ABSTRACT
At age 60, after over 45 years of brilliantly performing and being regarded as one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century, Sir Laurence Olivier reported in a 1983 60 Minutes television interview that he was suddenly overwhelmed with an unbearable case of stage fright that occurred on and off for many years. There have been other formulations about the nature of the anxiety that inhibits individuals from enjoying happiness following their accomplishment and success. The Austrian-born American psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler stressed that it was repressed, childish voyeuristic dread that was the basis for the emergence of stage fright in the 12 actors he treated. It is crucial to understand that each of Spolin's theater games presents a problem that needs to be solved within the context of the rules of the game. The great English author of Animal Farm, George Orwell, aptly described why professional writers engage in their challenging craft.
