by Gary Schwartz | Jun 25, 2021 | Games, Improv Games, Refining Awareness, Verbal Agility, Who Games
FOCUS On the sidecoaching received. Description Single player describes an experience or recollection. While relating the story, the player is to accept and utilize the prompts and suggestions* provided by the sidecoach. * note to the sidecoach: listen carefully and...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 9, 2020 | Games, Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, Who Games
FOCUS On holding a facial and bodily expression through a scene. Description Choose a short statement that could embody a ‘life script’ or attitude such as “Nobody loves me.”, “I never met a person I didn’t like.”, “Life...
by Gary Schwartz | May 13, 2020 | Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players
The focus here is on what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future: Two players agree upon a Who, What and Where and explore this What on stage. They ‘hold’ the What’s Beyone as the focus between them, while the players are involved...
by Gary Schwartz | Jan 25, 2020 | Games, Improv Games, Improvisation for the Theater, Refining Awareness, Viola Spolin
Showing and Telling Story Telling and Story Theater This is a variation of Story Telling and Once Upon a Time, found in Improvisation for the Theater 3rd Edition (Pg. 283 & Pg. 290). It is also the roots of a unique theater style created by Paul Sills...
by Gary Schwartz | Apr 11, 2019 | Games, Improv Games, Orientation, Refining Awareness, Sensory Awareness, Warm Up Games
Extended Sound Individuals send sound and get it to land on an object across the room. Watch for physical involvement with the sound production. More than asking to speak up, this exercise asks you to make the sound LAND. Words travel with impact. FOCUS On keeping the...
by Gary Schwartz | Feb 12, 2019 | Games, Refining Awareness, Sensory Awareness
Blind Games Materials Needed: Blindfolds, an abundance of real props and set pieces plus a stationary telephone (not cell phone). This may seem dated but it allows players to hunt for where the phone is. Once you get a Who, What and Where (one with the opportunity to...
by Gary Schwartz | Feb 12, 2019 | Refining Awareness, Warm Up Games
Relating an Incident – Adding Color Active Listening This is a good warm-up to the exercise VERBALIZING THE WHERE. In this exercise, Player A narrates a simple story. I.e., “I was walking down the street and saw a parked car, blocking the house on the...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Give and Take, Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Refining Awareness
No Motion – Action at a simmer The concept of No-Motion is a quiet holding onto a moment for as long as one can, before it becomes static. As you go into no-motion it is both a thing to do and a thing to hold (like a mantra). When in No-Motion you are the eye of...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, The Where, Who Games
Allowing Who (relationship) to reveal itself without telling We do not want to be told who we are in this game. We want to discover it by paying attention to how our fellow player relates to us. Often this is called ‘endowment’ but too often it is done by...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Orientation, Refining Awareness, Sensory Awareness, Spacewalks, Warm Up Games
Playing in Slow Motion Slow motion is a great sidecoach to use when you are feeling urgent or panic in a scene. Coaching slow motion re-focuses the players and they have more time to see without stopping . Understanding the difference between true Slow Motion and...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Give and Take, Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Refining Awareness, Sidecoaching, Viola Spolin
Converge and Redivide variation: Lone Wolf Viola Spolin in a rare video conducting a workshop in Utah in 1972. Here she has three groups do Lone Wolf a version of Converge and Redivide. Her coaching is wonderful to watch.
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Refining Awareness, The Where, Viola Spolin
Viola Spolin on the Young Actors Company Viola Spolin in this rare video talks about how her work developed from directing her Young Actor’s Company in Los Angeles and the wonderful results she got from her kids by working with “Where” and with games...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, The Where, Who Games
Art Gallery Akin to Who Am I?, many often call this game “Endowment”. How it is played in current Improv training bears little resemblance to the original exercise. Players A and B. A is seated and B enters the art gallery and has given A some unusual...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Give and Take, Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, Verbal Agility
Contrapuntal Argument A, B and C Two players and a timekeeper and a scorer. Contrapuntal Argument A The players begin an argument involving both of them, with both developing and unfolding his own theme. They are to talk simultaneously and without pause. The object is...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, Verbal Agility, Viola Spolin
Singing Dialogue Viola Spolin was aware that singing uses another area of the brain and is important to help ‘unhook’ your dialogue from the meaning. New rhythms and patterns emerge and can also help memorized dialogue in scripted material, as a...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Games, Give and Take, Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players
No Motion with the Spolin Players The concept of No-Motion is a quiet holding onto a moment for as long as one can, before it becomes static. As you go into no-motion it is both a thing to do and a thing to hold (like a mantra). When in No-Motion you are the eye of...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Follow the Follower, Improv Games, Refining Awareness, The Spolin Players, The Where, Verbal Agility
Dubbing is Following the Follower The Game of Dubbing requires a warm-up of two-team mirror, follow the follower and mirror speech. This has all those earlier exercises in it, all rolled into one great, fun game. It’s easy to fall into traps. Watch to make sure...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Follow the Follower, Improv Games, Refining Awareness, Sidecoaching, The Spolin Players, Viola Spolin
Action / Interaction / Transformation One of the most gratifying games to play for me is Transformations. Finding new relationships in partnership with another player in a kaleidoscope kind of way is so invigorating. No Urgency / No Motion / Heighten and...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Follow the Follower, Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Mirror Games, Refining Awareness, Verbal Agility, Viola Spolin
Focus on Reflection vs. Content Mirror Speech gives a good example of true improvisation. It is not turn-taking or mimicking. Rather it allows both players to explore ideas and let the story (such as it is) go where it will. It will often become a flight of fanciful...
by Gary Schwartz | Oct 18, 2018 | Follow the Follower, Improv Games, Lecture / Explanation, Refining Awareness, Sidecoaching, Space Objects, Theory
Intuition vs. Intellect: A discussion of Yes, And… & More Improv rules like Yes, and… and Make Your Partner Look Good, makes for some wonderful improvisational moments, but is limited. The dimension of Space is often left out and the connection between...
