Improvisation

Improvised Shakespeare Company

Chicago’s Improvised Shakespeare Company celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025, and founder/director Blaine Swendiscusses the company’s humble origins and how it now performs regularly in Chicago and Los Angeles and tours all across America. Blaine shares performing secrets; the nature of the high-wire act of improvising in iambic pentameter; how this stuff can be learned; how several of every performance’s signature moments began as an attempt to solve a technical problem; and how the audience is the key ingredient to the alchemical magic that makes each performance work. (Length 19:39)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:39 — 22.6MB)

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By austin, ago

Misery Loves Company

Joe Liss (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Strangers With Candy; Home Alone 2) and Dee Ryan (The Office, 10 Items Or Less, United States of Tara) are bringing their improvised horror parody Misery Loves Company to the Rochester Fringe Festival this September 12 & 14, and they discuss the wine-soaked origins of this “cockadoodie” good time. These two improv gurus share why this is the first time they’ve worked together; how you improvise a fight scene; the importance of age-appropriate casting; the value of not planning what you’re going to do; how and where they’ll be teaching workshops in Rochester; and the glory of performing with a home-field advantage. (Length 21:49)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:49 — 25.1MB)

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By austin, ago

Improv Is Magic

Actor, improviser, and founding member of Upright Citizens Brigade Matt Walsh (Veep, Manhunt) is touring this summer with Bluebird Improv and returns to the RSC Podcast to discuss how improv differs from acting (and sometimes doesn’t). Matt reveals how improv is less about creation and more about discovery; the importance of and method for learning the value of patience; how he combined both acting and improv on Veep; why scripted punchlines are sometimes not as funny as improvised punchlines; the challenge of playing a racist monster in Manhunt; and (to unintentionally paraphrase Austin Powers) the importance of remembering that when onstage, just behave. (Length 27:46)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:46 — 31.9MB)

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By austin, ago

Connecting With Shakespeare

Do you not “get” Shakespeare? Well, you’re not alone! Improviser and “ensemble whisperer” Liz Allen returns to the podcast to explore the reasons she’s never really connected with Shakespeare’s plays. Allen famously coached the fictional improv team in Mike Birbiglia’s film Don’t Think Twice but fears missing out on both cultural and satirical opportunities, and discusses with host Austin Tichenor the ways in which she (and many others) have missed the Shakespeare boat; how to describe the appeal of Shakespeare in five words; the value of “Tools, Not Rules;” drawing inspiration from Darren Freebury-Jones’s Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers; how being haughty at dinner parties is the real goal; and the very real relationship between Shakespeare and improvisation. (Length 31:14)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:14 — 35.8MB)

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By austin, ago

‘America’ In Chicago

The best of America comes to Chicago this month as Dee Ryan (The Office, Second City, the RSC’s Complete Millennium Musical (abridged)) directs a special one-hour, five-actor production of The Complete History of America (abridged) on Saturday nights at the IO Theater (plus Sunday, August 18 and Tuesday, August 20). Dee and cast member Sheri Flanders talk about the special energy fueling this production; how it’s timed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention; the exciting Edinburgh Fringe-like vibe of IO; how they’re keeping the bronzers locked up; the power of ensemble-driven theatre; and how Second City veteran Dee wants to bring an improvisational energy to scripted comedy.(Length 17:44)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:44 — 20.4MB)

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By austin, ago

Liz Allen’s ‘Mother’

Improviser, improv coach, and “ensemble whisperer” Liz Allen discusses her one-person show Tonight, I Am My Mother, her darkly comic exploration of her mother’s alcoholism, in which Liz plays multiple roles (seamlessly). Liz talks about moments of discovery in her childhood; reveals her script’s inspiration; shares stories of working with comedian Mike Birbiglia on his film, Don’t Think Twice; marvels over her show’s Shakespearean levels; confesses the importance of taking creative license; and celebrates the rewards of bringing a complicated family member back to life. (Length 24:39)

Podcast: Download (28.3MB)

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By austin, ago

School Of Night

Oliver Senton, one of the co-founders of The School of Night, discusses the origins of the great British Shakespearean improv company (loosely inspired by the mysterious Elizabethan cabal of the same name) and its connection to the late, great actor, writer, and director Ken Campbell (pictured below with Senton). As also one of the co-founders of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Senton discusses the comparative difficulties of improvising songs vs. improvising in iambic pentameter and reveals Campbell’s shared connection with the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Senton also explores the secrets of how improvising Shakespeare informs one’s understanding of his plays; the surprising wonder of being big in Newfoundland; how being famous gets in the way of one’s writing; the distinction between Shakespearean characters and Marlovian grandstanding; and the ultimate challenge of improvising a complete, compelling narrative. (Length 20:57) (Pictured above, l-r: Michael Joseph Chance, Dylan Emery, Sean McCann, Alan Cox and Oliver Senton)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 20:57 — 24.1MB)

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By austin, ago

Adapting Kurt Vonnegut

Award-winning playwright and Lifeline Theatre ensemble member John Hildreth wrote an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical sci-fi novel Cat’s Cradle, now enjoying a spectacular revival at Lifeline through October 22, 2023. John discusses the origins of his adaptation and reveals the sources of his inspiration (including and especially the great comic actor Paul Lynde); how director Heather Currie not only “gets it” but is able to communicate it; the value of ignoring the passage of time; the shared experience of navigating multiple theatre worlds; and how his adaptation of Vonnegut’s novel about the fictional inventor of the atomic bomb achieves a perfectly-timed Barbenheimer level of synergy. (Length 19:19)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:19 — 22.2MB)

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By austin, ago

Eurydice’s Sarah Price

Sarah Price stars in the Writers Theatre production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (directed by Braden Abraham) and discusses the challenges of playing a character out of myth. As an actor with a background in improvisation and comedy, Sarah talks about finding a balance between modern and classical; how she finds the magic within the realistic (and vice versa); the fun of making physical choices; why being a big comedy nerd helped lead her to Chicago; the value, importance, and absolute necessity of listening; and the complete inability of acting programs to teach ‘adorable’. (Length 18:05)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:05 — 20.8MB)

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By austin, ago

Improvising ‘Star Trek’

Chicago’s Otherworld Theater Company is America’s only non-profit theatre dedicated exclusively to exploring the genres of science-fiction and fantasy (and occasionally horror). Otherworld’s Dylan Schaefer talks about Starship Edsel, the fortnightly improvised Star Trek parody (created by Brandon Brylawski) that combines improv, satire, LARPing, and classic nerdery. Dylan reveals how Star Trek led to his life in the theatre; how Otherworld creates an ecosystem for multiple universes; how Star Trek is in its second golden (or possibly silver) age; how theatre as an art form doesn’t lean into sci-fi/fantasy as much as it should; a special guest appearance by a genuine starship captain; where you can watch Starship Edsel online; and how the Edsel preceded the USS Cerritos as the worst ship in the fleet. (Length 19:12)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:12 — 22.1MB)

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By austin, ago

Phony Winning Musical

Laura Hall (from TV’s “Whose Line Is It, Anyway?”) discusses Phony Award Winning, the improvised musical comedy inspired by classic musicals that she co-created and which performs Sunday nights at the IO Theater in Chicago. Laura, who got her start at Chicago’s Second City and Annoyance theaters, reveals how her early training and connections led to this exciting new improvisational form. Laura shares which other musicals they’re considering for future performances (and why none of them will be Hamilton); how the cast is flexible enough to swap roles every performance; the extent to which doing televised improv differs from doing it onstage; how to make audiences completely relaxed right at the top of the show; the exciting motivation to see the show more than once; and how improvising in the language, style, and tropes of different musicals offers fun and specific new challenges. (Length 21:15)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:15 — 24.4MB)

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By austin, ago

Something More Wonderful

Jeffrey Sweet, the author of Something Wonderful Right Away, returns to the podcast to discuss the brand-new second edition of this granddaddy of all improv books. Jeff shares how his book had an impact over and above what he ever imagined; how the second edition features new interviews with Keegan-Michael Key and the founding mother of improv Viola Spolin; how improvisation shares so much with games; his many inspirations (including TJ and Dave and Lanford Wilson); and the similarities between improvisation and playwriting. (Length 18:35)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:35 — 21.4MB)

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By austin, ago

Chicago Magic Lounge

Part speakeasy bar, part magic theater, the Chicago Magic Lounge presents live magic shows seven nights a week in its two performance spaces, its bar, and at your own table. It’s incredible immersive theater and the brainchild of Joey Cranford, the founder, co-owner, and CML CEO. Joey talks about his Magic Lounge’s inspiration and how its roots are firmly embedded in Chicago history; the relationship of Chicago’s magic community to its improv community; the art of building anticipation and developing a speakeasy aesthetic; the fun of making a clubhouse; and the revelation that (to paraphrase Soylent Green) “Magic is people!” (Length 21:20)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:20 — 24.5MB)

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By austin, ago

Subversive Improv Guide

David Razowsky has written A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation: Moving Beyond “Yes, And”, a fascinating, helpful, and inspiring new book that features incredibly insightful advice and exercises improvisers (actors!) can do on their own or in groups. An alum of both the Reduced Shakespeare Company and Chicago’s famed Second City (where he worked with Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert),  Dave discusses his own journey as an artist; from his roots as a young actor to a teacher with students all over the world; his book’s unique structure; how actors must and can develop their own self-awareness; the importance of bringing one’s authentic self to every scene; the joy of creating more monsters; and the rewards of improvising with Dee Ryan. (Length 23:14)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 23:14 — 26.7MB)

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By austin, ago

Happy 16th Anniversary!

Mya Gosling, aka GoodTickleBrain, joins us to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, new episodes of which have dropped weekly since early December, 2006. Mya interviews producer/host Austin Tichenor, who discusses the podcast’s origins and evolution; the greatest gift the podcast has turned into; how it was partially inspired by physical media; how much of a Shakespearean he was to begin with (and how much of one he’s become); how the RSC’s shows evolved into longer narratives; and the fun of filling existing spaces with your own stories. (Length 26:18) (Stick-figure Mya and Austin courtesy of Mya Gosling/GoodTickleBrain. Used by permission.)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 26:18 — )

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By austin, ago

Adam Felber: Memoirist

Improviser, novelist, TV writer, podcast host, panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and now memoirist Adam Felber is the co-author, with Charles Band, of Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking, and he discusses the extraordinary life he’s helped document; how he makes sure his writing is entertaining; his foray into the multi-podcast-verse; how his career has progressed in ways he didn’t anticipate; the futility of thinking one can “win” showbiz; the rewards of jamming with local dads; his ongoing adventures in writing for television; and, ultimately, how a bullshitter knows a bullshitter. FEATURING: a special appearance from Mr. Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me himself, Peter Sagal! (Length 17:09)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:09 — 19.7MB)

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By austin, ago

Teaching During Quarantine

Two Northwestern University professors — Cindy Gold (above, right) from the Theater department and Dee Ryan (above, bottom left) from the Radio, Film, and Television department — talk about how their classes and teaching methods changed and evolved over the fifteen months of the COVID pandemic. Featuring the reinvention of mask work; cancelled performances and career opportunities; being an adorable drunk; how many students got COVID (surprisingly few); being paralyzed by fear (not of COVID, but of technology); spectacular threshing metaphors; a mention of and appearance by Jill Talley (the voice of Karen from SpongeBob SquarePants); and the incredible value of Zoom’s Chat feature. (Length 20:58)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 20:20 — 23.6MB)

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By austin, ago

Everything Is Theatre

Richard ET White is the former artistic director of the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco, Wisdom Bridge Theatre in Chicago, and the outgoing and longest-serving chair of the Cornish College of the Arts Theatre Department in that institution’s 103-year-old history. Richard was also an acting and directing teacher at the University of California Drama Department where many RSC members got their early training. RSC co-artistic director Austin Tichenor talks with his former professor about how theatre can be anything and everywhere; how comedy about serious issues from the San Francisco Mime Troupe became life-changing; the influence of Richard Schechner and the Performance Group; sneering at prosceniums; what people forget about Brecht; the value of immaturity; the immediacy of improv; the storytelling and performance art of stand-up; being both expansive and inclusive; the value of sharing your lived experience; and how you want theatre to have the visceral impact of a great rock concert. (Length 24:06)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 24:06 — )

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By austin, ago

Something Wonderful Now

Jeffrey Sweet’s Something Wonderful Right Away, an oral history of The Compass Players and Second City was first published in 1978 and it’s arguably still one of the definitive works about the rise of Chicago improvisation and maybe the defining actor training method of the second half of the 20th-century. Jeffrey discusses how the book came to be and talks about his encounters with such greats as Barbara Harris, Sheldon Patinkin, Jules Feiffer, Mike Nichols, Anne Meara, and Elaine May; how specific movies and plays revealed to him a specific style; reveals the joy and wonder of shared realities; what it means to have gotten a B from Martin Scorcese; gives a shout-out to oral history pioneer Studs Terkel; how poverty can be theatre’s friend; how the only two essential elements to theater are actors and audiences (not playwrights!); the devastating truth that playwriting is not literature; and finally, further proof that following your passion can frequently lead you to a career. (Length 20:45)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 20:45 — 24.1MB)

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By austin, ago

We Remember ‘Balto’

The animated film Balto celebrated its 25th Anniversary last month, and RSC members Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor played the sidekick sled dogs Nikki, Kaltag, and Star…until they, like most of the cast, were replaced with different actors. Their voices stayed in the film, however, and this week Reed (left, with the statue of Balto in Anchorage, Alaska in 2012) and Austin remember the process of how they got the gig, how it went, and what happened next. A fun and funny remembrance featuring revelations about the film’s original title; having one degree of Balto himself, Kevin Bacon; big thanks to director Simon Wells and producer Steve Hickner; clues to executive producer Steven Spielberg’s changing enthusiasm; shout-out to other film projects we were in (Carry On Columbus, Liquid Television: Dogboy); how animated films are recorded first; a special appearance from our co-star and fellow “extra voice” Mike McShane; and how Balto is, appropriately enough, the perfect pandemic movie. (Length 18:48)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:48 — 21.9MB)

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By austin, ago

Rachel Dratch Thanksgiving

Old friend (and Thanksgiving bestie) Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) joins us for this very special 14th Anniversary episode! Rachel shares holiday memories; how she’s navigated her career; and reveals who she always associates with Abba’s “Dancing Queen;” the opportunities she’s had and the ones she’s fought for; how she’s drawn to more comedic roles than dramatic ones; how she’s made peace with the uncertainties of an acting career; the creation (with Paula Pell) of Debbie Downer (left); a shout-out to John Cariani and the late lamented Broadway-bound musical Minsky’s!; obscure silver dishes; a very special holiday meet-cute; doing Love’s Labors Lost with Shakespeare in the Park; and the glorious power of mid-level fame! (Length 22:22)

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By austin, ago

Loud Storytelling Moms

Now in its sixth year, Louder Than A Mom is a monthly storytelling show that celebrates voices you don’t usually get to see or hear. Co-founder Dee Ryan (left) talks about how LTAM evolved and reveals many moments of generosity; her comparisons to Mary Shelley; how she and co-hosts Kate Hill and Erin McEvoy Mason create their ever-growing community (first in person and now online); how we all miss gathering at LTAM’s regular location, Martyr’s in Chicago; how they always give space to newbie storytellers; threading the needle of funny and moving; how art shouldn’t be competitive; becoming more political; and how there are always new stories to tell and new voices to hear from. (Length 16:34) 

Podcast: Download (Duration: 16:34 — 19.3MB)

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By austin, ago

Here Are Frangela

Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton, better known as Frangela, host the essential funny political podcast The Final Word and this Saturday night September 26, 2020, are performing as part of Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal Virtual Tour, appearing right in your living room (on your computer)! Frances and Angela talk about how they joined comedy forces and share tips about the importance of using your voices; bringing the funny to the people; mutual Second City origins; memories of the TBS pilot The Week Reduced; the myth of world hunger; finding comic angles; possible spoilers to Star Trek: Discovery, the valuable bond of having opinions about everything; the importance of remembering that we have options and things don’t need to be this way; and the cathartic release of breaking crockery. (Length 22:04)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 22:04 — 25.6MB)

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By austin, ago

Directing Sketch Shows

Like many theaters in Chicago, Second City shut down on March 13, 2020, the same day we were scheduled to chat with actor, writer, and improviser Frank Caeti, who was directing their current production. We kept our appointment and recorded this interview with the Second City alum anyway, thinking we’d post it once everything re-opened “in a few weeks”. Ha! Nonetheless, enjoy this fascinating conversation about the process of creating a sketch show out of nothing, and listen as Frank shares Bull Durham analogies; how a director acts as a head writer; the importance of compassion, empathy, and understanding; the value of group ownership; being patient as ideas go from half-baked to more fully-baked; embracing relative autonomy; gives shout-outs to institutional memory; the endurance required for encore late-night sets; the importance of audience feedback and the uncertainty of not knowing when we might get it again; and finally, the challenge of getting used to not touching your face and how philosophers are really the forgotten victims during this pandemic. (Length 23:17) (Pictured: Frank Caeti, left, with Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) in The Second City’s Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens at the Geffen Playhouse. Photo by Craig Schwartz.)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 23:17 — 27.0MB)

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By austin, ago

Appreciating Viola Spolin

Aretha Sills discusses her grandmother, the legendary Viola Spolin, who invented an entire discipline and whose book Improvisation for the Theater is a fundamental text for generations of theatre artists. Viola’s son (and Aretha’s father) Paul Sills took Viola’s teachings “to the world,” where they became the foundation for more than sixty years of American acting and comedy. Aretha discusses Viola’s early training with Neva Boyd at the Jane Addams Hull-House in Chicago and with the Group Theatre in New York; early exposure to opera from her policeman father; how Viola’s work inspired the Playwright’s Theatre, the Compass Players, and Second City; the value of Spolin’s theatre games in de-colonizing authoritarian teaching methods; and the importance of understanding and honoring the origins of this work (play). (Length 22:47) (Photo courtesy of the Estate of Viola Spolin, www.violaspolin.org.)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 22:47 — 26.4MB)

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By austin, ago

Standup Vs. Improv

Liz Allen is an improviser and teacher who, among other things, coached the improv team in Mike Birbiglia’s film Don’t Think Twice. Liz’s trip to the Mayo Clinic became an existential crisis that caused her to reflect on her work and career, and she shares with us her revelations about angels on earth, comedy with a purpose, misdiagnoses, spontaneous jokes, enriching laughs, weird complications, having a face for comedy, surviving a long night of the soul, embracing life lessons, coaching movie actors, the surprising spiritual element of joke-telling, and best of all: solid endocrine humor! (Length 20:10)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 20:10 — 23.4MB)

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By austin, ago