
to spill over. Further, I saw a documentary film Rather than promoting the popular version of ev-
about Robert Bly and his devotion to working with olution, Gould theorized that these creatures chal-
men in search of their father and their masculinity. lenge the Darwinian assumptions and actually offer
There was a moment when Bly asked all the men an alternative theory that early life was indeed glo-
present who were over 50 to come forward. I re- rious and complex, that survival of and evolution
member that the younger men watched as if a magi- from any one species was accidental, and that a
cal rite were taking place and there was hope for truer evolutionary perspective should be envisioned
them to be rescued in some way, I found myself as cyclical rather than linear.
choking back tears. The next day I had an appoint- All these extraordinary ideas came about because
ment with Michael. I was almost twenty years his of the existence of the Linnean taxonomy of classi-
senior and I felt a responsibility beyond that of fying animal and plant life. Gould argued that the
therapist to client. I was an older man and it was new discoveries do not invalidate the old system of
my place in the community of men to father Michael. classification, but rather point to the need of such a
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew that it system to be flexible and responsive to new discov-
must be done. eries, one that can potentially yield several theories
For Michael, the shift came when he was sud- about the nature of the things taxonomized.
denly without a theatrical role and soon to be with- Is it possible or even desirable to taxonomize
out a therapist for three months, as I was about to roles? Why classify behaviors as if they were so
leave for Europe on sabbatical. His drama therapy many animals swimming on the ocean floor? Why
work became focused as never before; he began take theatre and anatomize it, breaking it up into bits
dredging up roles and stories that helped both of us and risking the loss of its integrity?
see more clearly into the nature of his dilemmas. I think such a system is desirable for several rea-
One was Patty, an abused child, blind and deaf. sons: for one, it provides a kind of theatrical arche-
During the session he was able to symbolically cra- type system that responds to the universal quality of
dle her in his arms, offering protection and nurtur- the theatrical experience. At a time when, generally,
ante to that part of himself that was most hopeless theatre forms and purposes are being questioned in
and needy. As we parted, we both seemed truly sad. terms of their relationship to commercial entertain-
While away on sabbatical, I voraciously read ment, education, therapy, spiritual values, and the
plays, mostly classics. I began to think of Michael’s like, such a system might provide coherence, or, at
roles as just that-roles, parts in a play. So many least, a point of departure. Specifically, a theatrical
of his roles were repeated-the innocent young boy, archetype system might well apply to the relatively
the angry young man, the enraged one, the lawyer new field of drama therapy, providing a tangible
and judge, and, especially, the victim. framework in which to formulate diagnostic, treat-
As I plowed through the repertory of world drama, ment and valuative strategies, and against which to
I saw the same-a multitude of characters, many of evaluate new role phenomena. If I can know my
whom appeared and reappeared throughout time and actual and fictional role models, then I can have a
throughout culture. My need to create a typology of good idea of what I value and who I am. It could
roles was further inspired by reading Stephen Jay well be that through roles people create meaning in
Gould’s book, Wonder-l Life (1989), which is based their lives.
on a revision of a discovery of extraordinary fossil Further, the theoretical implications of such a
creatures at the Burgess Shale Quarry in Canada. system are wide-ranging. Such a system might fur-
These creatures were so unusual and distinct from ther advocate the notion that the era of the primacy
any other life forms that they tended to defy con- of the Self as core object is dead and that we are
ventional understandings of evolution. Because of now truly living within the era of the role. Role is a
this threat, the man who discovered the creatures, container of properties-somatic, cognitive, affec-
James Walcott, a most conservative scientist, at- tive, social/cultural, spiritual and aesthetic-that de-
tempted to fit these specimens neatly within the fine us as human beings, giving meaning to our
given biological categories of phylum and species, behavior. To see a role is not to see a whole per-
422 ROBERT J. LANDY

son, but a part. Role is only fully meaningful as it mains: the psychosomatic, pertaining to such
relates to its intrapsychic and interpersonal counter- basic body functions as eating and sleeping;
parts (i.e., my family role of father relates to my the psychodramatic, pertaining to fantasy and
age role of adult and cognitive role of knowledge- inner psychological processes; and the social,
able one); it also relates interpersonally to my daugh- pertaining to relationships in the social world.
ter’s family role of daughter and her age role of I offer six, as seen below.
child. 2 The Classifications within the domains- a sub-
We live in a culture of things, of stuff, of pieces division of domain into kinds of roles ger-
and parts. We come to know ourselves by first mane to a particular domain.
naming the things that are meaningful to us and then 3 The Role Type-similar to Jung’s notion of
claiming them as our own. We say: my mother, my archetype (1964), a universal role form whose
father, my friend, my lover and, later, if we estab- substance provides a meaningful constellation
lish effective relationships, we get to see ourselves of related qualities.
as both worthy of parents, friends and lovers and 4. The Sub-type-a further sub-division of role
capable of parenting, offering friendship and love to type, useful when there are several related
ourselves and to others. qualities of role, each of which implies some-
If one needs a concept of centrality or core, I what different aspects of the role type.
would like to offer that of impersonation. At the 5. The Quality-descriptors of the primary role
center of the person is the ability, the potential to type, including physical, moral, emotional,
take on other persona. This ability to impersonate, cognitive, social, and spiritual aspects of the
very different from imitation, which is essentially an role.
external act, is a creative act in that a new part is 6. Alternative Quality-descriptors of the same
generated, a new mask is fashioned, a new persona sort applicable to a different set of role at-
enters into the person’s dramatic repertory. tributes, often contradicting the original set.
The role concept, unlike the self-concept, which 7. Examples, when relevant, from three different
tends to be one thing-self as spiritual or self as periods/genres in theatre history (e.g., classi-
conceptual or self as social-is inclusive and ecu- cal Greek and Roman, Renaissance, and mod-
menical. There exist roles for most all forms of hu- em). This point substantiates, in part, the
man activity. The role is like the cell or the atom. universal nature of the role types.
It is a primary building block, diminutive at first 8. The Function-addresses the purpose of a par-
glance yet expansive in terms of its own substance ticular role/persona for a particular character/
and function, as well as its powerful effects on the person, the way that role serves the character
system as a whole. Speed up the atom or modify as he or she plays it out.
the cell and a radical, irrevocable force may be un- 9. The Style-the form in which the role is en-
leashed. Alter the role and a psychological counter- acted, whether representational, presentational,
part to the physical and biological may also burst or somewhere in-between. Representational style
forth. is that which is reality-based and drawn on a
In order to fully grasp the role concept and its human scale. Presentational style tends to be
endless variations, we need a system that lays bare more abstract and universal in nature, the
its infrastructure. The following is an attempt to mask rather than the face. Each style implies
provide such a system based in the original source a specified degree of affect and cognition. The
of role- that of theatre. former implies a greater degree of emotion,
the latter a greater degree of cognition.
The Taxonomy of Roles-
A Theatrical Archetype System The following presentation of the taxonomy, as I
mentioned above, is incomplete at this time. Each
The taxonomy consists of the following nine parts: role type is not fully developed as to sub-type,
quality, alternative quality, theatrical example, func-
1. The Domains- the largest general category of tion, and style. Further, certain role types need to
role, responding to a holistic notion of human be cross-referenced as they may apply to more than
existence. Moreno (1960) offered three do- one domain or classification. Within the fully devel-
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 423

oped taxonomy to come, these issues will be ad- Jack Homer (“The Country Wife” by W. Wycher-
dressed. Given the current development of the taxon- ley). Function: to approach the object of lust under
omy, I will now offer one fully developed type per false pretences; to use impotence as a ruse for sex-
classification. All others will simply be listed. ual conquest. Style: Presentational.

I. DOMAIN: SOMATIC 6. Role Type: The Homosexual

7. Role Type: The Transvestite
Classification: Age Sub-type: The Queen.

1. Role Type: The Child Classification: Appearance

Quality: playful, fun-loving, egocentric and guile- 8. Role Type: The Beauty (see Innocent and
less, young in years or childlike in attitude. Exam- Immoralist)
ple: Edward III (“Edward II” by C. Marlowe), The
Child (“Woyzeck” by G. Buchner), Hedwig (“The Quality: of outstanding physical beauty, in face
Wild Duck” by H. Ibsen), Litle Eva (“Uncle Tom’s and body, sometimes extending to a moral and spir-
Cabin” by G.L. Aiken), Tyltyl and Mytil (“The itual quality; an innocent in the fairy tale sense. Ex-
Blue Bird” by M. Maeterlinck), Hannele (“Han- ample: Miranda (“The Tempest” by Shakespeare),
nele” by G. Hauptmann), Trouble (“Madame But- Helen of Troy (“Doctor Faustus” by C. Marlowe),
terfly” by D. Belasco), Peter Pan (“Peter Pan” by Melisande (“Pelleas and Melisande” by M. Maeter-
J.M. Barrie). Function: to assert the playful spirit, linck), Deirdre (“Deirdre of the Sorrows” by J.M.
innocence and wonder of childhood. Style: Presen- Synge), Maggie (“After the Fall” by A. Miller).
tational . Function: to dazzle and enchant; to serve as a love
object or object of purity. Style: Generally Presen-
2. Role Type: The Adolescent tational .
3. Role Type: The Adult Alternative Quality: experienced and calculating,
4. Role Type: The Elder (see Grandparent) using beauty as a means of seduction and/or en-
chantment. Example: Helen of Troy (“Helen” by
ClassQkation: Sexual Orientation Euripides), Cleopatra (“Antony and Cleopatra” by
Shakespeare), Carmen (“Carmen” by H. Meilhac
5. Role Type: The Eunuch and L. Halevy), Lula (“The Dutchman” by LeRoi
Jones). Function: to seduce. Style: Presentational
Quality: castrated and impotent; sexually ambig- and Representational.
uous; paradoxical in that she or he is both threaten-
ing and trusted by those who are sexually insecure; 9. Role Type: The Beast (see Physically Dis-
often witty and comical. Example: Lucrezia (“Man- abled and Demon)
dragola” by N. Machiavelli), The Eunuch (“Vol- 10. Role Type: The Average One
pone” by B. Jonson), Two Eunuchs (“The Visit”
by F. Durrenmatt), Pothinus (“Caesar and Cleopa-
tra” by G.B. Shaw), Lauffer (“The Tutor” adapta- Classification: Health
tion of J. Lenz novel by B. Brecht), Brick (“Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof” by T. Williams). Function: to 11. Role Type: The Mentally Ill/The Madman/
stimulate sexual ambivalence and allow comic ca- Woman
tharsis through laughter; to perform the paradoxical
function of threatening and mollifying the threats to Quality: unpredictable, irrational, manic and/or
sexually insecure men and/or women. Style: Presen- depressive, threatening to self or others. Example:
tational . Ophelia (“Hamlet” by Shakespeare), King Lear
Alternative Quality: pretending to be sexually (“King Lear” by Shakespeare), Caligula (“Caligula”
impotent; lecherous, deceptive and scheming, ironic. by A. Camus), Blanche DuBois (“A Streetcar Named
Example: Chaerea (“The Eunuch” by Terence) and Desire” by T. Williams), Captain Queeg (“The
424 ROBERT J. LANDY

Caine Mutiny Court Martial” by H. Wouk), Mary 16.1 Sub-type: The Trickster (see also Fairy)
Tyrone (“Long Day’s Journey Into Night” by E. 16.2 Sub-type: The Existential Clown
O’Neill), Patients (“Marat/Sade” by P. Weiss). Func- 17. Role Type: The Ambivalent One
tion: to reveal the psychologically dark, pathologi- 18. Role Type: The Critic
cal sides of human nature; to challenge a conventional 19. Role Type: The Wise Person
notion of sanity and normality. Style: Generally 19.1 Sub-type: The Intellectual
Presentational, Sometimes Representational. 19.2 Sub-type: The Pseudo-Intellectual/Pedant (see
Simpleton)
12. Role Type: Physically Disabled or Deformed
(see Beast above)
III. DOMAIN: AFFECTIVE
13. Role Type: The Hypochondriac
14. Role Type: The Doctor
Classification: Moral
II. DOMAIN: COGNITIVE
20. Role Type: The Innocent (see Beauty above)
15. Role Type: The Simpleton Sub-types: Virgin, Saint, Ingenue, Child (see
Sub-types: The Fop, the Pedant, the Ideo- above).
logue
Quality: pure, virginal, chaste. Example: Antig-
Quality: ignorant and unaware of his or her igno- one (“Antigone” by Sophocles), Cordelia (“King
rance; guileless, the butt of humiliation and ridicule. Lear” by Shakespeare), Justina (“The Wonder-Work-
Example: Bottom (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” ing Magician” by P. Calderon), Agnes (“The School
by Shakespeare), Bartholomew Cokes (“Bartholomew for Wives” by Moliere), St. Joan (“St. Joan” by
Fair” by B. Jonson), King Peter of Popo (“Leonce G.B. Shaw), Consuelo (“He Who Gets Slapped”
and Lena” by G. Buchner), Judke (“The Treasure” by L. Andreyev), Josie (“A Moon for the Misbe-
by D. Pinski). Function: to offer him or herself up gotten” by E. O’Neill), Billy Budd (“Billy Budd,”
for ridicule; to remain unaware and simple, no mat- adaptation of Melville story by L. Coxe and R.
ter what the consequences. Style: Presentational. Chapman), Teresa (“The Hostage” by B. Behan).
Alternative Quality: ignorant, yet pretending to Function: to assert the moral virtue of innocence and
be knowledgable. Example: Polonius (“Hamlet” by expose the opposite moral quality of cruelty. Style:
Shakespeare), Malvolio (‘ ‘Twelfth Night’ ’ by Shake- Presentational.
speare), Edward Kno’well (“Every Man in His Hu-
mour” by B. Jonson). Function: to attempt to play 21. Role Type: The Deceiver (see also Beast
the wise one and thus appear that much more fool- and Immoralist and Demon)
ish. Style: Presentational. Sub-types: Hypocrite, Charlatan, Con Art-
ist, Thief, Traitor.
15.1 Sub-type: The Cuckold 22. Role Type: The Villain
23. Role Type: The Moralist (see Innocent)
Quality: naive and ignorant, humiliated; sexually Sub-types: The Puritan, The Pious.
incompetent, if not impotent. Example: Pinchwife 23.1 Sub-type: The Idealist
(“The Country Wife” by W. Wycherley), Bou- 24. Role Type: The Immoralist
bouroche (“Boubouroche” by G. Courteline), Bruno Sub-types: Rogue, Lecher, Courtsesan/Pros-
(“The Magnificent Cuckold” by F. Crommelynck), titute, Pimp.
Casanova (“Camino Real” by T. Williams). Func- 24.1 Sub-type: Libertine/Hedonist
tion: to be humiliated upon discovering what others 24.2 Sub-type: Adulterer/Adulteress
apparently know-that one’s spouse has been sexu-
25. Role Type: The Victim
ally unfaithful; comic relief, as one is usually made
Sub-types: The Scapegoat, Prisoner, Slave,
the fool by virtue of one’s ignorance. Style: Gener-
Hostage.
ally Presentational.
25.1 Sub-type: The Martyr
16. Role Type: The Fool 26. Role Type: The Opportunist
Sub-types: Clown, Buffoon, Clever Servant Sub-type: Demagogue.
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 425

27. Role Type: The Bigot Loman (“Death of a Salesman” by A. Miller),

Sub-types: Racist, Sexist, Misogynist, Mis- Thelma (“‘Night, Mother” by M. Norman). Func-
anthrope . tion: to protect and nurture the children. Style: Rep-
28. Role Type: The Avenger resentational .
29. Role Type: The Helper Alternative Quality: vengeful, amoral, violent,
Sub-types: Loyal Friend, Good Samaritan. murderous. Example: Agave (“The Bacchae” by
30. Role Type: The Philistine Euripides), Medea (“Medea” by Euripides), Ath-
Sub-types: Boor, Idler, Gossip. aliah (‘ ‘Athaliah” by J. Racine), The Mother (“Blood
31. Role Type: The Miser Wedding” by F. Garcia Lorca), Natella Abashwili
32. Role Type: The Coward (“Caucasian Chalk Circle” by B. Brecht). Function:
32.1 Sub-type: Braggart/Braggart Warrior (see Nar- to assert the Dionysian power of women; to destroy
cissist). their children. Style: Presentational.
33. Role Type: The Parasite Alternative Quality: progressive, revolutionary.
34. Role Type: The Survivor Example: Pelagez Vlassova (“The Mother” by B.
Brecht), Sarah (“Chicken Soup with Barley” by A.
Classification: Feeling States Wesker). Function: to envision a new moral and
political order and to fight for its realization. Style:
35. Role Type: The Zombie Generally Presentational.

Quality: emotionally frozen, lifeless, amoral. Ex- 40. Role Type: Wife
ample: Robots (“R.U.R.” by K. Capek), Krapp 41. Role Type: Mother-in-law.
(“Krapp’s Last Tape” by S. Beckett), Peter (“The 42. Role Type: Widow/Widower
Zoo Story” by E. Albee), Charlotte Corday (“Ma- Sub-types: Spinster/Bachelor.
rat/Sade” by P. Weiss). Function: to shut down all 43. Role Type: Father
feeling in order to protect oneself from memory and 44. Role Type: Husband
intimacy. Style: Generally Presentational. 45. Role Type: Son
45.1 Sub-type: Renegade, Black Sheep, Rebel
36. Role Type: The Malcontent 45.2 Sub-type: Bastard Son/Prodigal Son
36.1 Sub-type: The Cynic 46. Role Type: Daughter
36.2 Sub-type: The Hothead 46.1 Sub-type: Renegade Daughter.
36.3 Sub-type: The Shrew 46.2 Sub-type: Bastard Daughter.
36.4 Role Type: The Rebel 46.3 Sub-type: Daughter-in-distress/Daughter as
37. Role Type: The Lover victim
37.1 Sub-type: The Narcissist/Egotist (see Brag- 47. Role Type: Sister
gart) 47.1 Sub-type: Renegade Sister.
38. Role Type: The Ecstatic One (see God/Di- 48. Role Type: Brother
onysus below) 48.1 Sub-type: Renegade Brother.
49. Role Type: Grandparent (see Elder above)
49.1 Sub-type: The Senile or Mad Old Person
IV. DOMAIN: SOCIAL

Classification: Politics/Government
Classification: Family
50. Role Type: Reactionary
39. Role Type: Mother
Quality: backward-looking to the extreme: desir-
ous and in active pursuit of returning to the past;
Quality: moral, loving, caring, nurturing, a sur- extremely conservative and rigid in thought and be-
vivor. Example: Hecuba (“Hecuba” by Euripides), havior; often ruthless and brutal in pushing through
Constance (“King John” by Shakespeare), Grusha his or her agenda. Example: Angelo (“Measure for
(“Caucasian Chalk Circle” by B. Brecht), Mama Measure” by Shakespeare), Richard III (“Richard
(“I Remember Mama” by J. Van Druten), Linda III” by Shakespeare), Judge Hoffman (“The Chi-
426 ROBERT 3. LANDY

cage Conspiracy Trial” by R. Sossi). Function: to Quality: poor in material possessions, sometimes
return to some idealized notion of a more perfect in spirit; downtrodden and oppressed, neglected and
past; to subjugate all spontaneity and critical thought invisible to those with plenty; sometimes depressed,
in the pursuit of that aim; to force others to acccept sometimes ironic and witty, rising above the physi-
that point of view. Style: Representational and Pres- cal squalor. Example: Beggars (“The Beggar’s Op-
entational . era” by John Gay, “The Three-Penny Opera” by
B. Brecht), Coolie (“The Exception and the Rule”
51. Role Type: Conservative by B. Brecht), Woyzeck (“Woyzeck” by G. Buch-
52. Role Type: Pacifist ner), The Matchseller (“A Slight Ache” by H.
53. Role Type: Revolutionary Pinter). Function: to express the conditions and con-
Sub-types: Agitator, Anarchist, Radical. sequences of poverty; to draw attention to the con-
54. Role Type: Head of State nection between material and spiritual poverty; to
Sub-types: King, Queen. challenge the human spirit to transcend the condi-
55. Role Type: Minister/Advisor tions of economic oppression. Style: Generally Pres-
entational .
56. Role Type: Soldier
56.1 Sub-type: The Cowardly Soldier (see Brag- 66. Role Type: Working Class: The Worker
gart Warrior) 66.1 Sub-type: Proletarian.
57. Role Type: Police 67. Role Type: Middle Class
58. Role Type: Bureaucrat Sub-type: Bourgeois.
Sub-type: Clerk. 67.1 Sub-type: Nouveau Riche.
67.2 Sub-type: Merchant/Salesperson
68. Role Type: Upper Class
Classification: Legal
Sub-types: Aristocrat, Nobility.
68.1 Sub-type: Industrialist/Entrepreneur
59. Role Type: Lawyer
68.2 Sub-type: Socialite.
68.3 Sub-type: Servant to the Rich.
Quality: Protective, moral, intelligent. Example:
69. Role Type: Pariah
The Grand Inquisitor (“St. Joan” by G.B. Shaw),
Sub-types: Homeless, Beggar, Ethnic
Henry Drummond (“Inherit the Wind” by J. Lawrence
Minority.
and R. Lee), Otis Baker and Louis Schade (“The
69.1 Sub-type: The Lost One
Andersonville Trial” by S. Levitt), Quentin (“After
70. Role Type: Chorus, the Voice of the
the Fall” by A. Miller), Kunstler (“The Chicago
People
Conspiracy Trial” by R. Sossi). Function: to defend
Sub-types: Everyman, Narrator/Storyteller.
and protect. Style: Representational.
Alternative Quality: Greedy, amoral, self-serv-
Classification: Authority/Aggression
ing. Example: Pierre Patelin (“Pierre Patelin” by
Anonymous), Voltore (‘ ‘Volpone” by B . Jonson), 71. Role Type: Warrior (see Soldier)
Cribbs (“The Drunkard” by W. Smith), Mr. Sharp Sub-types: Conquerer, Victor, Captain.
(“Money” by E. Bulwer-Lytton). Function: to ma-
nipulate justice for his or her own ends. Quality: aggressive and assertive, moral, knows
what he or she wants and is willing to fight to get
60. Role Type: Judge it. Example: Lysistrata (“Lysistrata” by Aristophanes),
61. Role Type: Defendant Henry V (“Henry V” by Shakespeare), Goetz von
62. Role Type: Jury (see Chorus) Berlichingen (“Goetz von Berlichingen” by W. von
63. Role Type: Witness Goethe), Adolf (“The Captain” by A. Strindberg).
64. Role Type: Prosecutor/Inquisitor Function: to engage in physical, moral, or intellec-
tual battle to defeat an opponent and achieve a
Classification: Socio-Economic Status specified goal. Style: Presentational and Representa-
tional .
65. Role Type: Lower Class
Sub-type: Beggar, Peasant. 71.1 Sub-type: Tyrant, Bully, Sadist/Masochist.
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 427

Quality: brutally assertive, despotic and power- 73.2 Sub-type: Anti-Hero (see The Lost One)
hungry, immoral and meg~omaniac~; physic~ly
and/or psychologic~ly harmful to others or to self. Quality: a modem figure who is the antithesis of
Example: Menedemus (‘ ‘The Self-Tormentor” by the tragic hero; an ordinary person trapped in an or-
Terence), Tamburlaine (“Tamburlaine” by C. Mar- dinary, often dull circumstance. The search for mean-
lowe), Crown (“Porgy” by D. Heyward), John ing is limited, if at all present. Example: Willy
Claggart (“Billy Budd,” adaptation of Melville story Loman (“Death of a Salesman” by A. Miller),
by L. Coxe and R. Chapman), Peron (“Evita” by Godo and Didi (“Waiting for Godot” by S. Beck-
T. Rice and A. Lloyd Webber). Function: not only ett), Berenger (“Rhinoceros” by E. Ionesco). Func-
to control others, but to brutalize and humiliate them tion: to endure within an indifferent universe. Style:
in order to feel powerful; in the case of the masoch- Generally Presentational.
ist, that tendency is turned back on oneself. Style:
Generally Presentational. 73.3 Sub-type: Post-Modem Anti-Hero

72. Role Type: Killer Quality: an emblem, a cipher, an absurdity, a

Sub-type: Assassin. factotum, with few recognizable human qualities.
72.1 Sub-type: Suicide Example: Rhoda (“Rhoda in Potatoland” by Rich-
72.2 Sub-type: Matricide, Patricide, Infanticide ard Foreman), Rosencrantz and Guildenstem (‘ ‘Rosen-
crantz and Guildenstem Are Dead” by T. Stop-
V. DOMAIN: SPIRITUAL pard), Lincoln (“The Civil Wars” by Robert Wil-
son), Hamlet and Ophelia (“Hainletmachine” by H.
~lassi~cati~n: Natural Beings Miiller). Function: to signify or point to ideas and
concepts, rather than feelings; to serve as a formal
73. Role Type: The Hero element within the performance, deconstructing the
Sub-types: The Searcher, Pilgrim, Tragic text as well as a realistic notion of human behavior
Hero. and motivation.

Quality: journeying forth on a spiritual search 74. Role Type: Visionary (see Wise Person)
that will prove in some way to be transformational; Sub-type: Prophet, Seer.
moral and open to confronting the unknown. Exam- 7.5. Role Type: Orthodox
ple: Antigone (‘ “Antigone’ ’ by Sophocles), Coriola- 75.1 Sub-type: Fundamentalist
nus (“Coriolanus” by Shakespeare), Mary Stuart 75.2 Sub-type: Ascetic
(“Mary Stuart” by F. Schiller), Phaedra (“Phae- 76. Role Type: Agnostic
dra” by J. Racine), Joan of Arc (“St. Joan” by Sub-type: Skeptic.
G.B. Shaw), Juno (“Juno and the Paycock” by S. 77. Role Type: Atheist
O’Casey), Abe Lincoln (“Abe Lincoln in Illinois” Sub-types: Heretic, Infidel.
by R. Sherwood). Function: to take a risky spiritual/ 77.1 Sub-type: Nihilist.
psychological journey toward understanding. Style: 78. Role Type: Cleric
Presentational or Representational. Sub-types: Priest, Rabbi, Nun, Monk, Spir-
itual Leader.
73. I Sub-type: Faust 78.1 Sub-type: Lapsed Spiritual Leader.

Quality: restless, inquisitive, assertive, creative- Classt~cation: Supernatural Beings

the searcher for ultimate knowledge. Example: Faus-
tus (“Doctor Faustus” by C. Marlowe), Faust (“Faust” 79. Role Type: God/Goddess
by Goethe), John Gabriel Borkman (“John Gabriel
Borkman” by H. Ibsen), Peer Gynt (“Peer Gynt” Quality: magical, moral, prone to influencing nat-
by H. Ibsen). Function: generally, to strive toward ural events to satisfy their godly pleasures. Exam-
the realization of one’s full creative potential; moral ple: Zeus (“Prometheus Bound” by Aeschylus),
function of pointing to human limitations. Style: Jupiter (‘ ‘Amphitryon” by Plautus), God (‘ ‘The Trag-
Presentational. edy of Job” by Anonymous), Zuss (“J.B.” by A.
428 ROBERT J. LANDY

MacLeish). Function: transcendence: to assert power VI. DOMAIN: AESTHETIC

over life and death. Style: Presentational.
Alternative Quality: ironic, witty, and wise. Ex- 83. Role Type: The Artist
ample: Three Gods (“The Good Woman of Set- Sub-types: The Poet, Actor, Troubadour.
zuan” by B. Brecht), Steambath Attendant (“Steam-
bath” by B .J. Friedman). Function: comic relief; to Quality: creative, sensitive, easily distracted, of-
provide dramatic irony based on the superior fore- ten a pariah. Example: Cyrano de Bergerac (“Cyr-
knowledge of the gods; to satirize the limits of hu- ano de Bergerac” by E. Rostand), Manrico (“The
man desires. Style: Presentational. Troubadour’ ’ by A. Garcia Gutierrez) , Rubek (“When
We Dead Awaken” by H. Ibsen), *** (“When
79.1 Sub-type: Dionysus Someone Is Somebody” by L. Pirandello), Robert
and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (“The Barretts of
Quality: impulsive, ecstatic and irrational; an- Wimpole Street” by R. Besier), Dubedat (“The
drogynous. Example: Dionysus (“The Bacchae” by Doctor’s Dilemma” by G.B. Shaw), Dearth (“Dear
Euripides; “Dionysus in 69” by R. Schechner), Brutus” by J.M. Barrie), Orpheus (“Orpheus” by
Baa1 (“Baal” by B. Brecht). Function: to assert the J. Cocteau), Edmund Kean (“Kean” by J.P. Sar-
primal, uninhibited impulses of human beings. Style: tre). Function: to assert the creative principle, envi-
Presentational. sioning or creating new forms or transforming old
ones. Style: Presentational or Representational.
79.2 Sub-type: Apollo
84. Role Type: The Dreamer
Quality: rational, dreamlike, prophetic. Example:
Sub-types: Idealist, Romantic.
Apollo (“The Eumenides” by Aeschylus), Prosper0
(“The Tempest” by Shakespeare), Dr. Dysan (“Equus”
by P. Shaffer). Function: to assert the principles of The Role Method in Drama Therapy
order, rationality, beauty, and prophesy. Style: Pre- The following section is a discussion of how to
sentational and Representational. apply the taxonomy to treatment. The basic ap-
proach through the role method involves eight steps:
79.3 Sub-type: Christ/Saint
1. The invocation of the role.
Quality: saintly, suffering and serving others, lov- 2. The naming of the role.
ing unconditionally, moral. Example: Christ (‘ ‘The 3. The playing out/working through of the role.
Passion Play” by Anonymous), Christ (“Jesus Christ, 4. Exploring alternative qualities and sub-roles.
Superstar” by A.L. Webber), Violaine (“The Tid- 5. Reflecting on the role-play; discovering role
ings Brought to Mary” by P. Claudel), Archbishop qualities, functions, and styles inherent in the
Becket of Canterbury (“Murder in the Cathedral” role.
by T.S. Eliot). Function: to teach moral virtues; to 6. Relating the fictional role to everyday life.
provide a model of sacrifice, martyrdom and love. 7. The integration of the one role with other
Style: Presentational. roles in one’s internal role repertory/cast of
characters.
80. Role Type: Fairy (see also Fool) 8. Social modeling: discovering ways that the
Sub-types: Sprite, Guardian Angel, Good clients’ behavior in role affects others in their
Witch. social environment and community. Finding
81. Role Type: Demon (see also Beast and De- effective ways to model the role so that oth-
ceiver) ers are given appropriate positive opportuni-
Sub-types: Furies, Maenads, Mephistophe- ties to play out their roles in return.
les, Witch, Ghost.
81.1 Sub-type: Satan The Case of Michael Revisited
81.2 Sub-type: Death Several months after Michael presented the story
82. Role Type: Magician of “The Wooden Clogs and the Rubber Boots,” he
Sub-types: Sorcerer/Sorceress. offered the following:
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 429

There are many fears in the house. Yet the house In his panic, he became aware that someone had
is so nice and relaxing. It overlooks the river and turned on the bathroom light. He turned around and
trees. You’d think you were in a paradise. You try saw Bill, who somehow had gotten out of bed and
to make it your web. In the house a young man into the bathroom. Michael just wanted to sleep it
comes to fuck an older man. The young man felt
off. He did not ask Bill about his nightmare. They
what it was like to be with someone.
both eventually fell asleep without talking about the
In the house of peace, a scary monster came out of
the closet. The young man pushed them both into incident.
the closet and said: “Stay in there until you can In his story, Michael identified the following
leave me alone! I just want to stay in peace in this roles: the Young Man, the Older Man, the monster,
house.” From under the door came black bugs. bugs, wings. He did not mention the house, the sun
They circled the young man. or the closet. He called the young man a confused
“Help me! Can’t you see your fear is getting me? searcher, a role that is ambivalent, the spiritual role
Take them back. I don’t want them.” of hero juxtaposed with that of the adolescent. His
Older Man: “You have to let me out of the closet purpose is to search for a safe home, a loving place.
first.”
He is open and trusting but is confused: In the role
The young man kicks through the circle of bugs and
of confused searcher, Michael says: “I don’t know
yanks open the closet. But only the older man is
there. The bugs have vanished. what I feel. I feel scared. Hurt. Angry. I don’t know
Older Man: “You see, you have nothing to be where this is coming from.”
afraid of. This house is a safe house.” For Michael, the older man is also a searcher, but
Young Man: “I don’t trust you anymore. You he is more complex. He is the hero as fearful
brought on these monsters.” searcher, as there is a negative father part of him.
But the young man couldn’t leave because there On the one hand, according to Michael, he is “search-
was a storm outside. He didn’t want to be touched ing for the end of the rainbow”; but, on the other
by the older man. hand, he is the keeper of the scary monster. There
In the morning it was tranquil. Was this all a
is an undercurrent to him; something is not com-
nightmare? There were only clothes in the closet.
pletely safe. Without the older man there would be
The bed was made and it seemed that noone had
lain in it. The young man got dressed, opened the no scary monster.
window and saw a slight piece of wing from a The scary monster is somewhat undefined by
black bug. He threw the wing out the window and Michael. All that he says is that the monster knows
watched it turn over and over, catching the sun- when to come to the young man and that the young
light, fluttering until it reached the ground. He felt man can call him up at any time. In my own mind,
something in his heart. Was it fear? As the wing I relate the scary monster back to a role previously
caught the sun, it turned gold. It wasn’t fear alone. created by Michael, The Black Rage, which he sees
Just as the young man knew what it was, the sun as the terrifying, demonic, Dionysian power of his
blinded him and made him forget.
father. The screams of Bill might have provoked a
So the young man waited for the older man to come
reaction in Michael similar to that of the Black
back, but he didn’t come. He waits and waits and
wonders if it really happened at all. Rage, and, if this is the case, such terrors need to
be shut up in the closet.
For Michael, the little bit of wing is something
Michael told this story, which he entitled “The left behind by the scary monster bug. It has a myth-
Beat of Black Wings,” after actually spending a ological power and is part of the terror. Yet, it is
night with Bill, an older man who had become also transformed by the sun into something beauti-
Michael’s lover. They had satisfying sex, an unusual ful, “like a gift or angel trying to show something.”
occurrence for Michael. Long after falling asleep, There is a spiritual role at work here, interjecting a
Bill woke up in a panic, screaming. Michael became healing, transformational power.
very frightened. He got out of bed and went to the Michael also addressed the roles not initially men-
bathroom down the hall, fearful that he would en- tioned:
counter a water bug. When he turned on the bath-
room light, a large water bug appeared. Michael The sun is the healer. It can shine light or make
became terrified, turned off the light and ran back love where it’s impossible to be. It can establish
toward the bedroom without daring to kill the bug. trust and impart knowledge where there was once
430 ROBERT J. LANDY

confusion. legacy of the Black Bug is the legacy of the Black

The closet is the place where the scary monster Rage, one of a paralyzing fear that can kill all
lives, the passageway, the gateway between human chance of sexual and filial love. The Black Rage is
being and scary monster, fear and trust, the dark a demonic role that fuels several other role types,
and the light room. It is the place where fear lurks
primarily the father/tyrant and the angry young man.
and the monster can get you.
With the role of the bug, however, Michael has
provided the possibility of transformation, with the
As such, the closet is a transitional space, a kind
image of the sunlight in the wing. “I can be beauti-
of looking glass. On one side one is safe and intact,
ful if you look at me,” he says. If he can indeed
but, on the other side, through the looking glass, is
see fully and admit the powerful role of fear into
an unknown and fearful world.
his life, then the legacy of Black Rage can be trans-
formed into that of another kind. When I asked
I asked Michael which character he felt closest to.
He answered: “The sun . . the safety and the dis- Michael what it might be, he responded: “A life of
tance that I have now. There’s always a bit of black love.” That life remains elusive, but suddenly pos-
wing.” sible. Bill is not his father and he recognizes this.
I asked how the sun served him in his life. He re- He knows, too, that he has the power to defeat
sponded: “I am like the sun, the part that will pro- bugs, or, at the very least, to confront them.
tect me. Maybe there’s too much protection. Maybe The older man, Bill, is, in fact, a lawyer. And
that’s the black wing . . . pulling back and opening the function of the lawyer role is to protect and de-
up, fear versus life.” fend. This is the good father that Michael so des-
Going further, Michael wondered if he needed more
perately is trying to find, not only in the world, but
than protection: “I want to blame the other one for
within himself. In his relationship with his lover/
making me sad and angry and mistrustful, but I
don’t know. I’m angry that I’m not saved by the lawyer, he has found a way to transform the nega-
sun or the older man. It’s gonna be work. I wanna tive father/son relationship, with all its fears intact.
be taken care of. ” The father part is still too intrusive-the demonic
bugs threaten to keep Michael in the victim role.
Michael was lying on the floor and had assumed But the lawyer is there to mediate, as Michael now
the fetal position. He continued: “I feel that the attempts to play the role of the fearless lover, one
Black Bug is sexual. Sexual terror.” who can transform bugs and fears into a thing of
Here we see the several bug fears: the actual fear beauty. The Dionysian role gives way to the Apol-
of the deadly AIDS bug and the psychological fear lonian. The child gives way to the adult. The roles
that the father will creep in with his dreaded ax, transform as Michael begins his healing. There are
abusing him, raping him, castrating him. more bugs to transform and more father/son battles
I asked him to take on the role of the Black Bug, to wage, but, for this one moment, God is in his
the one role he had neglected to reflect on: heaven and all is right with the world.
The role method attempts to answer the follow-
I don’t know. I am the Black Bug. I come out of ing questions:
the darkness. I move very slowly. I’m only looking
to fulfill my needs. I come out of the darkness. l What are the roles played?
Looking for . looking for . . . I don’t know what 0 What are their qualities?
I’m looking for. When you’re unprotected, I walk l What do they mean? How do they serve the cli-
across your arm, across your mouth in your sleep.
ent in his life (function)?
If you admit that you want it, you might not be
l How are they played out (style)?
afraid. I creep. I’m looking to fulfill my needs. If I
l How do they intersect with other intrapsychic and
touch you, you will not die. I can be beautiful if
you look at me. Then you try to kill me and I’m interpersonal roles?
very afraid. I must die because of your fear. To die
because of fear-that is my legacy. Drama therapy treatment through the role method
will be complete for Michael when the key ambiva-
The Bug is a repeated role that functions to keep lent roles of child/adult, son/father, male/female,
Michael in his fear and in his victim role, that sepa- hero/victim, innocent/demon, gay male/straight world
rates him from good sex and real intimacy. The have been played out enough so that a transformed
 A TAXONOMY OF ROLES 431

role system is functional and intact. This is not to model for others engaged in the same struggle. In
say that the ambivalences will or should be re- the business of acting, there have always been some
solved. Rather, that they transform to the extent that known as “actors’ actors,” those like Spencer Tracy
father is not so much in control of the son, the de- who provide role models of professional excellence.
mon is not so much in control of the innocent, the In the business of daily life, those who can present
victim is not so much in control of the hero, the themselves effectively through role, acknowledging
straight world is not so much in control of the gay the inevitable ambivalences and contradictions, will
man, and so on. The therapeutic goal, then, is to likewise provide powerful models for others within
learn how to live in the role ambivalences so that their social worlds.
one powerful role becomes less overpowering to the The taxonomy is intended as a blueprint for the
system of roles. possibilities of being. It is limited by the specificity
The role model, based in Hamlet’s existential di- of its source, that of theatre. But if theatre is indeed
lemma, “To be or not to be,” recapitulates the am- a mirror held up to nature, then the specific source
bivalent reality of the actor who is identified enough implies a more universal one. As a model, the tax-
with his role in order to give a convincing perfor- onomy might well be applied in practice, as a means
mance, yet who has so many other roles in reserve for diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation. It might
that no one part can ultimately threaten to take over further serve as a research instrument, generating the
the whole. Because of this ambivalence, he lives kinds of questions germane to the types and styles
fully, with the knowledge that he can and will take of enactments that guide us through our lives in the
on new roles and stretch old ones as the situations world that is so much like a stage
arise. In drama therapy, too, the role is the thing.
And as it is taken on and played out in its endless References
variations, the client comes to see the ambivalences Gould, S. (1989). Wonderfid life. New York: Norton.
of being that ultimately respond to the identity ques- Jung, C. (1964). Man and his symbols. Garden City: Doubleday.
tion: “Who am I?” Landy, R. (1990). The concept of role in drama therapy. __ The
As Michael grows in his ability to move through- Arts in Psychotherapy, 17, -223-230.
Landy, R. (1991). The dramatic basis of role theory. The Arts in
out the taxonomy of roles with some facility, build- Psychotherapy, 18, 2941.
ing functional somatic, cognitive, affective, social, Moreno, J.L. (1960). The sociometry reader. Glencoe. IL: The
spiritual, and aesthetic roles, he, too, becomes a Free Press.