Author(s): Viola Spolin

Performing Arts Drama Plays

This handbook presents theatre games and side coaching for the solo player. It contains over 40 exercises which allow actors to side coach themselves, at home, in rehearsal, or in performance. The author asks the actor to develop the ability to enter present time, "a moment of full consciousness and awareness with all the responses awake and alert, ready to guide you...allowing you, the real you, your natural self to emerge". Spolin's improvisational techniques changed the nature and practice of modern theatre. Her work has inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theatre, television, and film. Her techniques have also influenced the fields of education, mental health, social work, and psychology.