The Roles We Play

Have you ever felt like you were standing in your own way? Self sabotage is very common, but less common is the practice of examining and playing with these parts of ourselves that try to block us from growth and change. As a drama therapist, I love Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage” quote, because we play many roles in life. We have familial roles (mother/daughter, father/son) and social roles (friend/lover), gender roles (man/woman) and professional roles (boss/employee) and the list goes on.

There are roles we are very practiced in and familiar with. For instance, I’ve been a daughter all my life. I know the role well, and I play it pretty well. Other roles are less familiar to me. The role of “boss” is new and unfamiliar territory, even though I’ve had many bosses in my adult life, I haven’t played one myself. How would that feel? How would I talk? How would I carry myself as someone’s “boss”?

How valuable would it be to rehearse these roles safely and with no consequences? Drama therapists use theatre for healing and sessions can serve as a space to rehearse for real life situations. How we show up in life can make a big difference. For instance, showing up with confidence and courage can support us in moving through life with more joy and ease.

According to Drama Therapy Role Theory, the more roles we have in our repertoire, the more flexible and adaptable we are. Being able to shift from one role to the next has become a necessary skill for most of us in this complex time.

I am not only a drama therapist; I am a courage teacher. I use a combination of drama therapy methods to help people sort through the roles they play, the roles they want to play and the roles that stand in their way.

In this complex time, we have a chance to notice these roles that have been waiting in the wings to enter the stage of our life. It’s time to meet our true self — the one that has been waiting to take the stage and stand in the spotlight.