The Backline - An Improv Podcast

This week we're talking about bulldozing. How much space should you take up onstage? What is the difference between attacking the scene and bulldozing over top of your partners ideas?  This week Rob and Adam, discuss how to know if you're a bulldozer and what can be done to be a better ensemble player.

Renowned improv curmudgeon Adam Cawley, shares with us his 5 tips for making improv shows run a little smoother from creating smooth transitions between acts to how to create a more communal atmosphere in shows - this episode has it all!

Improv is all about going with the flow. So why are we always so stressed out?  What does it take to relax?  This episode we chat about relaxation onstage and offstage, and the trouble stressed out play can bring.

Trying to find an ending can be tough.  Sometimes we're hoping for someone to sweep, or a joke big enough to bring down the lights.  Other times, we pray to the improv gods for some kind of divine intervention to save us from our own truly horrible scene. In this episode, Rob and Adam discuss creating momentum, pushing towards an end, and using heightening to control how long you're onstage.  Also...

What happens when you're a new improviser joining an established team? Does placing a new player on a team with veterans promote or stunt their growth? What happens to experienced players who play with new players?

This week Rob and Adam walk you through a semi-scripted beatprov show. They chat about characters, story, and what makes beatprov different from conventional longform. Also on the podcast Mad Men, Doctor Who, physical fitness, and Just For Laughs Toronto.

Of course you want to learn technique and understand structure. But you don't want to make it look mechanical. You have take your "comedy math", internalize that work, and make it look easy. Also avoiding TIFF, Los Angeles living, and the end of Ontario Peach Season.

To post or not to post? What does it mean for an improviser dealing with show promotion, self-congratulatory braggarts, and the constant cascade of never-ending tweets.  How does it affect our careers? More importantly, what happens to our mental health? All this and more ... on the next Backline with Rob and Adam.

This week Rob reflects upon his tour through Birmingham, London, and Copenhagen. Also Rob and Adam tally some essential supplies you'll need on touring different improv festivals and theatres.

Adam Cawley is back!  Rob Norman is back!  This week they discuss how to keep your team motivated when you're the only competition in town and your team is losing motivation!

This week Rob talks with Stuart Moses (host of the Improv London Podcast) from the Nursery Theatre Training Centre for a crossover event!  In this episode, Rob and Stuart chat about connecting with your partner, emotional depth, and the roleplaying game Call of Cthulu.

This week Rob and Adam talk about what it feels like to "buzzed out" from an elimination-style improv show, and what to do if you feel like the audience doesn't like you.

This week, Rob and Adam discuss the renown improvised TV show Whose Line Is It Anyways? Also, Adam drops a HUGE surprise ... 

Different improv schools have differing names for games, improv technique, and sometimes radically different philosophies that govern their approach to unscripted work. This week, Rob and Adam unpacked Johnstonian terminology and compare the similarities and differences in Modern improv terminology. Also, Adam moves to LA and Rob feels sad about it!

There's nothing more difficult than starting a scene.  This week, Rob and Adam discuss why initiating a scene deserves a second thought, how to protect your agenda, and why inspiration is the most valuable resource onstage.

You're standing on the sidelines, and the group game has just come to a close. Now it's time to initiate 2nd beats ... but you have nothing. Nada. Can't remember a single scene or character.  Uh oh.  This week Adam and Rob discuss problems with remembering onstage and how to keep scenes fresh in your mind.

The Raptors won! Two million people took to the streets! Don't worry Rob and Adam are locked inside their homes talking about improv. Specifically, how do we achieve massive, commercial successes improv shows with a $50 ticket price - in hopes that working improvisers might make a living off their work onstage.

This week Adam answers questions from the Backline mailbag, while Rob reveals a very bad idea for an improv jam. Followed by a chat, about what to do when playing to a small crowd.

Improv has a rich tradition of ritual and ceremony that dates back to mask work and continues right through to the teachings of Del Close. From shortform to longform, ritual (and transformation) is hidden in all the unconsidered things that we do onstage. This week, Rob and Adam take a closer look.

Shortform has particular kind of rhythm. Action sparks every 30 seconds. In this episode, Rob and Adam discuss how to slow down, enjoy the moment, and find more relaxed play out of a shortform metabolism.

Its the launch of Season Five! This episode Rob and Adam talk about what's it's like to break from a regular improv performance schedule, how to get back into the community, and why it shouldn't feel like you're starting from scratch.

It's the season finale of the Backline with Rob and Adam.  This episode Rob and Adam discuss changes in the improv landscape, new exciting announcements, and what they're looking forward to in 2019!  See you all in the new year!

This week we discuss how to map the rules of one scenario over top the context of another.  Also this episode, Rob and Adam answer questions about mirroring and comedic horror.  Happy 150th episode!

We spend lots of time talking about what happens onstage. But sometimes scenes are won/lost before you even step onstage.  Before your show there are warm-ups, research, intentions to be set, etc.  This week Rob and Adam discuss every thing that happens before you even step onstage.

"Our only job as an improviser is to affect others, and be affected."  We all know it to be true, yet over and over again, we get stuck in scenes where we're explaining our premises to our partner.  This episode Rob and Adam discuss the need for real time, visceral connection in scenes and the value of dynamic.