The theory behind Playback Theater in hospitals rests on three key ideas:

1. Patients need to share their stories, especially during times when their sense of identity feels shaken.

2. These stories are shared in a respectful atmosphere, something often lacking in the hospital environment.

3. The process turns “life into art”, giving patients’ experiences new meaning. This aesthetic reflection offers reassurance, an essential part of healing.

In seeing his story performed, the patient can come to terms with it; the personal issue becomes generalized by the players' reenactment, the scene takes the suffering away from the patient, alleviates it by elevating it to a more impersonal level. Even when performed bedside, the effect on the patient is immediately noticeable.

When I first attended a performance in the B.M.T.U. (Bone Marrow Transplant Unit), I was truly amazed at how obviously happy the patients became, how much hope and brightness the actors had brought to these people, who came to watch masked and plugged into their medical machines. As I attended and participated at more of these group settings for Playback Theater performances, I saw how the several patients share their own individual fears and concerns with others in a similar condition, a sharing that the drama troupe helps to facilitate. On other occasions, the drama troupe took their performance bedside, where they were equally effective.

Let me illustrate with a few examples.

One patient we visited was a middle-aged man awaiting a heart transplant. From the few clues he gave about his life, the actresses began their work. A "Story Tableau" of his enjoyment of camping and the possibility of doing that with his new-born daughter brought the first look of hope to his face. As we left, it was clear that now (for the moment, at least) he was thinking beyond his operation to the new life he would be able to create.

Another day we visited a young woman awaiting a liver transplant. She had been involved in music all her life and in drama as well. Although she was in better spirits than some of the patients visited, we determined a little humor would brighten her stay. We "replayed" her first venture into theater: her first-grade Christmas pageant. At the end of our performance, both she and her mother were laughing heartily, and were themselves starting to recall happier times.

There was a woman awaiting a heart transplant; she was depressed and scared. But she was able to leave her bed. We brought her to a common room, we listened to her story, and began to tell it through dance and song. We invented the I.V. Wiggle (which she was able to do in a limited fashion), we elevated her emotions in story form. She later reported it was the highlight of her hospital stay. And she got her heart within a few weeks – during which time she mentally replayed that afternoon.

When I first learned about the therapeutic benefits of the arts in medicine, I was both intrigued and skeptical. Could it really work? The literature on art and healing highlights visual arts like painting or making collages as particularly effective, as they redirect the patient's attention from the immediate suffering to their creative expression. Personal observation has convinced me that drama, though less commonly used, may be even more powerful. Patients facing severe illness and enduring long waits for treatment are remarkably receptive to the emotional release that a drama troupe provides. Drama goes beyond distraction—it offers perspective and opens up a realm of possibilities.

As a drama student and scholar, I found this form of therapy particularly intriguing. In traditional theater, a healthy audience connects with characters, making the universal personal. In hospital Playback Theater, the process is reversed: the patient’s personal story is transformed into something universal. In both cases, Aristotle’s idea of catharsis comes into play, fostering emotional healing and a healthier soul.