Viola Spolin’s theater games launched the modern American improvisational theater movement and changed the way acting is taught. Her work has influenced generations of actors, directors, and educators. Explore the transformational theater games of Viola Spolin to enhance your training as an actor, improviser, educator, director, or to experience more play in your daily life.
Upcoming Los Angeles workshops include a Theater Game Workshop open to all levels, and Improvisation for Writers, both starting in January, 2017.
Ten-Week Theater Game Workshop on Saturdays Starting January 14th
“Through spontaneity we are re-formed into ourselves.” -Viola Spolin
In this ten-week workshop we’ll explore the groundbreaking exercises and theatrical concepts found in Spolin’s Improvisation for the Theater. Open to beginners and experienced players, the workshop is designed to help players be present onstage and off.
We’ll meet Saturday afternoons, January 14 through March 18, 2017, 2:30 – 5pm.
Location: Subud, 5828 Wilshire Blvd.
Tuition: $365., or $340. for returning players. A few sliding-scale spots are available.
Registration: Email with questions or to register.
Improvisation for Writers on Wednesday Nights Starting January 11th
“My vision is a world of accessible intuition.” -Viola Spolin
“If you haven’t surprised yourself, you haven’t written.” -Eudora Welty
Theater games have many far-reaching creative benefits, but improvisation can be intimidating for non-actors. This workshop is designed to jumpstart new written work in a supportive and non-competitive environment. Writers will learn the fundamentals of scene improvisation and put them to work in their writing through in-class games and writing exercises. We’ll clear creative blocks by igniting an intuitive response, and allow ourselves the chance to see where it leads without judgment.
Based on the work of Viola Spolin, author of Improvisation for the Theater and mother of the modern American improvisational theater movement, the workshop will explore ways writers can access their intuition through play to bring a fresh spontaneity to all types of written work.
This ten-week workshop is open to beginners and experienced writers and players.
We’ll meet Wednesday nights, Jan 11 – March 15, 2017, 7:30 to 10pm.
Location: 5828 Wilshire Blvd.
Tuition: $365., or $340. for returning players. A few sliding-scale spots are available.
Registration: Email with questions or to register.
Aretha Sills is the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. She studied theater games for many years with her father, director Paul Sills (creator/director of The Second City and Story Theater), and has conducted workshops at Paul Sills’ Wisconsin Theater Game Center, Bard College, Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Sarah Lawrence College, and Northwestern University. She is the Associate Director of Sills/Spolin Theater Works. Aretha was recently nominated for an INNY Award for Best Improvisation Instructor and was the keynote speaker at the California Educational Theatre Association conference. She earned an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside, where she’s also taught fiction workshops as a lecturer. Her non-fiction, poetry, and fiction appear in Los Angeles Review of Books, CALYX, South Bank Poetry Review, and Qua.
Quotes about the workshop:
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