Early Development and Endowment of the Artistic Director

Specific aspects of the artistic director's early development during and after the oedipal period exert dynamic effects upon the shaping and the functioning of his career. The unconscious oedipal

wish to rear the parents' children finds expression and gratification in his directorial activities. The wish to rear the parents' children may come from either a positive or negative oedipal configuration from which then ensues an identification with the parent of the same or opposite sex respectively. Regardless of its negative or positive oedipal origin, the identification is utilized via a sublimated wish to direct the performers as children. A common parental combination for the artistic director is one in which the mother has strong aesthetic interests, usually in the performing area, and the father is involved in executive, managerial, or directorial activities. One artistic director and two nonartistic directors had mothers who had no aesthetic interests; however, all three fathers fulfilled the requirements of managerial or executive positions. The artistic director often identifies with the ego ideals of both parents which may encompass the father's love and support for the mother's aesthetic interests.