School Programs
Immunity from peer pressure...
C’mon you know you want it.
Did you know?
Improv was created in the classroom.
While serving as a Drama Supervisor for the Chicago branch of the Works Progress Administration during WWII, Viola Spolin identified a need to instill confidence and encourage communication among the immigrant children with whom she worked.
Her “theater games” created simple structures to teach complicated techniques. The games are, as one observer wrote, “designed to fool spontaneity into being.” Spolin believed that every person can learn to creatively express themselves. This Revival honors Spolin’s tradition by using variations of her “theater games” as tools to address specific outcomes within a variety of student populations.
The Revival is a Chicago Public Schools Highly Qualified Arts Partner.*
*In 2020, Chicago Public Schools issued a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) to identify organizations that provide high-quality partnerships to schools and students. The Revival is one of just 40 organizations to receive the designation of “Highly Qualified Arts Partner.”
William H. Ray Elementary School + The Revival
Chicago Public Schools Arts Partner
What The Revival Offers to School Groups
The Revival’s Improv Residencies are designed to foster the “developmental experiences and relationships” which build the components of successful individuals with particular focus on three central elements: agency, integrated identity and competencies.
The Revival’s Improv Workshops leverage the underlying tenets of improv theater technique – listening, supporting, and the philosophy of “Yes and…” – to develop innovative experiences with measurable outcomes for students.
The Revival’s Performances enable students to experience an age-appropriate improv theater performance that will thrill and delight them with this “uniquely Chicago” art form.
The Revival’s Field Trips immerse students in the vibrant history of improv theater and its Chicago roots. Students experience a traditional improv performance from leading practitioners and enjoy a hands-on demonstration of improv theater games & exercises.
What our School Partners are saying
“As the Director of Partnerships, Family & Community engagement, I am pleased to note that participating students benefited greatly from the experience provided by The Revival. The diverse team of arts educators built quality relationships with the students and provided a curriculum that was challenging, fun and engaging.”
- UChicago Charter Schools
The Revival “provided an improv leader who came to the school weekly to run improv classes with our inaugural 9th grade program. The teacher was timely, did an excellent job of teaching improv skills to our students, helped develop in them a sense of community and risk-taking, all the while teaching communication skills in a unique way. We look forward to partnering again with The Revival!”
- Director, Daystar Academy
“One of our students said it best, “I learned about working together with my classmates more and how working together creates a bigger result.” That bigger result is what makes The Revival a terrific arts partner!”
- Golden Apple Award Winning Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Math Instructor
Partners List
- Adoption Center of Illinois
- Akiba Schechter
- Ancona School
- Big Shoulders Fund
- Chicago Botanic Garden Youth Farm
- Chicago Public Library
- Chicago Public Schools Daystar Academy
- Embarc Chicago
- Gary Comer Youth Center
- GEMS Academy
- Hyde Park Neighborhood Club
- Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
- KidsFirst Chicago
- Lane Tech
- Mosaic Fine Arts Academy
- Shared Studios
- St. Anthony Catholic School
- St. Thomas the Apostle
- Stone Scholastic Academy
- UChicago Charter Schools
- Global Engage
- University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
- Urban Education Institute
- Urban Teacher Education Program