Four frames for the study of creativity

Abstract

In Jean Genet's play The Balcony, the plot revolves around role reversal. Characters who were on the peripherii of society, the pimps, whores, and thieves, all of a sudden find it necessary to assume roles as pillars of society. The basic point of the play is that roles are powerful determinants of behavior, and whoever occupies the role of, say, Chief Judge of the Supreme Court, will behave more or less as anyone else would behave in the same role. People who have watched from the balcony change their behavior when asked to move to center stage.