Paul Sills

Inheritor of Theater Games. Storyteller. Peacekeeper.

Son of Viola Spolin. Audience to her crafting her life's work. From her, he learned how and why to feel passion for theater.

Carried this passion into his academic and professional life.

Co-founded the Compass Players, and later The Second City in Chicago.

With Viola, he translated the wisdom of theatrical child's play into a curriculum for professional actors.

Initially, improv was only used to train actors and generate content. The improvised content was refined into a quasi-scripted "revue", which the theater would run until tickets stopped selling (usually a few months).

Eventually left The Second City, continuing his self-directed exploration into improvisation and Story Theater.