Theater Game and Improvisation for Writers Workshops Coming in January 2016!

Two Workshops Starting in January in Los Angeles

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"Through spontaneity we are reformed into ourselves."
-Viola Spolin

Viola Spolin at The Game Theater, Chicago, 1965.

Explore the transformational theater games of Viola Spolin to enhance your training as an actor, improviser, educator, director, writer, or to experience more play in your daily life.

Sidecoach Aretha Sills is offering two workshops starting in January in Los Angeles: Spolin Theater Games, and for the first time, Improvisation for Writers, which will introduce the fundamentals of theatrical improvisation to writers in a safe and non-competitive environment to help jumpstart new written work. See below for more information about the workshops.

Please see the News section below to learn about upcoming spring workshops, and the theater games for kids program coming later in 2016!

THEATER GAME WORKSHOP ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS

Based on Spolin's seminal text Improvisation for the Theater, from a lesson plan created by director Paul Sills (creator of The Second City and Story Theater), the Theater Game Workshop is designed to bring a spirit of spontaneity and play to your work and life. Beginners and experienced players are welcome.

The 10-week workshop meets Saturday afternoons, January 9, 2016 - March 12, 2:30 to 5 pm.

Location: 5828 Wilshire Blvd., at Stanley

Tuition: $365. for new players, $340. for returning players. Some sliding scale spots are available. A non-refundable deposit of $100. is requested to hold your place, with the balance due at the first class.

Registration: To register, please first call or email to discuss the workshop.
email: aretha.sills@gmail.com
phone: (323) 559-1355

IMPROVISATION FOR WRITERS ON TUESDAY NIGHTS

Theater games have many far-reaching creative benefits, but improvisation classes can be intimidating for non-actors. This workshop is designed to jumpstart new written work in a supportive and non-competitive environment. Theater games clear creative blocks by igniting an intuitive response. Writers will learn the fundamentals of improvisation and put them to work in their writing through in-class games and writing exercises.

Based on the work of Viola Spolin, author of Improvisation for the Theater and mother of the modern American improvisational theater movement, the workshop will explore ways writers can access their intuition through play to bring a fresh spontaneity to all types of written work.

This workshop is open to beginners as well as experienced writers and players.

The 8-week workshop meets Tuesday nights, January 12, 2016 - March 1, 7:30 - 10 pm.

Location: 5828 Wilshire Blvd., at Stanley

Tuition: $275. Some sliding scale spots available. A non-refundable deposit of $100. is requested to hold your place, with the balance due at the first class.

Registration: To register, please first call or email to discuss the workshop.
email: aretha.sills@gmail.com
phone: (323) 559-1355

Aretha Sills is the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. She studied theater games for many years with her father, director Paul Sills, and has conducted workshops at Paul Sills' Wisconsin Theater Game Center, Bard College Cabaret, Northwestern University, and around the country. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside, where she has also taught fiction workshops as a lecturer. Her writing has been published in Los Angeles Review of Books, Utne Reader, and CALYX. She was nominated for a 2015 INNY Award for Best Improvisation Instructor and was recently the keynote speaker at the 2015 California Educational Theatre Association conference.

Quotes about the workshop:

"Aretha is dedicated to preserving the pureness of this technique, which from my point of view assists the actor to find the courage to find themself and then to fly. I believe she has, innately and amazingly, all the elements of the technique of both Viola Spolin and Viola's son, the extraordinary director, Paul Sills. I have studied with Aretha, and believe me, the thrill lives on." -Paul Sand, Tony-award winner for Paul Sills' Story Theater; original Second City cast member

"Aretha Sills, carrying on the work of Spolin and Sills, is an amazing, insightful side-coach and teacher. We were fortunate enough to take a workshop in L.A. with her and it helped us reconnect with theater game work on a deeper level. She knows her stuff. Can't wait to work with her again!" -Deb Lacusta & Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons, writers/ actor

"Aretha makes it safe to go where you need to go. Her ability to side coach you into your best work is truly one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had. Go. Learn. Be inspired. This is the real deal." -Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein, pres., Noble House Entertainment, and founder, The Open Space

"If you are an aspiring actor who is really really really funny and you like to stand in one place running your big mouth and interrupting your friend who is only really funny, then you should take this workshop to cure you of that." -Brian Hamill, Mob Rule Inc. Senior Improvisation Workshop

NEWS:

Coming Soon -- Theater Games for Kids! I'm introducing a youth theater program in 2016! I'll eventually be offering a series of classes for ages 6 and up. If you know any families who'd be interested, please have them contact me at aretha.sills@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

Upcoming Theater Game Workshops: This spring I'll be introducing another new class: an intermediate workshop for returning players who wish to delve deeper into Improvisation for the Theater. Details to be announced soon.

Keynote Speech: I was very excited to give the keynote address at the annual CETA conference earlier this month. The talk was about how American improvisational theater came out of the progressive education movement brewing at Hull House in Chicago in the early part of the 20th century, specifically through the work of Viola's teacher Neva Boyd, Viola, and Paul Sills. It was inspiring to be able to speak with so many dedicated drama teachers about their important work. If you're interested in having me talk to your group about the history of improvisational theater and the crucial role of play in education, please contact me at aretha.sills@gmail.com.

New Email Address: I'm (slowly) changing my longtime email address to aretha.sills@gmail.com. Please update your address books and spam filters!

For more info on Viola Spolin and Paul Sills, please visit Sills/Spolin Theater Works.

Thanks and hope to see you soon!

www.ArethaSills.com

Workshop photos by Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein and Carol Sills

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