by Gary Schwartz | Nov 21, 2014 | Blog
Play creates happy emotional condition of the organism-as-a-whole. Play involves social values, as does no other behavior. The spirit of play develops social adaptability, ethics, mental and emotional control, and imagination. These are the more complex adjustments a...
by Gary Schwartz | Nov 21, 2014 | Blog
“Acting requires presence. Playing produces this state.” –Viola Spolin When I assisted Viola Spolin in various workshops, the very first thing we would play was a game of “Swat Tag”. The game involves a group of people sitting in chairs, a ‘home base’ (a chair or...
by Gary Schwartz | Nov 21, 2014 | Blog
Spolin’s pathway to the Unknown The [Spolin’s Theater Games] exercises are artifices against artificiality, structures designed to almost fool spontaneity into being–or perhaps a frame carefully built to keep out interferences in which the player waits. Important in...
by Gary Schwartz | Nov 21, 2014 | Blog
What if…? “What if I can’t do it?” That’s where it starts for me. I get afraid. “Afraid of what?” “Not being able to do it? Then people will laugh at me?” “Hey! I’m in an Improv class, isn’t that what I want?” the voice in my head is having a discussion with another...
by Gary Schwartz | Nov 21, 2014 | Blog
The game of Building a Story is a staple with improv groups around the world. It is the essence of collaboration by building a story one word at a time and by sharing ideas using give and take and intense listening. Invariably, the challenge wakes you up and your...
