The Backline - An Improv Podcast

Your first few improv classes you are bombarded with the rules.  Then once you get comfortable, you might move onto longform structures, game of the scenes, and connections -- where once again you are immersed in hyper-technical and finnicky work. At a certain point, you have to let go of The Rules. This week, Rob and Adam discuss forgetting what you're learned and why its so important for your pl...

This week Rob and Adam open up the Backline Mail Bag to answer all your questions. If you have your own questions find us @thebackinepod on Instagram and drop us a line.

This week Adam and Rob, use extensive metrics and data (definitely not just their opinion) to determine a complete ranking system for all shortform games.  This episode details the secrets of making a perfect shortform show. Also: touring Finland, Sweden, and the American mid-west.

Improv is supposed to be easy, comfortable, and fun.  But what happens when improv gets hard? Should you quit? Should you work harder? What do you do when improv isn't fun anymore?

There are few things more taboo than going negative on an improv stage. But does negativity at the start of a scene preempt the possibility of a playable dynamic? What does it mean to go negative onstage and why do some improvisers love doing it?

No training. No teaching experience. A classroom full of students. What could possibly go wrong? This week Rob and Adam discuss the challenges of teaching improv, their pet peeves in a classroom, and mistakes they've made along the way.

Sometimes you step onstage with someone and it just feels right. Other times … it’s confusing, turbulent, and awkward.  What makes for good chemistry onstage? What can you do if you’re struggling to connect with your Harold team?

Years ago, if you grew up in an "improv town" you would train at a local improv school and and learn from local instructors. Unless you moved cities or frequented comedy festivals, you didn’t have a chance to learn a different style or technique.  Now more than ever it is possible to train with teachers from across the world. But what do you when you're playing with somoene who has radically diffe...

What do you do when your parnter is COOKING, and you are clearly not?  In this episode, Adam and Rob discuss how deal with a partner who seems to be dominating a scene and you feel stuck.

In this episode, Rob and Adam discuss DEAFO - a new system for creating more dynamic, intersting stage pictures.  Also on this episode, heightening through proximity, intentionally throwing your scene off-kilter, and Adam's pathological obsession with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Amongst the many terms improvisers have invented to describe a bad scene, "Crazytown" might be the most evocative.  This week Rob and Adam discuss scenes that try to do too much, too soon - and how to prevent your scenes from going off the rails.

Rob and Adam discuss what to do when a scene fails, how to fail gracefully, and how to get a struggling scene back on track. Also on the episode: recent travels across the US, Rob's artistic residency in Sweden, the best pizza and an adult love of trains.

In this epsiode, Rob and Adam discuss what to do if you are obligated to create the who, what, where in the first 30 seconds of your scene. How much information should you add? How much room should you leave for you partner to contribute? PLUS - an update from the Backline's recent experience with The Heat.

This week Rob and Adam chat about improv festivals: how to run it, how to market it, and the small perks that make it all worthwhile. If you're in Vancouver for the week of January 24th - 27th, join both Rob and Adam for THE HEAT, and The Backline Improv Intensive (details found @thebacklinepodcast on Instagram).

This week, Rob and Adam discuss Beatprov, semi-scripted works, and improvising through a script. From marketing to technique to past formats - this episode covers it all. Also, The Backline will be travelling to Vancouver January 23rd to January 27th and running a longform intensive. Details can be found @thebacklinepodcast on Instagram or here: www.eventbrite.ca/d/canada--vancouver/backline/

We all know the Harold, and The Montage - but what's in the in-between? Are there some formats better for new players than others?

In the final rundown of 2023, Rob and Adam share the gifts of what's making them feel thankful this holiday season.

Improv dogma tells us, "Mistakes are a gift" but are they always ... Certainly, there are miskakes you can make that derail, confuse, or even ruin a scene. So are there some moves that are better than others? What are the difference between "good mistakes" and "bad mistakes"? Is there a right kind of recklness onstage?

Not making a team can be frustrating. Not being hired by your local troupe or theatre can be heartbreaking, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave your improv journey in the hands of those theatres. You can control your improv destiny by launching your own show. Producing your own improv show is a difficult but very valuable experience.

This week Rob and Adam discuss team bonding, alternatives to rehearsals, and if you can get better at improv by just being friends with your team. Also, an important letter from THE BACKLINE MAILBAG, featuring John from Wisconsin.

This week Adam and Rob discuss "Empty Calories" aka improv terms that don't seem to mean much in a notes session. Also Catch 23, community, and Dave Pasquesi.

This week we open up The Backline Mailbag and answer your questions about the longform format The Deconstruction. Also discussed: Future Favors the Bold, types of longform openers, 2-person improv, Cubism, and so much more.

This week, Rob and Adam open up the Backline Mailbag to answer your questions. In this episode, you'll learn about object work and why it's neccessary, building constructs from character, and why physicality can be so hard for new improvisers. PLUS Los Angeles Comicon, and the last hours of the Future Favors the Bold Kickstarter campaign. www.inked.pub/talesofthebold

We've all heard the expression "Support your partner", in this episode Rob and Adam discuss support, agitation, heightening through proximity, and dynamics. PLUS Martin Short, comedy criticism, 2000 AD and Jeopardy. Rob's graphic novel can be found at www.inked.pub/talesofthebold

Adam and Rob return for a new season of The Backline! This week Rob and Adam chat about beginning scenes, deals, the moment before, Johnstonian platforms, UCB initations, and anything else you could possible want to know about the first few minutes of your scene. PLUS our recent tours, Future Favors the Bold, and so much more.