Theater Games for the Lone Actor [Paperback]

Viola Spolin (Author), Paul Sills (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2001

A companion to Spolin's Improvisation for the Theater

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's like basic research . . . she [has] changed the theater for generations."
--Alan Alda

"Her book is the bible."
--Rob Reiner

From the Back Cover

Viola Spolin's Theater Games for the Lone Actor offers theater games and side coaching for the solo player. Available for the first time, this handbook presents more than forty exercises that allow actors to side coach themselves at home, in rehearsal, or in performance. Building on her seminal Improvisation for the Theater, Spolin challenges the actor to develop an ability to enter present time, "a moment of full consciousness, awareness, continuous time, a timeless moment . . . with all of your 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 theater. Her work has inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theater, television, and film. Her techniques have also influenced the fields of education, mental health, social work, and psychology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 189 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press; 1 edition (September 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810140101
• ISBN-13: 978-0810140103
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Is Better Than Good Enough, May 5, 2002

By 

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Theater Games for the Lone Actor (Paperback)

"Theater Games for the Lone Actor" is not a beginner's book. It is structured to take advantage of the lingering effects actors enjoy after participating in the games played in Spolin's "Improvisation for the Theater." For instance, the mindset needed for side-coaching the self, essential to succeeding at the activities in this book, does not come without exposure from an outside source.

However, for those who have learned the thought processes that come of Spolin-style improvisation, "Theater Games for the Lone Actor" has multiple applications. When working in a solo position, such as a one-man show, a screen test, or an audition, using these activities in preparation can make the difference between doing well and doing exquisitely. These activities also are useful for memorization and other scene work within a directed play, and for compensating for a lackluster director or weak co-star.

Many of these activities are adapted from "Improvisation for the Theater." Some activities that were originally presented for group work, such as Space Walk and Feeling Self With Self, recur between the covers of this slim pamphlet. The difference lies in doing them individually, refreshing the benefit of prior group work, and also in coaching yourself, becoming aware in a more objective manner of what you're doing as an actor and how you're doing it.

Repetition of the concept of "present time" reinforces the almost Buddhist nature of theatrical improvisation, requiring participants to be entirely in the moment. This is good advice for all forms of actors, since, if you're in another time and place, you're not giving the character you play the commitment it deserves. Through long-term exposure to the activities in this book, and effort consummate to commitment, an actor can develop the ability to be in the moment on command, or even on a permanent basis.

This book is tiny, small enough to slip unobtrusively in a shirt pocket and have on hand to do solo warm-ups or skills exercises. This helps allow the actor to develop while waiting for an audition, while riding on a bus, while lying in bed at night, or in any situation where time and solitude permit even a moment's concentration.

Highly recommended for all working and aspiring actors, "Theater Games for the Lone Actor" is the kind of book that can make all the difference between doing a good job and doing a merely good enough job.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every actor's companion, November 14, 2001

By 

Gary Schwartz "Theater owner guy" (North Bend, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Theater Games for the Lone Actor (Paperback)

I am a former student of Viola Spolin. I was around when Viola was working on this book. She knew her work was needed in group situations, but she also knew the needs of actors who have to work "in one". Either in front of a camera or an audtion situation. She knew the problems of fear, urgency and over thinking were the actor's nemesis.
These games and suggestions help an actor become 'present' to his/her own work and therefore fully involved in the reading, audtion or solo performance.

Not only that, it is a great method to enrich your everyday life. The same games and suggestions are great ways to bring yourself more fully to your relations with others.
The Sills, Paul and Carol have done a great job of editing this book. It's really easy to read.
I especially like the poems included in the book. "Crystal Ball" is my favorite of Spolin's poems celebrating the mystery of present time.
Her whole theory of play and present time is a great way to live life.