Viola Spolin

Viola Mills was in Chicago, Illinois in 1906 to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. Her family enjoyed amateur theatricals and music. Viola remembered being left alone with other children without adult supervision where they would be allowed to play for hours. She married her high school sweetheart, Wilmer Silverberg. They had 2 children: Paul (born in 1927) and William (born in 1929). Wilmer later changed his surname to Sills. Viola and Wilmer divorced in the early 1930s.

In 1940 she married Ed Spolin, a builder and theater carpenter. During WWII, Ed was stationed on a Red Cross ship in the Aleutian Islands. Viola and her two teenage sons moved to San Francisco. After the war, she and Ed moved to Los Angeles. She separated from Ed Spolin in the late 1950’s.

Spolin died in 1994 in Los Angeles, California.

Key Dates & Events

• 1923 - Spolin begins her study at Hull House with Neva Boyd, at her Recreational Training School
• 1937 - Spolin works for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and becomes the Drama Supervisor in 1939
• 1946 - The Young Actors Company is founded in Hollywood
• 1955 - Second City in Chicago is established. Spolin's son Paul Sills is one of the founding members.
• 1963 - Spolin publishes Improvisation for the Theatre