Pre—Warm-Up in Russian Psychodrama Groups: A Cultural Approach

Abstract

This article, based on practical psychodrama experience with “frozen” Russian groups, deals with the problem of warm-up, using “no” and “avoidance” reactions on the microdramatic level. In the broad cultural context of modern reality in what was formerly the Soviet Union, the following phenomena are especially significant: (a) prevailing “no” and“avoidance” reactions that reflect defensive and masking behavior, (b) speaker/passive audience relations that supplant an actor/involved audience, (c)a large store of unexpressed reactions that cause new stimuli to be experienced as if withina tightly pressured mass with indistinct layers and structure. The authors offer a concept of structured pre—warm-up processes designed to activate rigidly stagnated emotions and to
build on them for the further phases of classic psychodrama.