Itinerary of a remarkable woman

Zerka Moreno’s trip during a segment of the year 1997. There is probably no FEPTO-trainer who has not had a personal encounter with Zerka T. Moreno. We participated in her seminars or sessions on either side of the Atlantic since the fifties when she and J.L. brought psychodrama back to Europe. During the first two decades of this time-span the work consisted mainly of ploughing hard soil. During the second ones, i.e. the time when psychodrama training organizations sprang up in Europe, Zerka accompanied and fertilized this development relentlessly by her trips to this continent.

Still in 1997, although having had her 80th birthday on June 13, she flew to Europe in August to work - and to visit at least for a few days. Seminars took place from

Aug. 14-16 - Uppsala/Sweden, between

Aug. 17-30 - the Holwell Centre, England

Aug. 31-5/9 - CEIS, of Rome,

Sept. 5-7 - the Studio di Psicodramma, Verona

Sept. 7-10 - Bologna/Italy

Sept. 11-14 - the Moreno Institute Stuttgart

Sept. 15-18 - the Jakob Moreno Schule, Gummersbach, where Zerka worked with gestalt-therapists of the Perls Institute a.m. and with the teachers of the school p.m. Needless to mention, she met with the 230 students of this first Jacob Moreno School in the world. The children who had trouble learning in other contexts, are representing 11 nations. From Gummersbach, Hugo Krakau, the principal of the school, drove Zerka through the beautiful valleys of the rivers Rhine and Lahn to the last destination of her trip, the Conference Center Diez (where we shall meet in March, 1998).

Sept. 19-21 - Moreno Institute, Uberlingen.

A breathtaking itinerary(!) and even more so, if we imagine her returning to New York still in the evening of September 21. In Diez at the end of her European trip, we were impressed to see her relaxed, cheerful, witty, and as interested and interesting as ever. But not enough! A fortnight after her return to the United States, Zerka took off for a sixteen day trip through China. The famous Brain Hospital of the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute Nanjing honored Zerka Moreno by engaging her as the hospital’s Academic Advisor of Mental Health. The peppy lady accomplished all these undertakings lefthandedly and with her usual discipline, ease and elegance. FEPTO congratulates the remarkable woman upon all her achievements in 1997 and wishes many happy returns.

Gretel Leutz