Inventing Improv: A Chicago Stories Special Documentary

Chicago’s greatest cultural export just might be improvised theater, which was born at Jane Addams’ Hull House during the Great Depression and carried out into the world by the likes of Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert. But while to most people improv might seem synonymous with comedy, the art form was devised by a woman named Viola Spolin who wasn’t out for laughs.

Find out more about Viola Spolin and today's Chicago improvisers at https://www.wttw.com/improv

00:00 ➤ Preview
01:51 ➤ Intro
04:48 ➤ Viola Spolin's Early Life
07:28 ➤ Jane Addams' Hull House
10:40 ➤ The "Educational Playroom"
12:49 ➤ Viola's Theater Games
18:40 ➤ Young Actors Company
20:15 ➤ Paul Sills' Theater Workshops
23:41 ➤ Playwrights Theatre Club
26:23 ➤ The Compass Theatre
33:49 ➤ Birth of The Second City
46:26 ➤ Viola Publishes Her Theater Games

#ImprovWTTW