Theater Games
1939-1963 (developed); 1963 (book)
Also known as Theatre Games, Spolin Games
Spolin's system of structured games, each organized around a single focus and a non-judgmental evaluation, that became the foundational method of improv training in North America.
Known for
- Roughly 200 games are catalogued in Improvisation for the Theater (1963), each with a stated focus (point of concentration) and evaluation questions.
- Originated in Spolin's Depression-era WPA and settlement-house work teaching immigrant and low-income children, then was written for teachers before it was adopted by professional comedy.
- Her son Paul Sills carried the games into the Compass Players and Second City, making them the engine of the modern improv theater.
- The game structure (focus, side-coaching, evaluation) is a teaching technology designed to produce spontaneity on purpose, not by accident.
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