Scott SteinReading Viola Spolin (1930s?) on improv and there’s a paragraph that nearly perfectly encapsulates our social media age.
the roamerThank you for this reference, a real find (for me). Your parallel reading of the quoted passage as a criticism of our mental frame in social media is spot on.
I also see many other ways in which this book can stir up my thinking on how we act in our relation to others, eg in teaching. Can't believe I hadn't had this book on my list before! I will grab a copy and work with it.
@the_roamer it’s now on my list and in the mix…improv has been on my mind a lot lately. We are in an age of immediate thinking, and this gets to the root of my hopes and concerns!
I am a university teacher. Students expect the lecturer to switch on his slides and talk them through it. Safe and lifeless for the teacher, safe and meaningless for the student. In my lectures I have no slides, instead carefully prepared cases that form the basis for two hours of focused free interaction. Have long been looking for authors that reflect on such situations, eg in music performance. Hadn't thought about theatre improv, excited to have discovered Spolin.
@the_roamer that’s wonderful. I’m just starting the book. That page hit me hard.