Meaning

A Play Based on the Life of Viktor E. Frankl


Meaning Cover

by Rubin Battino
M.S., Mental Health Counseling
Adjunct Professor
Department of Human Services (Counseling)
Wright State University

Copyright ©1999, 2001, Rubin Battino


Table of Contents

Characters

Professor Viktor E. Frankl = Frankl
Frankl’s Colleague = Colleague
Capo
Man
Inmate
Foreman
Guard
Woman
Science Teacher
Frau Kotek
Frankl’s Father
Old Doctor

Time

Mostly during World War II in the concentration camps.

List of Scenes

Scene 1 — About Man’s Search for Meaning
Scene 2 — A Selection Process: Camp to Camp
Scene 3 — Premium Coupons
Scene 4 — The First Phase is Shock
Scene 5 — The Bath: Textbooks Tell Lies!
Scene 6 — Suicide
Scene 7 — Apathy: The Second Stage
Scene 8 — Dreams and Food
Scene 9 — Politics and Religion
Scene 10 — My Wife’s Image
Scene 11 — The Inner Life of the Prisoner
Scene 12 — Psychological Factors in the Camps
Scene 13 — Being a Typhus Doctor and Acting Like a Sheep
Scene 14 — The Science Teacher

Intermission

Scene 15 — The Size of Human Suffering
Scene 16 — Art in a Concentration Camp
Scene 17 — Decisions and Escape
Scene 18 — Faith in the Future
Scene 19 — After Liberation
Scene 20 — Dr. J’s Story
Scene 21 — Some Personal Stories
Scene 22 — General Philosophy
Scene 23 — Frau Kotek
Scene 24 — The Science Teacher


From the foreword by Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D.,
Director, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation:

Meaning: A Play Based on the Life of Viktor Frankl brings Frankl to life in full dimension — his spirit, determination, wisdom, and integrity. Battino has chosen to set the play for the most part during the Holocaust, bringing into sharp focus the extraordinary power of this man to extract from the bleakest of circumstances a reason to live. After all, in contradiction there is inherent drama. And while this is a play written in homage to Viktor Frankl, it is more than that, a play about love and meaning, no matter that reality seems to be calling for something quite different. In these pages, we are reminded of what it is to live profoundly, as we have the opportunity to be in Frankl’s presence once again.

 


SITE DESIGN BY BATMOSPHERE