Inventing Improv: Chicago Stories Episode about Viola Spolin's life and legacy premieres on WTTW Oct 22

OCT 21: Preview and Q&A for Inventing Improv. Writer/Producer Jude Leak will talk with Alan Alda, Bob Balaban, Frances Callier, Mark Larson, Angela Shelton, and Aretha Sills. Register at link below. Show premieres October 22.

Join WTTW on October 21s at 6pm CDT for a preview of Inventing Improv, the newest documentary and website in its CHICAGO STORIES series, which will explore the life and legacy of Viola Spolin, the social-worker-turned-theater originator who gave improvised theater to the world. Jude Leak, producer and writer of the film, will moderate a conversation featuring Aretha Sills, granddaughter of Viola Spolin and daughter of Second City co-founder Paul Sills; Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Alan Alda; Academy Award nominee Bob Balaban; actress, producer, writer, and comedian Frances Callier; comedian and actress Angela V. Shelton; and historian Mark Larson.

You’ll discover the largely unknown story of this unsung Chicago trailblazer, whose famous theater games were not initially developed for comedic purposes, through interviews with celebrity admirers including Alan Alda, Bob Balaban, George Wendt, and Tim Kazurinsky, and through rare archival performances by Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell. The panel will offer a sneak peek at the documentary and discuss Spolin’s life and legacy, improv’s evolution, and its eventual ascendance to the national stage through movies and television.

Inventing Improv premieres on all WTTW platforms on Friday, October 22 at 8:00 pm.

This event is free, but RSVP at this link is required.