VIOLA
Viola Spolin began her work with children in 1924, as a student at Neva Boyd's school of creative drama, and then as drama supervisor for Chicago's WPA Recreational Project. There, she began to evolve simple exercise to solve the complicated prblems that arise in children's theater.
In 1946, Mrs. Spolin founded and directed the Young Actors Company in Hollywood. Here, she use her games to train children for formal dramatic productions. In 1955, she returned to Chicago to run workshops for the country's first improvisational acting company. Her work with her son Paul Sills in the formation of Second City laid the foundation for all improvisational companies since.
In 1963, she published Improvisation for the Theater, which made her techniques accessible for the first time not only to theater groups, but also to the classroom drama teacher. Twenty-three years later, it remains a best seller in drama bookstores and with teachers alike. Over 100,000 copies are no in print in English and the book as been translated into German, Dutch and Portuguese.
Following publication of Improvisation for the Theater, Spolin co-founded the Game Theater in Chicago, was asked to present her games to a gathering of the National Council for English TEachers, and taught at Brandeis University. In 1975, she founded the Spolin Theater Games Center in Los Angeles.
The Secondary School Theater Association awarded Mrs. Spolin it's founder Award in 1976. In 1978, she recieved an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Eastern Michigan University. In 1983, the Children's Theater Association presented her its Monte Meacham Award for life-time acheivement. In 1985, she recieved commendations from President Ronald Reagan, the Governor of California, and the Los Angeles City Council for her work.
To learn more about Viola, her work, and how to obtain her books,
click on "Viola Spolin" and/or "Paul Sills" at the bottom of this page,
resting just above Spolin Works! - Michigan.