Physicalization
1940s-1960s (developed by Spolin)
Also known as Show Don't Tell, Physicalize It
Spolin's principle of making a subjective state physical and visible (showing it with the body and in space) rather than describing it in dialogue.
Known for
- Spolin: theater is a physical event, so an emotion, a relationship, or an environment must be expressed through the body, not announced verbally.
- Counters 'heady' talking-heads improv where players narrate feelings instead of living them; the corrective is to put the experience into the space.
- Underpins her space-work and object-work games: the where is built physically before it is named.
- One of the recurring evaluation questions in her side-coaching: did the player show it or talk about it?
Connected to
People