Hosted by Unknown Host · EN · 266 episodes
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Canadian Comedy Award winners Rob Norman and Adam Cawley discuss weekly improv-based topics based on a theme. New episodes every Wednesday.
Unknown Host hosts The Backline - An Improv Podcast, a arts show with 266 episodes published.
This week Adam and Rob discuss competition, egalitarianism, and how the politics of the classroom affect improv teams, shows, and theatres. Should improv delineate between amateur and professional? What's the best way to
This week on Backline, Rob and Adam break down their favourite longform openers and put them to the test, ranking different approaches based on flexibility, inspiration, ease of execution, and how well they serve the sho
This week on Backline, Rob and Adam explore how improvisers can create characters with greater depth, vulnerability, and gravitas. Beyond funny voices and quirks, what makes a character feel like a real person? The hosts
This week on Backline, Rob and Adam tackle one of the most fundamental skills in longform improv: pulling premises from a monologue and turning them into strong scene initiations. What information should you actually be
This week on Backline, Rob and Adam dig into the competitive spark inside improv — when it helps, when it hurts, and how great scene partners turn rivalry into fuel instead of friction. They talk about using your partner
What's better? Harold or Armando? Spokane or Close Quarters? This week, Rob and Adam help a new team choose their signature longform format through a grueling bracket of 18 possible formats.
This week Rob and Adam, discuss the painful but necessary process of “Paying the Tax” , while trying to stay present, apply class lessons, and putting in the reps. Despite all of that, the laughs still aren’t coming. If
This week, Rob and Adam open up the Backline Mailbag and find, wouldn’t you know it, two questions about rehearsal. In this episode they discuss the strange shift that happens when rehearsal turns into performance — why
In this episode, Monika Smith—actor, writer, and comedian—dives into the art of solo improv, sharing how she transforms a single suggestion into an entire world of characters, stories, and unexpected turns. Drawing from
This week, Rob and Adam turn their attention to the concept “Day of All Days.” It’s a phrase that suggests high stakes and life-changing moments, yet so many of the most memorable scenes revolve around the smallest, most
This week, Rob and Adam explore how to navigate scenes with a partner who brings a limited emotional range. Together they break down the difference between performing emotion and truly embodying it, and offer practical w
In this episode of The Backline, Rob and Adam explore why performers lose their footing, from overthinking to disconnection, and share practical ways to stay present, reconnect, and move forward without spiraling into sh
Advanced improv can be tricky—students freeze, forget the game, or feel overwhelmed by structure. This week Rob and Adam discuss practical strategies to reduce overload, and motivate students who may never perform but ju
Mick Napier is an acclaimed director, teacher, and author of Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out. Mick founded Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, served as the artistic consultant at The Second City, and worked with comedy ic
This week Rob and Adam discuss how to create interiority in a character, how focussing too much on heightening can create undesired outcomes, and how intentionally burning your own Game of the Scene can make for a more i
This week, Rob and Adam discuss shady improv classes, incompetent improv teachers, and what to do when you’re dissatisfied with your experience in the classroom.
This week Rob and Adam discuss different methods of teaching improv, what's the best way for a teacher to get their ideas across, and how context changes an improv teacher's lesson plan.
This week, Rob and Adam unpack a major shake-up at The Second City. Starting January 22, 2026, the historic e.t.c. Stage shifts from scripted sketch to Improv Supernova, a fully improvised show—the first change in its 43
Rob and Adam answer three questions from a single listener. This week they discuss shame, greedy scene partners, and how to strengthen your comedic muscles offstage.
This week Rob and Adam discuss the delicate balance between telling jokes and caring about the reality of the scene, when it makes sense to care in your scene, and how to start investing in the reality more.
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The Backline - An Improv Podcast is hosted by Unknown Host. The show is categorised under Arts (performing) and has published 266 episodes.
The Backline - An Improv Podcast has published 266 episodes.
The Backline - An Improv Podcast regularly covers Arts, Performing. It sits in the Arts category, with a performing focus.
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Episodes of The Backline - An Improv Podcast average 58 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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