by Gary Schwartz | Jul 20, 2015 | Blog
Approval/Disapproval comes from an authoritarian based system. It starts with our parents, goes to our teachers and we internalize it so completely it becomes the fabric of our lives and of society. I’m not saying that Authoritarians don’t get things done...
by Gary Schwartz | Jul 14, 2015 | Blog
This post is an esoteric one, but an important one. I am always at a loss when I send out a side-coach and, in the words of Viola Spolin, it doesn’t penetrate. My first thought is to say it again or louder, but if it makes no sense to the players, I am only referring...
by Gary Schwartz | Dec 26, 2014 | Blog
Silent Tension without Who, What and Where* It had been maybe two years of Wednesday afternoon workshops with Viola before we did an exercise called Silent Tension without Who, What and Where. “I don’t do this one right away.” she said to us....
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...
