AANZPA Conference 2027

Jacob Levi Moreno envisioned psychodrama as a methodology of freedom in that it emphasises the liberation of ourselves from our pasts, from old expectations and current limitations. In mobilising the five instruments (stage, protagonist, director, auxiliaries and audience) and the four universals (time, place, reality and cosmos), a psychodramatic enactment produces a surplus reality, a truthful illusion in all its light and darkness that is accepted as if it is real. The psychodrama stage thus becomes a place where an individual can be who they are more deeply and explicitly than they appear to be in everyday life. Psychodrama is liberation then in the sense that bringing out our deeper inner truth creates in us the living possibility of creating our own freedom. “The living space of reality is often narrow and restraining, … [a person] may easily lose … equilibrium. On the stage … [the person] may find it again due to its methodology of freedom – freedom from unbearable stress and freedom for experience and expression. The stage space is an extension of life beyond the reality tests of life itself. Reality and fantasy are not in conflict. … The aim ... is not to turn the … [people] into actors, but rather to stir them up to be on the stage what they are, more deeply and explicitly than they appear to be in life reality.” J.L. Moreno (Psychodrama First Volume: Fourth Edition, 1972:a-c) “… this unfoldment of life in the domain of illusion does not work like a renewal of suffering, rather it confirms the rule: every true second time is the liberation from the first. … One gains towards … [one's] own life, towards all one has done and does, the point of view of the creator - the experience of the true freedom, the freedom from … [one's] own nature.” J.L. Moreno (The Theatre of Spontaneity, 2010 Edition:101) Conference Program Early bird tickets close 30 November 2026 We are accepting workshop proposals now - head to the website to submit yours. A vibrant program awaits you in Sydney. Embrace our beautiful warm summer with the usual weaving of deep inner work, practical learning, dancing, singing, comedy, food, coffee and so much more! Friday night entertainment - feel your heart beat with the drum as Tom the Pom takes us through a drumming workshop and then brace yourself for a segment of "The Mic is in YOUR Hands" Saturday's Dinner Dance promises to be as vibrant as always. We will rock to the tunes of Swamp Daisies enjoy great food, laughter, dance moves and I'm sure for the usual bandits there'll be after-parties snuck into someone's dorm room. Of course we'll have our AGM on the Saturday, informal jams in the evenings, places to chill and relax, and all the usual AANZPA conference fun. Your conference ticket includes all meals for the main conference days - details around meals for pre-/post- workshops are listed below and when you register. More information about the full program and the pre and post workshops are available on the AANZPA website so please keep an eye out for that and our wonderful convenor will notify you as things are updated. Pre-conference workshop A - read full workshop details via this link. Presenter - Charmaine McVea Topic - Freedom, Response-ability and Commitment: A Focus on Progressive Functioning Details: • 2 days - • Tuesday 12 Jan 9am to 5pm (morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided) • Wed 13 Jan 9am to 4pm (morning tea and lunch provided) • Please make your own arrangements for other meals Capacity - 16 participants Summary - Spontaneity flourishes when we engage in the here and now, when we are relational, and when our thoughts, feelings and actions are congruent. We become free within ourselves to respond meaningfully, adequate to the moment. This is the framing of ‘freedom’ that is a starting position for this workshop: the freedom to be myself in relationship with the world I live in. Being myself calls for self-awareness and selfacceptance. Being in relationship (response-ability in the title) calls for role reversal, cultural awareness, the development of adequate roles and a readiness to act. A third element – commitment – is also important. Commitment relates to sustaining a sense of purpose, a warm-up to seeing things through, and navigating rupture and repair. Fee - $485 (you'll be able to book when you click Register on the right side of the screen) Pre-conference workshop B - read full workshop details via this link. Presenters - Marian Hammond and Cinnamon Boreham Topic - Freedom from the Burden of Shame Details: • 2 days • Tuesday 12 Jan 9am to 5pm (morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided) • Wed 13 Jan 9am to 4pm (morning tea and lunch provided) • Please make your own arrangements for other meals Capacity - 14 participants Summary - Shame is a potent emotion that can hijack our minds and bodies, tying us up in knots. It impels us to hide. Its many masquerades make it difficult to recognise its presence. Unhealthy, or toxic, shame is burdensome because it tells us we are unworthy, inadequate and flawed. It cuts us off from our feelings, so that we are unable to move through grief. It can make us feel like we are going through life with the handbrake on. This workshop aims to help participants release the grip of toxic shame, while appreciating the value of healthy shame. Healthy shame reminds us that, as humans, we all have limits. An internal barometer, it alerts us to when to pull back, thus ensuring we remain connected to the group. Learning from our mistakes is a key aspect of healthy shame. Fee - $520 (you'll be able to book when you click Register on the right side of the screen) Post-conference workshop A - read full workshop details via this link. Presenters - Cushla Clark and Sue Christie Topic - The Relationship of Warm-up to Freedom: Four Stages of Warm-Up a Person Passes Through in Becoming the Creator in their Own Life Details - • 2 days • Monday 18 January 9am to 5pm • Tuesday 19 January 9am to 5pm Capacity - 14 participants Summary - Moreno wrote that learning happens more effectively in a heated state and in relationship with others. In this experiential workshop, we will examine how the embedded structure of the psychodrama method enhances our ability to warm up, step by step, to ourselves, others, the cosmos and our abilities to develop new roles, new perspectives and, ultimately, the freedom (from our own nature) to accept the God within and be the creators in our own lives. Fee: $485 (you'll be able to book when you click Register on the right side of the screen) Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are provided on both days. Please make your own arrangements for other meals. Post-conference workshop B - read full workshop details via this link. Presenter - Jenny Hutt Topic - Conversations about Difference Details • 1 day • Monday 18 January, 9am to 5pm Capacity - 16 participants Summary - When we truly meet one another in conversation, our perceptions shift and our relationships can be strengthened. This is particularly so when we are willing to stay in relationship as we surface and discuss our differences: our views about life, the world, the past, the future, and how we relate to each other. Moreno saw these meetings, these conversations, as vital in forming natural groups and a society of human beings. He observed, ‘It is people who meet one another who are responsible and genuine founders of social living.’ Fee - $245 (you'll be able to book when you click Register on the right side of the screen) Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are provided.