Paul Sills' Story Theater: Four Shows

by Paul Sills

Book Overview

The creator of Story Theater, the original director of Second City, and one of the greatest popularizers of improvisational theater, Paul Sills has assembled some of his favorite adaptations from world literature. Includes: The Blue Light and Other Stories, A Christmas Carol (Dickens), Stories of God, Rumi.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557833982
• ISBN13: 9781557833983
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc/Bloomsbury
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Paul Sills' Story Theater: Four Shows

Paul Sills' Story Theater: Four Shows is an invaluable new collection of plays adapted from classics of world literature (Rumi, Dickens, Rilke and traditional stories from the Brothers Grimm and others). Sills is the legendary creator of Story Theater, as well as the founding director of the Compass, Second City and the Game Theater. Story theater is a way of performing literature on stage without the use of a narrator. Story Theater's lively use of the transformational space work found in Sills' mother Viola Spolin's landmark book Improvisation for the Theater, is ideal for bringing great books to life on stage while remaining true to the words of the author. This book also includes a list of Theater Games for Story Theater by Viola Spolin. Highly recommended for professional or amateur theater companies as well as school and university drama departments. All four of these plays have a lot of roles for both men and women, which is another reason it is an especially useful text for the drama teacher. At the beginning of each play Sills writes a short history of the production, making this book a fascinating document of how this form of theater came into being.

Recommended resource for school and community theatre.

Paul Sills' Story Theater: Four Shows is a compilation of four plays adapted for the stage by Paul Sills. The stories include "The Blue Light and Other Stories"; Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"; Rainer Maria Rilke's "Stories of God"; and Rumi in a verse translation by Coleman Barks. Paul Sills' Story Theater is enhanced with theater fames for story theater by Viola Spolin. Paul Sills' Story Theater is a highly recommended addition to any school or community theater reference collection.