2010 Improvisational Theater Workshops
Theater Game Intensive
with Aretha Sills

Following Paul Sills' approach to Viola Spolin's techniques, his daughter Aretha Sills' one-week Theater Game Intensive consists of ten workshops.  Actors, theater students, teachers, directors and other players are welcome to attend.

The workshop is dedicated to the practice of Viola Spolin's work (
Improvisation for the Theater, Northwestern University Press).  

Wisconsin Theater Game Center's 2010 workshop in Door County is scheduled to take place over the following dates:

July 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23, 2010 
Arrival date: July 18
Aretha Sills returns to teach Paul Sills' concentrated course in
playing Viola Spolin's groundbreaking exercises (Improvisation for the Theater, Northwestern University Press.) In ten sessions over
a five-day period, she will lead actors, theater students, teachers,
directors and others into the inspiring area of intuitive play.
Aretha led this intensive in 2005 and 2009, and has taught theater games since 1996. She follows her father's approach
and like him she is dedicated to the practice of Viola's work.


Aretha Sills

Aretha Sills
see more Workshop Photos

QUOTES about Aretha from her Los Angeles Workshops for Teachers and Professionals:

"Aretha Sills has, innately and amazingly, all the elements of the technique of both Viola Spolin and Viola's son, the extraordinary director, Paul Sills. Aretha is dedicated to preserving the pureness of this heavenly technique, which from my point of view assists the actor to find the courage to find themselves and then to fly. Add to this, her own gifts, her loving approach and gentle soul. I have studied with Aretha, and believe me, the thrill lives on.

"This is rare. I have noticed over the years some teachers proclaiming to pass this technique on. But in spite of their good intentions an unhealthy 'personal improvement' emerges, which seems to leave the intuitive and get stuck in the brain. Trust me, this is not good.

"I began studying with Viola Spolin beginning at age 9, then as a professional adult, with Paul Sills, now... and for the rest of my life."


Paul Sand
(Tony-award winner for Paul Sills' Story Theater)

"Aretha Sills, carrying on the work of Spolin and Sills, is an amazing, insightful side-coach and teacher. We were fortunate enough to take a workshop in LA with her and it helped us re-connect with theater game work on a deeper level. She knows her stuff. Can't wait to work with her again!"

Deb Lacusta
Dan Castellaneta
(THE SIMPSONS, actor & writers)


To Register in the Workshop or for further details contact…

Carol Sills with questions
    at 920-854-5072 or email her at workshops@paulsills.com

After you have made this contact, print this pdf registration form, attach your resume, and with a deposit of $100, mail to:  

Wisconsin Theater Game Center
2397 Old Lime Kiln Rd.
Baileys Harbor WI 54202


WORKSHOPS: take place in studios at the Sills farm in Door County, the peninsula in Lake Michigan north of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

SCHEDULE: Players always arrive on a Sunday before the first workshop. Workshops are held twice a day, Monday through Friday, from 10am - 1pm, and 4 - 6pm. Each workshop ends with a small celebration following the final session on Friday.

TUITION:
$500
 
LODGING: Reside by yourself or with fellow players at a resort hotel, motel or cottage. Ephraim and Sister Bay are the nearest villages, but Fish Creek and Baileys Harbor are also good. Carol Sills can advise and provide travel data.
You can also find out more, check other vacation retreats and obtain travel information at Door County Visitor and Convention Bureau 920.743.4456.
 
TRAVEL:
We are about a 1.5 hour drive northeast from the Green Bay airport. Students arriving close to the same time and staying at the same place often share car rentals.
 
BY AUTO:
From Chicago take I-94 to Milwaukee, then I-43 to Green Bay, following Sturgeon Bay signs north on 57E. After Sturgeon Bay follow 57 north to Baileys Harbor. 4 1/2 miles north of Baileys Harbor turn east (right) onto Old Lime Kiln Road, one-half mile to 2397. From Green Bay airport take 172 E to 43N to 57E (follow Sturgeon Bay signs).

Story Theater Intensive
with Carol and Neva Sills   
Postponed until 2011

Story Theater is a form evolved by Paul Sills that allows the transformation of stories or literature into onstage contemporary performance. The curriculum of this intensive was created by Paul and Carol Sills in a workshop they conducted with professionals in Los Angeles in 2008. In ten workshops over a five day period, the intensive includes the group adaptation of stories during a rehearsal process that leads to performance. The approach emphasizes communication, both verbal and nonverbal, through the playing of Spolin theater games. This experience, while spontaneously involving all members of the group, can transfer to other curriculum areas, bringing delight and satisfaction back into rehearsals and learning. Carol and Neva Sills will coach together for a third year in 2011.
   
Come Play Theater Games in Los Angeles, California! Side coach Aretha Sills offers workshops in Viola Spolin’s Theater Games. Click to find out more...

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