Story Theater (Sills Heritage)
1968-present
Paul Sills's narrative ensemble form, improvisers enact myths, folk tales, and legends with transformation, mime, and dance as the primary vocabulary.
Known for
- Paul Sills (Spolin's son, Second City co-founder) premiered Story Theatre on Broadway in 1970; won critical acclaim on both coasts.
- Method: bare stages, street-clothes costumes, live music, actors move fluidly between narrator and character.
- Often missed in UCB-centered improv histories, but Story Theatre is an unbroken line from Spolin's classroom work to contemporary ensemble storytelling.
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story theatre