Permission is given to use this play as long as acknowledgement to the
author is given.
Act II - Type Dynamics
Director: But what happens when we have a type like ENFP? (The
four letters E, N, F, and P stand in a row so that the letters are in the
correct order for the audience. The other four letters ISTJ stand in behind.)
Do
you just stand there? Who leads this crew? Aren’t there some dynamics here?
P: (Steps out.) Start with me. Since I am on the orientation
end, I get to pick the function that is used in the outside world or the
extraverted world. I am a Perceiver, so I pick the Perceiving function.
That’s S or N, the second letter. There is an N here in this first row,
so that is the one I pick. (Goes over to the N. Places an “Extraverted”
sign on him or her.) You are it. You are extraverted Intuition. (
Moves N out in front of the square to indicate extraversion.) This
square (pointing to the square on the floor) represents the self,
so you stand out front because you are more interested in outside things.
Because I need a balance of my two main functions, that makes
you, F, the introverted function. (Places an “Introverted” sign on F,
and then moves F onto the square to indicate introversion. P then moves
back to the end position.) You stand on the square to indicate you
like going inside yourself.
E: (Steps out.) Now, I’m the one who decides which of
the two functions in the middle here is the dominant function. (Gestures
to the two inner letters, N and F.) The dominant is like the captain
of the ship. Since I am Extraverted, I will choose the extraverted function.
That’s you, Intuition. (E then places a hat on N that says “Dominant
- #1 on it.)
N: I’m running this outfit. I’m the dominant function. What I
say goes, but I need a helper to look after the inside work. F, since you
are introverted, (Places a hat on F’s head that says “Auxiliary
- #2 on it.) I appoint you to be my first officer, my Auxiliary.
(Turns to S and F in the background.) Now, there are
two other functions that I will need. I won’t use them too much,
but they will come in handy on occasion. (Places an “Introverted” sign
on S.) I’m the strongest and extraverted. You are my opposite, so you
have to be introverted and you get to be the weakest function. (Places
an “Inferior - #4 on S’s head. Puts S inside the square. S kneels or sits
on a chair.) That makes you my inferior function. (S waves and makes
a mischievous gesture.)
(Turning to T.) I’ll need you too. (Make gesture as
if counting how many extraverted and introverted functions you have. Place
an “Extraverted” sign on T.) To keep us in balance with two functions
extraverted and two introverted, that makes you extraverted (Moves T
off the square and to the back.) and you are opposite to what introverted
F is. (Places hat on T that says “Tertiary - #3.”) so I’ll make
you number 3, my Tertiary function.
(Everyone keeps their letters but take off their extraverted and
introverted signs and their hats and return them to the prop holder.)
Director: Now I get what type dynamics is all about. The last
letter gets to pick the extraverted function, and the first letter gets
to pick the dominant function. If the first letter is an E, both the extraverted
function and the dominant function are the same function.
But what happens if the first letter is an I? What about ISTJ?
(ISTJ form up in a row so that they are in the right order facing
the audience. ENFP stand behind them.)
J: (Steps out to speak.) Since I am on the end and the
orientation preference, I pick the extraverted function. Since I am the
Judging preference, I choose the judging function from the type, or T.
(Moves
T in front of the square and places an “Extraverted” sign on T.) The
other function, S, has to be introverted. (Places an “Introverted” sign
on S and moves S into the square.)
I: (Steps out to speak.) I’m the attitude preference.
I get to choose the dominant. (Makes a point of bypassing T.) I’m
not extraverted, T, so I won’t pick you. I pick my own kind and that’s
you, introverted S. (Places hat on S that says “Dominant - #1.”)
S: (Gestures to show that he or she is inside the square.)
I do my best work inside here. (Goes over to T and places a hat that
says “Auxiliary - #2” on T’s head.) But I need you to go out into the
public for me. You’ll be my second in command. Since you are what people
will see, they will probably guess that my dominant is T, but the real
me is hidden from them.
(Goes over to N.) You are my opposite in every way. (Places
“Extraverted” sign on N’s neck. Moves N outside of square and to the back.)
You’re extraverted and my Inferior. (S places the “Inferior - #4" hat
on N’s head. N waves and makes a mischievous gesture.)
(Turns to F.) That leaves you, Feeling. To keep the balance,
I’ll make you introverted, (Places “Introverted” sign around F’s neck.)
and I’ll make you my third in command, my Tertiary. (Places the hat
with “Tertiary - #3" on F’s head.)
Director: I get it now. The last letter or the orientation preference
gets to choose which function is going to be extraverted. Ps choose either
S or N. Js choose T or F. The first letter or the attitude preference decides
who gets to be the dominant function. Es choose the extraverted function
the orientation preference just picked. “I”s choose the non-extraverted
function or the introverted function to be the dominant.
Let me try it. (Director can use the audience to help.)
Suppose we had another Type like INTP. (INTP take their places at the front.)
P decides N is extraverted. (Places “Extraverted” sign around N’s neck.)
That makes T introverted. (Places “Introverted” sign around T’s neck.)
“I” decides that since T is introverted T shall be dominant. (Places
“Dominant - #1" hat on T’s head.) N has to be extraverted and the auxiliary.
(Places
the “extraverted” sign around N’s head and the “Auxiliary - #2” hat on
N’s head.) F has to be extraverted and the inferior. (Places “Extraverted”
sign around F’s neck and the “Inferior - #4” on F’s head.) That
leaves S as the Tertiary and introverted. (Places the “introverted”
sign around S’s neck and the “Tertiary - #3” on S’s head.)
(All take a bow. Loud applause!)
End of Act II
Act III - Type Development
(The type INTP lines up in front of the group wearing the signs
and hats from the last section above, including S and F standing behind.)
Director: I can understand how you guys got to be identified
as being number 1, 2, 3 and 4. But when did these functions get developed?
T: (Steps forward.) For the first six years of life, we
just milled around. Then I decided to run the show from about age 6 to
12 years. (Puts on a sign “Dominant develops between 6 to 12 years.”)
N: During our teen years, as the Auxiliary, I got to take my
turn at development from about ages 12 to 20 years. (Puts on a sign
“Auxiliary develops between 12 to 20 years.”)
S: As a young adult, as the Tertiary, it was my turn next between
the ages of 20 to 35 years. (Puts on a sign “Tertiary develops between
20 to 35 years.”)
F: As the Inferior function, I finally came into my own. I’d
pop out every once in a while when we’d get in-the-grip. From age 35 to
about 50, I called a lot of the shots. Sometimes I needed a whole change
of scene. If it got real bad, they called it our “midlife crisis.” (Puts
on a sign “Inferior develops between 35 to 50 years.”)
N: After 50 things seemed to settle down and we were much more
integrated and lived “happily ever after.”
(All take a bow. Loud applause!)