The Dramatic World View Revisited: Reflections on the Roles Taken and Played by Young Children and Adolescents

Abstract

In this article, the author revisits an earlier paper published in 1995, “The Dramatic World View: Reflections on the Roles Taken and Played by Young Children,” which surveyed the ways and means that children acquire and play out roles in their early development. The paper was based on Landy's role theory in dramatherapy and on the observation of his two young children from eight months to four years old. The author adds his reflections upon his children twelve years later based on his observation of their projective drawings and stories. These observations lead to a discussion of role-taking and role-playing processes in the continuing development of individuals from childhood through adolescence. Throughout the article, the author examines the continuity and change of roles as manifested in the developing child's expressive activities.