Spolin, Viola

Viola Spolin has been called the "high priestess of improvisational theatre".  Born in Chicago in 1906, Spolin is best known as the creator of theater games, originally created as a series of exercises to aid students in the study of drama.  Spolin learned these techniques while studying experimental theatre and play theory with Neva Boyd at Hull House's Recreational Training School in 1924-1926.  Boyd moved the school to Northwestern University in 1927 when she was appointed to the faculty, but she remained a highly influential figure in Spolin's career.  Her work references Boyd often.

After taking off a few years to raise her two sons, Paul and Bill Sills, she returned to work with the WPA Recreation Project as a drama supervisor from 1939 to 1941.  While working for the WPA, Spolin taught drama in mostly poor, inner-city neighborhoods.  Because of this, Spolin perceived a need for an easily grasped system of theater training that could cross the cultural and ethnic barriers within the WPA Project.  This served as the catalyst for the creation of what would eventually be referred to by Spolin as "theater games."

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