The Theories of Viola Spolin

I have spent the last several months looking back over the thoughts and processes of Viola Spolin. She believed that "talented behavior" could be developed and practiced. It's not something you have or don't have. Ultimately, people learn through experience and experiencing, and so called, "talented actors" may just be those with a greater capacity for experiencing. If we involve ourselves with our environment physically, through sensation, intellectually and intuitively we will find ourselves "transcending the limitations of the familiar, courageously entering into the area of the unknown and releasing momentary genius within." The intuitive can only operate out of immediacy...it lives now. It is best recognized as "spontaneity," a moment of freedom; a place where we can relate, act, and "involve ourselves in the moving, changing world around us." We are free from the handed down frames of reference of other people's findings. Suddenly, we are faced with a reality, are able to see it, explore it and act accordingly: Spontaneity is revealed. It is the Time of discovery, exploration and creative expression. The practice of talented behavior is about immersing oneself into a framework of training that allows for intuitive knowledge to pour forth.