Development and Creativity in the Actor and Playwright

Psychological characteristics of the dramatist and the actor are differentiated. The actor, in the process of creating a role, deals with the problem of defective development of self which he distinguishes from nonself by way of gratification of his exhibitionism. His exhibitionistic drive is likened to an exhibitionistic

perversion, in which the drive may or may not be completely neutralized. It is postulated that the early development of the actor emphasizes a theatrical type of communication ('billing and cooing' in the mother-infant relationship). In childhood the actor shows more evidence of play acting and play action than does the author, whose childhood preoccupations are for the most part in fantasy life. Object relations appear to be less developed and more narcissistic in the actor. The playwright in the process of creating a drama is unconsciously elaborating forgotten experiences of his childhood, which usually deal with Oedipal conflicts and identifications with parents. Since dramatists strongly tend toward enacting solutions for their unconscious conflicts, such enactments must be thwarted by an intensification of ego defenses; the dissociative capacity of the ego enables their creative transformation by way of a controlled regression in the service of the ego. The divergent psychopathological states that the actor and the playwright develop are elaborated. Both share a tendency to neurotic acting out which is detrimental to their creativity.