Everyone Can Improvise

23/08/2026

Break through the walls that keep us from the unknown, ourselves and each other.
—Viola Spolin

Weekend intensives are only a drop in the water. Discover the delight of Spolin’s advanced scene games and communication games with a group of experienced players!

The Spolin Alumni Workshop is a follow up to an intro workshop or weekend intensive, and open to returning players who have taken at least one previous Spolin workshop (weekend intensive or longer) with Aretha Sills or Mike Brunlieb.

In this 8-week live online workshop we will delve deeper into Spolin’s groundbreaking scene games and communication exercises to give more tools to educators in the classroom, to help actors and improvisers on stage or in rehearsal, and to aid anyone wishing to bring more focus, play, and presence into their daily lives.

Live online classes will meet: Eight Sundays, Sept 13 - November 08, 2026 (no meeting 10/4) from 12pm - 2:30pm CDT. Evenings in EU & UK.

Find workshops starting soon in linktree in bio or at
www dot ViolaSpolin dot org dot workshops

23/08/2026

Focus is meditation in action -Viola Spolin

23/08/2026

How much more certain would knowledge be if it came from and out of the excitement of learning itself? How many human values will be lost and how much will our art forms be deprived if we seek only success. -Viola Spolin

The ten-week online workshop with Aretha Sills is open to teachers in any field who’d like to explore Viola Spolin’s theater games with a group of fellow educators. We’ll play games like we would in an introductory course, but also make time to discuss questions that arise about presenting the exercises in our various classrooms.

Participants will be immersed in Spolin’s non-authoritarian teaching methods through experiential play and discussion. We will cover: the origins of improvisational theater in Progressive-era experiential educational philosophies including the innovative work of her teacher, sociologist Neva Boyd; Spolin’s non-authoritarian teaching methods; side-coaching technique; as well as workshop practices and procedures.

This is not a practicum, but a slowed-down introductory course with half an hour of each session dedicated to discussion. There will be recommended readings each week. Classes will be recorded for those who have to miss a session, but recordings will not be shared outside of our co-hort and won’t be saved after the class is over. Past groups have found the recordings extremely valuable. Signing up for this workshop means you give consent to be recorded and agree not to share recordings outside of our co-hort. Players are still expected to attend most sessions as this is an experiential method that depends on group trust and cohesion.

Live online classes will meet: Ten Wednesdays, Sept 9 - Nov 11, 2026, 7pm to 9:30pm Central Time. Mornings in Asia.

Link in bio or www dot violaspolin dot org

23/08/2026

In the 8-week Chicago workshop with side coach Mike Brunlieb, players will explore the groundbreaking exercises and theatrical concepts found in Viola’s Spolin’s seminal text Improvisation for the Theater. Spolin’s theater games launched the American improvisational theater movement and changed the way acting is taught. Her work has influenced generations of improvisers, actors, and directors. Theater games release the intuition through focus, spontaneity, and play, opening up new avenues of expression to help players be present on stage and in daily life.

The class culminates with a workshop demonstration for an invited audience of friends and family, helping players gain onstage experience as well.

Actors, improvisers, and all who wish to play, are invited to experience Viola Spolin’s transformative techniques and learn to incorporate them into their creative practices through play.

Side coach Mike Brunlieb is a performing and teaching artist in Chicago. He improvises with the ensembles ‘Sand’, ‘Real Angels’, and ‘3 Actors Living in a Cave’. Mike has received multiple awards during his fifteen years of performing and teaching improvisation, including being recognized three years in a row as one of Chicago’s top improvisers by the iO theater. He studied at the Paul Sills Theater Game Center (and beyond) with Aretha Sills and Carol Sills, and at iO Chicago with TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi. He has performed and taught improvisation internationally in Europe, Asia, and Canada. Mike has also performed in a handful of TV and film projects, including “Southside” (HBO), “Joe Pera Talks with You” (Adult Swim), and “Trial of the Chicago Seven” (Netflix).

We’ll meet: Sundays, 11:00 am to 1:30pm, Sept 13 through November 22, 2026, but there will be no meetings on 10/18, 11/1, and 11/8.

Returning players from Mike’s or Aretha’s workshops, see registration page for a $25 discount code!

Link in bio or visit www violaspolin dot org slash workshops

22/08/2026

Tomorrow, 8/22/2026, at 10 am, come to my ImprovCon Panel: Let’s Play: Viola Spolin and Improv in Education, with Aretha Amelia Sills (remote) and Dr. Katie Turner! More info: https://www.improvcon.com/event/letsplayviola

18/08/2026

New newsletter!

Dear Friends,
Join a wonderful co-hort for the fall session of Theater Games for Educators, starting Sept 9th! The ten-week, online-only workshop is open to teachers or group leaders in any field.

Participants will be immersed in Spolin’s non-authoritarian teaching methods through experiential play and discussion. We will cover: the origins of improvisational theater in Progressive-era experiential educational philosophies including the innovative work of her teacher, sociologist Neva Boyd; Spolin’s non-authoritarian teaching methods; side-coaching technique; as well as workshop practices and procedures. We’ll play games but also have a dedicated discussion time each class. Payment plans are available. You can read more here.

We need your help! I’m hoping to raise $400 in scholarship funds for a teacher in India who would like to join the class to help at-risk young people:

“I’ve been hosting free weekly gatherings where I use play and experiential practices to help young adults practice discernment, presence, and decision-making.

This is why Viola Spolin’s work feels particularly important to me. I believe theater games can offer a powerful way to move people from thinking about choice to actually experiencing what it means to be present, responsive, collaborative, and intentional in the moment.

Being part of this ten-week workshop would allow me to deepen my facilitation practice and bring much richer tools back to the young people I’m working with.”

Visit the link to make a tax-deductible donation. Thanks so much!

See below for links to more workshops starting soon, including an Online Alumni Workshop with me and an 8-week Intro to Spolin in Chicago with Mike Brunleib! My October Hull-House intensive is sold out, but you can sign up for the wait list at the link below.

Take care and see you soon,

Aretha

Join a wonderful co-hort for the fall session of Theater Games for Educators, starting Sept 9th! The ten-week, online-only workshop is open to teachers or group leaders in any field.

12/08/2026

Congrats to workshop alum Jennifer Jonassen! She's premiering a new play in LA about "what happens when a devoted Tennessee Williams fan discovers that her daily visits to the playwright’s statue can lead to something much more unexpected."

“Exquisite Pressure” runs Saturday, September 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 6 at 2 p.m. at the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. Admission is free, and no reservations are necessary.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-diego/article/Interview-Jennifer-Jonassen-of-EXQUISITE-PRESSURE-at-Odyssey-Theatre-20260808?fbclid=IwY2xjawTnN-pwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMUNuaU4zYUx6cE9RMmlCYmxzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeyQm6Bk0SrGKJ1BQn4W6sUkPnFdy9xQKBqvb4bWA7nEJWoWdF-X1RzAP-vyc_aem_369aFQgZi6heLbMGk-_deQ

Interview with playwright Jennifer Jonassen on her new play 'Exquisite Pressure,' about an ardent Tennessee Williams fan who discovers that her daily visits to the playwright’s statue can lead to the unexpected.

12/08/2026

"As the mother of American improv and a strong believer and pioneer in theatre education, Viola Spolin said in her book Improvisation For The Theatre, "The techniques of the theatre are the techniques of communicating." Spolin developed the philosophy of theatre games to awaken/connect with human intuition and provide an opportunity to break free from social norms in a controlled environment. This approach has proven to be a valuable tool in child development and education. Spolin emphasized that, "We learn through experience and experiencing, and no one teaches anyone anything." This highlights the idea that theatre has a somatic effect, enabling us to connect and learn with others and ourselves. "

The Enduring Relevance of Live Theatre — Young Hollywood