Piven Theatre Workshop

Byrne and Joyce Piven, along with Mike Nichols, Elaine May and Paul Sills, were founding members of the Playwright's Theatre, the group that spawned The Second City. The Playwright's Theatre eventually disbanded in the early 1960's. The Pivens spent the next 13 years acting and taking drama classes in New York City with the renowned teachers of the Stanislavsky method, Uta Hagen and Mira Rostova. Upon their return to the Chicago area, Byrne and Joyce Piven joined the Second City Repertory Company. They also began to teach children's theatre classes. Based on Viola Spolin's theater games, and using Story Theatre, a directorial technique developed by Spolin's son, Paul Sills, during his Playwright's Theatre days, the Pivens' philosophy was that theatrical performances can be explored in the same way as other art forms, such as music, painting or writing. In 1974, the Pivens founded the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, Illinois. The Pivens' first Young People's Company included Ann and Joan Cusack. John Cusack and Aidan Quinn are alumni of the Piven Theatre Workshop, as are Lili Taylor and Lecy Goranson.