THE LETTER

Abstract

This technique consists of the patient's "writing" a letter aloud. The device occupies a position between the psychodramatic dialogue and the soliloquy. While the protagonist is the only actor immediately present, he speaks directly to an absent person rather than addressing the general audience as in the classical soliloquy. It differs from the dialogue in that no immediate interchange takes place between the two parties. The recipient of the letter is separated by a distance which can be spanned in the drama only by the postal service.