The 'I' and 'Thou' in Theater Games.

A close reading of "Improvisations for the Theater" and "I and Thou" will show that there is a common ground linking the games theory of Viola Spolin and the philosophy and religious teachings of Martin Buber. Relation, to Buber, is the direct and immediate response where two people share mutually with one another. It is this kind of interaction that is sought in the use of theater games where players are urged to act in relation to what the others are creating. The resulting improvisations become, in time, a spontaneous kind of ensemble acting wherein each is part of the whole, a unity. The philosophy of Buber and the games theory of Spolin combine to aid not only the teaching of acting but the teaching of all subjects through the technique of self-discovery. (RB)