Gary Schwartz is a former student of Viola Spolin, and one of the best informed, and most faithful teachers of her spirit and her techniques. In his article, No Fail, No Fear, Gary reveals some central truths that reflect on, in particular, teaching the game of tag, and in general, teaching games, theater, and the art of living.

I quote:

Success/Failure is a paradigm that Spolin avoids. This one idea distracts us from joy of the process, and lays in fear. It also sets us up for becoming competitive and seeking a successful result. This can affect the teacher/director who, with the best of intentions, will try to steer students towards their idea of success, praising students for successful scenes and criticizing (or critiquing) the failures. In doing so the teacher unwittingly sets up the students to be mindful of success and failure.

Spolin Games is not about Success or Failure. It’s about fun. Playing creates shared energy and a psychological and social condition that activate our intuition, and makes us part of the whole in a dynamic way that needs no explanation other than the rules.

When you play the game of Tag, you try not to be it, but if you are tagged, you become ‘It’ – you respond happily to being tagged by quickly tagging someone else and making them ‘it’. Everyone enjoys the game in this way. In presenting the game of Tag you simply start out by saying “Not it!” and the last person to say “not it” is “it” and bam! – the game starts. Everyone runs around and enjoys the chase and the challenge. We don’t judge it: “It” or “Not it” – it’s all part of the game. Someone has to be “it” and is happy to be “it” and equally happy to make someone else “it”. The whole game is fun and we play until we tire of it. Not when there’s a loser and a winner. We play Tag for the fun of it.

But if you introduce the game by saying, “Now we are going to play Tag. Some of you will be caught and have to be “it”. Don’t be so concerned with your failure at remaining free, but seek to make someone else ‘it’. You were not good enough to avoid it. Go with it. Accept it. Try hard to tag someone else.”

Now when you are tagged, you think “Oh, shit! I’m it! Dammit! I don’t want to be it! How stupid of me to be caught. I’m not very good at this am I? I failed. Oh, well, I should get used to it. It’s all part of the game.”

The physical action is the same in both cases, but the focus is different. Somehow it’s not as much fun. Of course Tag is fun. It’s just fun – Period. You cannot succeed or fail at Tag unless you don’t play. It sounds silly, but it is an important point.