We explore Viola Spolin’s improvisational theater technique following her book: Improvisation for the Theater. The workshops are open to actors and non-actors. Spolin’s method is helpful to those who want to continue and/or improve their training as an improviser, educator, director or teacher. One of the results of working with this method is enhanced communication skills. After each workshop the participants feel more creative, playful and open for communication. Players often experience the long lasting effects of Spolin’s theater games that are built on spontaneity, intuitive awareness and the sense of game playing. Click here to read more about Viola Spolin.
Spolin-ist is led by actor, writer and director Ege Maltepe. Maltepe is the Turkish translator of Spolin’s seminal book; Improvisation for the Theater. Maltepe founded Spolin-ist in 2009 in Istanbul after her graduation from The New Actors Workshop – an acting conservatory in New York founded by Mike Nichols, Oscar award winner director who started his career as an improviser, the acting guru George Morrison and Paul Sills Viola Spolin’s son and founder of Compass Players and Second City in Chicago.
Maltepe worked in The New Actors Workshop as an assistant teacher for Movement Improvisation classes, and was the Stage Manager for the director Carol B. Sills, the editor of Spolin books, for the Story Theater Production of The Tao of Chuang Chou in 2010. After residing in New York for more than 10 years, in 2018 she moved back to Istanbul and started a two-year Spolin Theater Games School. Please check her website for more information about her work: www.egemaltepe.com
“Ege is a superb instructor and a whole lot of fun to be around! Spolin technique can be hard to grasp, at times, yet Ege does a great job of explaining and demonstrating just how to play. As a working actor, she is also very helpful when it comes to auditioning and showing a different side to acting technique.” Dylan G. (Actor)
“I did a lecture at work for two hours yesterday. I felt a lot of my spolinist training kick in trying to keep the crowd engaged, making eye contact, making sure my voice was heard in the back of the room, it just felt natural. 🙂 Made me very happy to enjoy public speaking like that.” – Matt D. (Software Engineer)
“Ege, is a wonderful teacher! She is smart, innovative, kind, and fun! I have had the pleasure of being directed by her with one of her original plays (Women of New York) that she wrote and directed. And I have been & will continue to be in her ongoing Spolin improvisation acting classes. As a teacher and coach she knows how to elicit from her students their best!” Lynn B. (Therapist)
“Spolin games are awesome, and the community at Spolin-Ist is the most helpful and inclusive bunch of people.” Josh T. (Software Engineer)