The Arts in Psychorhcrr~py , Vol. 10 pp. 175-185, g Ankho lntemational Inc., 1983. Printed in the U.S.A.

THE USE OF DISTANCING IN DRAMA THERAPY

ROBERT J. LANDY, PhD*

Drama therapy as a discipline is still very ily roles, i.e., son, husband, etc. This might ex-
much in its formative stages of development. Be- press itself behaviorally in viewing the person as
ing an interdisciplina~ form, it borrows its con- self-assertive, positive and energetic at work, yet
cepts and techniques freely from drama/theatre, passive, negative and sluggish at home.
sociology, psychology, psychotherapy and psy- Furthermore, at the intrapsychic level, one
chodrama. However, drama therapists have nei- can remove or create distance from one’s own
ther clearly specified nor sufficiently researched feelings, thoughts and physical self-image. For
which concepts and techniques are most relevant example, an individual feeling a sense of aliena-
to the development of a theoretical base and to tion might perceive his image in a mirror as being
the treatment of specific populations. somewhat disconnected from himself.
This paper will examine one such concept, The concept of distancing is particularly rele-
that of distancing, which has been explored in vant to drama therapy since the drama therapist
some detail in the fields of drama/theatre, sociol- draws upon a wide range of psychodramatic and
ogy and psychology. projective techniques that implies a variation of
All human interactions can be characterized relationship between self and role, self and other.
by the degree of distance therein. Distancing is a Some dramatic media, such as puppetry and
means of separating oneself from the other, mask, imply a projection of the self and, thus, a
bringing oneself closer to the other, and generally certain kind of intrapsychic and interpersonal
maintaining a balance between the two states of distancing.
separation and closeness. *The distance can be Also, inasmuch as the drama therapist charac-
physical, as in maintaining a space of so many teristically plays a more active and flexible role
feet from another in a face-to-face conversation; than a psychoanalyst, for one, and at times be-
or it can be emotional, as in choosing whether comes a player in the client’s drama, he needs to
or not to empathize with another’s personal di- become aware of the implications of his interac-
lemma; or the distance can be intellectual, as in tions with clients, of his closeness to and separa-
choosing to anaiyze rather than empathize with tion from them, of the issues of transference and
another’s problem. In actuality, distancing is a counter-transference that arise given his active
confluence of physical, emotional, and intellec- participation.
tual elements. Fu~he~ore, distancing is relevant to drama
Distancing, however, does not only refer to a therapy in that the therapist bases much of his
person-to-person interaction. It is also an intra- work in examining the dialectics of actor and ob-
psychic phenomenon, as individuals identify server, self and role, one role and another role;
closely with certain roles they play and separate and it is in exploring the degree of separation and
themselves from other roles. One might make a closeness within these relationships that the
strong identification with one’s professional role, therapist realizes his therapeutic goals. These
for example, but remove oneself from one’s fam- goals might include enhancing the client’s ability

*Robert Landp is Assistant Professor of Educational Theatre, New York University Department of Communication Arts and
Sciences. New York City.

175
176 ROBERT J. LANDY

to differentiate between roles, to gain further having an experience. Conversely, the dramatic
mastery of a single role, or to expand his reper- action might be so alienating that they remain
tory of roles. More specifically, the drama ther- safely aloof, looking in. In balancing the dual
apist might aim toward helping clients distinguish roles of participant and viewer. the audience
between behavior appropriate to themselves and member is engaging in an unconscious act of
behavior appropriate to characters who are not distancing.
themselves. A most important therapeutic goal The director and designer of a play are more
might also be to help clients find the proper bal- conscious manipulators of distance. They often
ance between participation in a dramatic action choose the extent to which they want their actors
and observation of that action, that is, a balance and viewers to identify with and participate in the
between self as subject and self as object. action (underdistance) or the extent to which
Throughout this paper, I will argue that dis- they want them to separate themselves from the
tancing is a central concept and tool in the dra- action (overdistance) in order to see more of the
matic treatment of clients and that the drama universal aspects of the drama. Their methods
therapist can be more effective in his treatment if are based in a choice in style of acting and de-
he can understand the dimensions of distancing sign, whether highly stylized, as in the commedia
as applied to his choice of techniques, the needs del’arte and more modem expressionistic forms.
of his clients, and his relationship to his clients. or rather naturalistic, as in the forms influenced
Before looking directly at the application of by Stanislavski’s methods (1936) and the deriva-
distancing to the practice of drama therapy, I will tive Actor’s Studio in America.
examine its use as a concept in the fields of Bertolt Brecht is regarded as a modem master
dramdtheatre, psychology and sociology. I will of theatrical distancing. His model for .a dis-
draw upon Bertolt Brecht’s theatrical notions of tanced theaire, epic theatre, stood in marked
the alienation effect, then look at a social- contrast to the more traditional dramatic theatre
psychological model as specified by the sociolo- of the early twentieth century. The epic theatre
gist and therapist, Thomas Scheff. for Brecht was one where narrative had suprem-
Distancing as a theatrical concept is to a great acy over drama, where the spectator became an
extent centered in the metaphor of the world as observer of the action, rather than a participant
stage or the stage as world. The actor and the in the action, and was encouraged to face a cer-
spectator in the theatre are removed from the tain situation and make decisions, rather than
everyday world, but paradoxically recreate that become involved in a situation and luxuriate in it.
world through an identification with and partici- The epic theatre presented a circular rather than
pation in the fictional reality of the characters linear structure where each scene was meaningful
and scenes presented. All is artifice in the and whole in itself, rather than one scene leading
theatre. The performers play characters who are directly, consecutively, and chronologically into
not themselves; the set and props merely repre- another. In the epic theatre, reason played the
sent real rooms and real objects; lamps and spot- primary role; feeling was secondary (Willett, 1964).
lights represent a variety of natural light and Brecht’s epic theatre, at least in theory, was
darkness. Yet within the fiction, there is truth to one dependent upon an emotional overdistanc-
the extent that both actors and viewers suspend ing. His Verfremdungs-Effect or alienation-effect
their disbeliefs and participate physically, emo- implied a separation of actor from role and of
tionally and intellectually in the dramatic actions. spectator from a reliving of the dramatic events
If the world is not a stage, but, rather, like a presented. It was Brecht’s notion that if the ac-
stage then one could manipulate and study the tors and spectators could overdistance, then they
distance between the stage and the world for a would be liberated from expected and conven-
variety of aesthetic and therapeutic purposes. tional responses to the drama. According to
Viewers of theatre are constantly shifting be- Brecht, this liberation was possible only if the
tween participant and observer roles. As they rational, analytic part of the spectator and actor
relive an experience stimulated by a dramatic was not superseded by the irrational. feeling part
action, they can be so underdistanced that they that led one to an easy identification with charac-
believe it is they, rather than the actors, who are ters and restimulation of experiences.
 DISTANCING IN DRAMA 177

Brecht achieved his overdistancing effects in the director’s and others’ interpretation of
many ways. By calling his theatre a narrative Brecht’s dramaturgy.
theatre, he attempted to transform the dramatic In shifting from a theatrical to a therapeutic
first personal form into the narrative third per- context, let us look at another model of distanc-
sonal form. In rehearsal, he asked his actors to ing that attempts to address the human need for a
view their characters as “he” and “she” rather balance of attention. The model, developed by
than “I,” and to demonstrate through their ac- Thomas Scheff, goes beyond Brecht in accounting
tions the contradictions within their characters. for an aesthetic distance that is midway between
In readings of the text during early rehearsals, overdistance and underdistance. In that Scheff s
Brecht would ask his actors to include readings model is psychotherapeutically-based and de-
of the stage directions, again stressing the narra- rivative from psychological sources (Freud &
tive nature of his aesthetic. During performance, Breuer, 1895; Jackins, 1965). it is not directly
spectators would see frequent use of slides, comparable to the theat~c~ly-based Brechtian
titles, and placards, stating settings of scenes, model. Yet, Scheffs conceptual thinking about
historical facts and quotations underlining moral distancing includes a discussion of dramatic
and political points. Further, Brecht used music criticism and an analysis of levels of awareness
as a device of overdistancing. Rather than having of characters in and viewers of classical drama
his music reveal a character’s sentiments and (Scheff, 1976, 1979). Furthermore, Scheff uses
inner thoughts and proceed directly from the dra- the central concept of catharsis to characterize
matic action, Brecht set his songs apart from the the balance of attention between overdistance
flow of the action and through irony and com- and underdistance, borrowing the term from
mentary used them as a way to elucidate a politi- theatre, as Aristotle was the first to formally
cal or moral issue. speak of dramatic catharsis in his Poetics (1954).
Other epic theatre devices of overdis~ncing In fact, the concept of catharsis has been used
included the use of puppets and masks, oversized historically by psychothe~pists and theatre art-
props, and highty stylized gestures and blocking, ists alike with some frequency (Freud & Breuer,
all intended to help the actor and spectator 1895; Moreno, 1946, 1959; Aristotle, 1954;
see beyond the individual case to the universal Nichols and Z&x, 1977; Boal, 1979). The origina-
condition. tor of psychodrama, J, L. Moreno, bridged the
As a model of distancing, however, Brecht’s natural gap between psychotherapy and improvi-
theory is incomplete. In that his concern was sational drama by basing his work in both fields
primarily for overdistancing, he did not take into and speaking of catharsis from both the dramatic
consideration the human need for a balance of and psychotherapeutic points of view.
attention. Ironically, Brecht has been successful In Scheff’s model, catharsis occurs when the
to the extent that his theory was not realized on participant or viewer relives emotions, but is not
the stage. That is, actors and viewers did identify ove~helmed by them (1981). That is to say,
with the characters. Tears were shed when Kat- there is a balance between overdistance, which
trin died in Mother Courage and even when Mac Scheff refers to as a state of repression, and
the Knife was about to be hanged in The Three- underdistance, which he calls the return of re-
pemy Opera. When an authentic epic theatre pressed emotion. Overdistancing becomes a cog-
production of a Brecht play is staged today, some nitive process of remembering the past; under-
63 years after the writing of Baa/, Brecht’s first distancing, an affective process of reliving or
major work for the theatre, audiences are often reexperiencing a past event. At aesthetic dis-
baffled and unsatisfied because they do experi- tance, the two extreme states are in balance, and
ence too much aesthetic distance. It is, of course, the participant/observer is able to return to the
difficult to define what an “authentic” epic past safely, that is, through both remembering
theatre production is, although Brecht and his and reliving a past event.
collaborators have left behind model books of Remembering implies a more passive observer
various productions, including photographs and role, as one looks back over time at oneself or at
stage directions. Even the most “authentic” specified events. Reliving implies a more active
production would be very much dependent upon participant role as past events are restimulated
178 ROBERT J. LANDY

and the individual plays them out again in his acted out his rage by screaming. sobbing. curs-
mind or in action. At aesthetic distance, the in- ing, banging his fists on the table and verbally
dividual plays both roles of participant and attacking them. all behaviors he had never dem-
observer simultaneously: or he is able to move onstrated before. As he was acting out his anger
fluidly from one role to another, as appropriate. and feeling quite out of control, he nevertheless
The appropriateness of the role choice would de- reported an awareness that he would not go too
pend upon the individual’s need for distance. For far because he became aware of seeing himself
example, at a holiday dinner with the family, performing his actions as they were occurring.
there are many levels of distancing in effect. If That is, in order to safeguard himself from the
one feels threatened by the demands or criticisms fear of losing control and committing an act
of one’s relatives, one might move into an ob- of physical violence against his parents, he as-
server role to create the proper safe distance. sumed, unconsciously, an observer role to pro-
Conversely, if one becomes too overdistanced, vide a safe margin of distance.
thus feeling alienated from the family, one might In a psychotherapeutic context, it is the ther-
shift into a more active participant role through apist who modulates distance, or rather the ther-
direct interaction with the family. In this particu- apist helps the client to achieve a balance of dis-
lar example, the drama associated with the fam- tance. The assumption here is that the therapist
ily gathering is dependent upon a restimulation of perceives balance of distance as a desirable goal.
past experiences with the family. For the indi- In Scheffs terms, the therapist would help the
vidual family member to achieve a proper bal- client reach catharsis through moving him to a
ance of attention, he must have access to both point of aesthetic distance, a balance between
observer and participant roles so that he has a overdistance and underdistance, between re-
sense of history and connectedness with the fam- membering and reliving, between participating
ily as well as a sense of himself as an independent and observing.
person in relationship to them in the present. Scheff mentions four choices that the therapist
Scheff takes his discussion of distancing fur- can make in managing aesthetic distance. They
ther by stating that at aesthetic distance a central include: the use of present time events vs. past
paradox of repressed emotion is resolved. That time events; fictional or fantasy events vs. reality
paradox, stated in the form of a question, is: If events; a rapid reviewing of past events vs. a
the reason we repress emotion is because it is too detailed recollection of the past; and the enact-
painful to bring to consciousness, then how can ment of positive emotions vs. the enactment of
we be able to bring ourselves to a conscious negative or unpleasant ones. Generally speaking,
awareness of that painful state? An example of the use of present time, fiction or fantasy, rapid
the paradox is the common fear: “If I would ever review and positive emotions provide the client
allow myself to get mad at person X, that is, with a means of overdistancing. The converse
consciously express my anger and rage toward would lead the client toward an underdistanced
X, I would certainly kill him.” The answer to the enactment.
above question, according to Scheff, is that we Like most listings of polarities, Scheff s no-
can handle painful repressed emotion through tions are not intended to be prescriptive in an
manipulating distance, through simultaneously absolute sense. Rather, they are intended to pro-
playing participant and observer roles. If vide a range of choice for the actual client whose
the emotion becomes too unbearable, we can needs for both over- and underdistance vary with
achieve a margin of safety in the observer role. great frequency. Further, Scheff emphasizes the
By in fact standing outside ourselves, by watch- importance of training the therapist to be flexible in
ing ourselves enact an episode of severe anger choosing modes of distancing to suit the needs of a
through screaming and gesticulating, for exam- client, instead of depending upon a fixed concep-
ple, where we fear that we might kill the object tion of either underdistance or overdistance.
of our anger, we create enough distance to feel There are many techniques of distancing in
somewhat in control. One drama therapy student drama therapy that can be drawn from Brecht,
recently reported an episode where he expressed Moreno, Scheff and from many other theatre art-
severe anger and hostility toward his parents. He ists, educational drama specialists, sociologists
 DISTANCING IN DRAMA

and psychologists. The choice ,of technique with varying degrees of emotional problems in
would depend upon three basic factors: the qual- enacting stories from their lives. Storytelling has
ity of distance inherent in the technique, the become increasingly popular with groups of el-
special need of a client at a given moment in the derly (Perlstein, 1981).
therapeutic process, and the therapeutic goals of The use of storytelling in drama therapy can
the therapist. Generally speaking, diagnostic cat- be conceptualized along a continuum. At one
egories of clients and therapeutic goals, like spe- pole is the most underdistanced kind of psycho-
cific techniques, can be seen as implying a spe- dramatic enactment where the client tells a story
cific degree of distancing. However, the use of from his own life, reexperiences emotion from
distancing in drama therapy often is situationally the past or previews emotion associated with the
based and dependent upon the changing needs of future. Through catharsis, the client releases
the client or therapist and the flexible quality of a tension in tears, laughter, shaking, blushing, etc.
given technique. At the other pole is the most overdistanced form
Techniques of distancing in drama therapy in- of storytelling, based in the epic theatre model,
clude: the use of narrative or storytelling; pro- where clients create a story that does not relate
jective techniques such as dolls, puppets, masks, overtly to their own lives. The story may be set
makeup and videotape; psychodramatic tech- in an imaginary land inhabited by fictional char-
niques such as role-reversal and doubling; socio- acters. These epic stories might be narrated ver-
dramatic techniques such as caricature and social bally, enacted dramatically, or composed on a
group rather than individual role-playing. moving story board, used often by Brecht. The
Storytelling has a function in the overdis- story board is also known as a crankie, because a
tanced epic theatre that is different from its use in handle or crank moves the scroll, upon which the
the dramatic theatre. In the latter, the story of a story has been composed, forward. In working
past event told by a character must point to a with a crankie, clients are not only exposed to a
present dramatic situation that is emotionally dramatic experience in creating a story, but also
based. Hamlet asks the players to enact the story to an art experience as the story is drawn in
of the murder of Gonzago so that he might words and images on long sheets of paper.
“catch the conscience of the king” at the present The easiest way to construct a crankie is to
moment. The characters in Eugene O’Neill’s take a roll of adding machine paper and ask the
Long Day’s Journey Into Nigh? tell their long client to create a story on it by drawing pictures
narratives in order to affect each other in the and using words. Then both ends of the paper are
present and to purge themselves of endless years attached to pencils. When the story is presented,
of guilt and anger. two people hold the pencils and wind the paper
In the epic theatre, however, the story func- from one side to the other, as if unwinding a
tions as fable and has a “once upon a time” scroll.
quality. The narrative of what happened stays Either extreme of psychodramatic storytefling
within the confines of a past that might be or epic theatre style storytelling may be indicated
historically-based, as in Galileo, or mythically- for specific clients in need of over- or underdis-
based, as in The Good Woman of Szechwan, and tancing A group of verbal elderly clients might
does not necessarily lead to the classic dramatic work comfortably with underdistanced autobio-
structures of hamartia, anagnorisis, catastrophe, graphical material, while a group of psychotic
and catharsis. Because the play is enacted as a children would need further distancing in work-
story, as events which have occurred in the past, ing with story material. In most cases, though,
the spectator is not led to believe that the events the drama therapist is likely to move between the
dramatized are happening now, and thus is able two poles as he discovers the proper balance
to maintain a psychic distance from the action. necessary to lead the client to aesthetic distance,
In drama therapy, storytelling is used fre- The use of such projective devices as dolls,
quently. Play therapists often ask children with puppets, masks, and makeup is also valuable in
emotional problems to tell stories based upon facilitating distance within a drama therapy ses-
dolls or objects they have been manipulat~g. sion. Dolls and puppets have become a mainstay
Psychodramatists direct clients of all ages and in most forms of play therapy. As projective de-
180 ROBERT J. LANDY

vices, they allow most clients a safe margin of posed to using a prefabricated one is that it brings
overdistance. Although there have been several the client into a closer relationship with the char-
articles and books written about puppetry in acter he is creating.
therapy (Philpott, 1977; Irwin, 1973, little actual Masks are generally less distancing than dolls
research has uncovered the therapeutic potential and puppets. For one, the client in mask is alter-
of this powerful projective device. ing his own face rather than manipulating an ob-
In observing drama therapy sessions, this au- ject apart from his actual body. The mask is sep-
thor has noted that some clients react in an arate from the body, yet part of the body when
underdistanced way when confronted with pup- it is worn on the face. The experience of building
pets and/or masks. Masks especially can be a mask to wear has a certain ceremonial and mag-
frightening to severely emotionally disturbed ical quality (Sorell, 1974). And because masks
clients, because their sense of their own face and are associated not only with ancient cultures en-
body is rather precarious. As imaginative, repre- gaged in hunting, battle, or burial activities, but
sentational extensions of the face and the body, also with contemporary images of muggers and
masks, dolls and puppets can be both underdis- psychopathic killers in horror movies, they can
tancing, to the degree that the client is unable be rather frightening in their underdistancing
to make a separation between self and inanimate qualities.
object; and overdistancing, to the degree that the However, with proper use, masks can provide
client is able to make that distinction and endow a balance of attention. As an example, one client
the inanimate object with human characteristics, was asked to create simple masks out of paper
that is, to project himself onto the object. bags to represent the members of her family, her-
In working with puppetry as a way to achieve self included. Having set up a dinner table scene
aesthetic distance, the drama therapist might and placing the masks on selected members of
begin with a relatively nonthreatening, overdis- the drama therapy group, she was asked by the
tanced kind of enactment. This might take the therapist to wear the mask of each family mem-
form of asking the client to build a puppet, or ber, one at a time, and engage in a dialogue with
choose a puppet, that represents a character the others, in role. The therapist helped create
quite removed from oneself and create a story or overdistance in this scene, when necessary, by
dramatic action with the puppet as the central encouraging a fairly rapid changing of roles,
character. The balance of distance can be altered humorous dialogue, and helping the client shift
by encouraging the client to conceive the puppet from participant to observer role. Conversely, he
as closer to himself, or to create a new puppet worked toward underdistance through encourag-
figure that represents a part of himself. At a more ing more intense dialogue within a single role.
underdistanced level, the therapist might ask the Generally the therapist worked toward a balance
client to build a puppet that represents a hidden of attention which in this case was achieved as
part of himself and create a scene where that part the client .experienced both laughter and tears,
is revealed. followed by a verbal expression of her ability to
In working with severely emotionally dis- better understand the dynamics of the family’s
turbed clients, the therapist might aim toward interactions.
helping them recognize the difference between At an even more underdistanced level, the
self and puppet. He would thus work toward drama therapist can work with makeup where the
moving from an underdistanced posture to an client is actually creating a character or part of
overdistanced one. His approach might be differ- himself on his own face. Work in this area has
ent with a less severe group of withdrawn, emo- been demonstrated by Nancy Breitenbach, who
tionally repressed adolescents who need to move practices drama therapy with emotionally dis-
from emotional overdistance to underdistance in turbed children, primarily through the use of
order to demonstrate an affective response with- makeup, in Paris, France. Breitenbach has com-
in the drama. piled a developmental scale that represents age
The building of puppets, like the construction ranges at which children create certain forms on
of the crankie, is an experience in drama and art. their faces through the application of makeup
The value of creating one’s own puppet as op- (1979).
 DISTANCING IN DRAMA 181
The process of making oneself up has all the ing. Within this one video experience, then, the
ceremonial and magical qualities of mask- drama therapist has available a range of distanc-
making. It is ~ten~~ly more underdis~nced ing perspectives he can modulate to help the
though, because there is no longer a separation of client achieve a balance of attention so that he
the face. The face becomes the mask; the mask may be able to more clearly see the face or faces
becomes the face. In Breitenbach’s work, the act or masks he fashions.
of applying makeup is in itself a therapeutic Psychodramatic techniques can also be used
process. Dramatic action in role does not neces- to balance distance. As implied above, psycho-
sarily follow. The object of the drama therapy in drama is basically a technique of underdistanc-
this instance is the creation of the role through ing, as the protagonist usually plays the role of
making up the face. Of course, dramatic action in himself and is asked to relive experiences from
the form of improvisation could occur after the his own life. The psychodramatic enactment
makeup has been applied. The client might be often leads to catharsis, and many psychodrama
asked to look at himself in a mirror and speak a directors aim toward an overt emotional release.
monologue or soliloquy in response to his own Even when dealing with past or future events,
image, or he might be asked to engage in a dia- the protagonist is encouraged to enact them in a
logue with other characters. The therapist can present time frame, with all associated feelings.
manipulate the distance through helping the Negative feelings and detailed recall are often
client conceive of his made-up character as close enacted in psychodrama, thus underlying its
to or removed from himself. Too, through en- underdistancing quality. However, devices with-
couraging light or heavy enactments, present or in the psychodramatic technique serve to over-
past events, fantasy or real characterization, distance the protagonist. For example, if the pro-
positive or negative feelings, participant or ob- tagonist is at a point of being overflooded with
server roles, the therapist will be balancing dis- emotion, he might be asked to reverse roles with
tance within the experience of applying makeup the auxiliary ego, and thus move from a partici-
and acting in role of the made-up character. pant to an observer role. Through a carefully
The very least distanced dramatic technique modulated series of role-reversals, the director is
based in a projection of body and/or face con- able to balance the distance, and thus move the
cerns a view of oneself as oneself, without the protagonist closer to aesthetic distance and its
guise of puppet, mask, or makeup. This can be corresponding catharsis. As psychodrama is the
achieved through the use of a mirror or through most overtly catharsis-oriented technique of
the use of a video recorder and monitor that can drama therapy, Scheffs notion of aesthetic dis-
record and playback one’s actions. If the equip- tance as a necessary Condition for catharsis is
ment is available, work in video can be quite most relevant. If this concept is valid, then the
powerful (Fryrear & Fleshman, 1982). psychodramatic director should be skilled in
In an experiment by this author, clients were modulating distance.
instructed to sit in front of a video camera for five A second psychodramatic device of distancing
minutes without leaving the range of the camera. is that of the double or alter ego of the protago-
Following the sitting, the tape was piayed back to nist. The double can serve the function of
the client, and he was asked to verbalize his re- ~derdis~c~g as well as overdistancing. The
actions to the tape. This procedure was also more natural function, that of ~derdis~c~g, is
videotaped. During the third part, the client to help the protagonist become more connected
watched the fmal videotape and verbalized and to his feelings. The protagonist might, for exam-
recorded his reactions in writing. ple, make analytical statements in a scene explor-
The distancing process proceeded from a very ing anger toward his mother. The voice of the
much underdistanced perspective of sitting in double might help him to express anger toward
front of a camera with no specific objective, of his mother, thus breaking through the overdis-
acting without an action, of being fully oneself tanced posture.
apart from a social context; toward an overdis- Through overdistancing, the double might also
lanced perspective of being an observer of one- help the protagonist who is overllooded with feel-
self, twice removed, of watching oneself watch- ing reestablish a sense of equilibrium. In the
182 ROBERT J. LANDY

above example, the double might help the son psychodrama, many others in the fields of drama’
come back from an underdistanced, emotionally theatre, psychology, sociology and related areas
charged response by speaking in a humorous have used drama as a means of exploring social
voice, moving from reality to fantasy, moving and political issues (Goffman, 1959: Shaftel.
from unpleasant experience to pleasant experi- 1967; Boal, 1979; Gregoric. 1982).
ence, or helping the protagonist shift from a par- An example of a sociodramatic experience de-
ticipant to an observer role. veloped by this author, demonstrating the use of
Many other psychodramatic techniques are distancing devices, involves an exploration of
regularly used to modulate distance. For one, the male and female images and interrelationships.
director at times interrupts the dialogue between The experience began with a group of twenty
protagonist and auxiliary ego and asks the pro- adults, each of whom was asked to choose one
tagonist to speak out a soliloquy or write a letter gender and write the word male or female on a
orally to a significant other. The switch from dia- large piece of paper, which was then taped to
logue to monologue is a significant way to modu- his/her cfothing, like a sign. Individuals were
late distance. When inte~pting the dialogue, the then instructed to begin a series of movements
director can use both the monologue, wherein that represented their conceptions of the gender
one speaker develops a thought or feeling at they chose. All were told they could be as stereo-
length in the presence of a listener, and/or the typical or caricatured in their movements as they
soliloquy, wherein the speaker verbalizes his wished. All participants worked with a partner.
innermost thoughts or feelings in depth, in the They were further instructed to respond to the
absence of any particular listener (Moffett, 1968). movements of their partners.
The soliloquy form is less distancing than the During this initial warm-up part of the socio- .
monologue. drama, there was much overdistancing in evi-
The director can also move from focus upon dence. Through the use of stereotype and carica-
the protagonist to focus upon the group as a ture in movement, the participants were able to
means of separating the protagonist from an in- separate themselves from their roles. In that the
tensity of feeling. This group sharing is generally role was a generalized one, a certain degree of
part of the closure portion of the psychodrama. overdistance was provided. As pa~icipants were
Closure, though, can also be cathartic for group not allowed to communicate verbally, overdis-
members who have reexperienced their own feel- tancing was also enhanced. However, there was
ings through an identification with the protago- also much evidence of catharsis through laugh-
nist. The director, then, has to be aware of ter. For some, then, there was a balance of
balancing distance for others in the group during attention present even in the warm-up. That is to
closure to promote aesthetic distance. say, even in portraying a stereotypical or carica-
Psychodrama has been used with many groups tured social role, there may be enough affect
of emotionally disturbed clients, from mildly associated with the role to balance out the over-
neurotic to severely psychotic. Although inher- distanced quality of the technique. For those to
ently underdistancing as a method, psycho- whom gender identity is an immediate issue,
drama, like puppetry and other projective tech- even the most overdistanced of techniques will
niques, can be used to overdistance and aid a be counterbalanced by a certain degree of
psychotic client in distinguishing between reality underdist~ced emotion.
and fantasy, between “me” and “not me.” Following the movements in role, the partici-
Sociodrama also provides many examples of pants were asked to reverse signs and reverse
distancing devices. For one, sociodramatic roles with their partners. In those groups where
techniques are in essence more distancing than each had chosen the same role, individuals were
their psychodramatic counterparts in that the asked to find a different way of portraying the
protagonist is no longer playing the role of self, gender through movement.
but rather the role of a social group, i.e., women, The director then asked each individual to
men, blacks, whites, etc. Although sociodrama choose the gender he initially worked with and to
as a technique was developed by J. L. Moreno write a five-minute piece on his sign, in first per-
and was based fully in his theory and practice of son, from the point of view of a specific male or
 DISTANCING IN DRAMA 183

female, specifying: Who am I (name, age, etc.)? out of role, and speak about the degree of their
Where am I? When am I there? What am I doing identi~catjon with the character portrayed by
there? Pa~icipants were instructed not to censor their partner. Too, individuals spoke of the de-
themselves, but to write freely, without attending gree of their identi~cation with their own charac-
to the mechanics of writing, nonstop, for five ters. Finally, the group ended with a more objec-
minutes. tive discussion about male and female roles
Through the writing, the director was provid- within society.
ing both further distance from the former action, Again, various degrees of distancing were evi-
and removing distance as the individual prepared dent in the closure. Some became aware of a
to move from a generalized enactment to a spe- strong identification with a character portrayed
cific one. by their partner, or by someone else in the group,
During the next -stage, iwo groups were or by themselves. Others expressed feelings of
formed. Group A, consisting of one partner in the disconnection from the portrayals, but these
dyad, became an inner circle. Group B, consist- individuals were in a distinct minority. The direc-
ing of the other partner, became an outer circle. tor helped these pa~jcipants break through the
Members of Group A were asked, in turn, to overdistanced posture through focusing upon a
speak a monologue or soliloquy in the role of single portrayal that was provocative and provid-
their chosen character, using their written piece ing a double to help the person move closer to an
as a basis for their speech. The director stated expression of feeling toward that character por-
that the purpose of the speech was to reveal tin trayed. In the final discussion of male and female
essential aspect of their character as male or roles, the director brought the experience back to
female. The monologue/soliloquy could be in the a more overdistanced, sociological perspective,
form of a story or an improvised song. All were but one based in a dramatic experience in which
asked to enact the voice quality, body posture, aesthetic distance wai the main objective.
and emotional tone of their character as much as There are a wide variety of other drama ther-
possible. People in Group B were asked to ob- apy experiences that make use of aesthetic dis-
serve the actions of their partners, as they would tancing principles. Generally speaking, any time
later comment upon their enactments. the drama therapist makes a decision to work
Following the speeches, Groups A and B with a psychodramatic role (role of self) or a pro-
switched positions and those in B told their jected role (role of other), he is choosing an ap-
stories while A observed. During the storytelling, proach to distancing. His choice of technique,
most participants demonstrated a strong identifi- i.e., puppetry, mask, storytelling, caricature,
cation with their roles. Distance was removed etc., also implies an approach to distancing.
through a direct identification between actor and However, roles and techniques that appear to be
role. Some participants chose to tell humorous skewed toward one pole or another can, as we
stories about positive experiences, thus provid- have seen, be used for an opposite purpose. Pro-
ing themselves with a safe margin of distance. jective techniques of overdistance can be used as
Others chose rather serious and negative experi- means of underdistancing; psychodramatic tech-
ences, told in some detail, thus underdistancing niques of underdistance can likewise be used as
themselves. The director intervened rarely. His means of overdistancing, according to the nature
inte~ention would have been necessary had the and need of a specific client. The cognitive,
imbalance of distancing been extreme. In that conscious distancing of a client who, like the
case, his intervention might have been through Brechtian actor, separates himself from empa-
suggesting the use of either humor or seriousness, thetic relationships in order to take on a more
positive or negative emotion, past or present time rational viewpoint, is of quite a different order
orientation. observer or participant role, etc. from the affective, unconscious distancing of a
During this part of the exercise, catharsis was catatonic schizophrenic in a psychiatric hospital
evident through laughter, tears, shaking, and setting. Thus, the therapist must be fully aware
blushing, thus indicating a balance of distancing. of the client’s, style of distancing and clinical
During the closure of the sociodrama, partners diagnosis, as well as the techniques appropriate
were asked to provide feedback to each other, to moving him toward a balance of attention.
184 ROBERT J. LANDY

Drama therapy techniques can be viewed, theatre as a means to encourage the spectator to
then, on a continuum from underdistanced to act, to transform his society.
overdistanced with the understanding that, al- The notion of catharsis as put forth by such
though any given technique might seem to be theorists as Scheff and Moreno leads toward a
inherently over- or underdistancing, it can also similar revolutionary, transformational goal. The
be used, when appropriate, throughout the spec- change, however, is an intrapsychic and inter-
trum of distancing. personal one, political in the sense that personal
Drama therapy work, like drama/theatre en- and interpersonal transformation is a political and
actment, in general, is representational in nature radical act. In the case of aesthetic distance lead-
(Landy, 1975, 1982); that is, the participant rep- ing to catharsis, the personal becomes the politi-
resents a real or imagined experience, through cal; possibilities for new action are liberated
action, within an environment that is removed through a process of balance. The actor and the
from yet reflective of everyday life. If this is true, spectator become one. Because one is not over-
then there is a notion of two realities, that of the flooded with feeling, one can think. Because one
everyday and that of the dramatized. It is within is not overly analytical and withdrawn, one can
the space between these two realities that the feel. Is this not a radical psychic posture?
drama therapist best functions. His goal is to help The notion of balance does not negate the val-
the client better understand the everyday reality ues of more extreme positions within the spec-
through working within the dramatic reality, like trum of distancing. There have been many theatri-
the classical psychoanalyst helps the client cal, anthropological, and social-psychological
understand significant issues in his everyday life studies of the extreme states of ecstasy, trance,
through exploring the transference occurring at and meditation, as they relate to both theatre aes-
the present moment in the relationship between thetics and healing (Sarbin, 1962; Eliade, 1972;
client and therapist. Cole, 1975; Schechner & Schuman, 1976; Scheff.
More precisely, the drama therapist works to 1979; Turner, 1981). However, at the mean of
help the client see the continuity of and interplay aesthetic distance, the possibilities for insight
between the everyday and the dramatic, the and for psychic healing are very great indeed.
imaginative, the intuitive, the expressive part of If, as Scheff has conceptualized, the paradox of
the client’s psyche. To do this,. the therapist repressed emotion can be resolved in this state
needs to be skilled in balancing distance. As a through the simultaneity of participant and ob-
concept, distancing in drama therapy does not server role-playing, then the client will have the
make sense apart from the notion of representa- capacity to reexperience and see clearly that
tion. It is through the manipulation of the dis- which was formerly repressed. This capacity to
tance between the everyday and the dramatic see is in itself a radical notion. If this process can
and between the participant and the observer occur through a balancing of distance, then the
roles that the drama therapist attempts to create drama therapist must be adept at applying the
balance and equilibrium, a state of seeing as well techniques of distancing to the treatment of his
as being, thinking as well as feeling. clients.
The balance of attention is achieved, accord-
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