Canadian Comedy Award winners Rob Norman and Adam Cawley discuss weekly improv-based topics based on a theme. New episodes every Wednesday.
It's the first episode of The Backline! Rob and Adam discuss getting started in the improv business. Together they outline steps from student of a beginner level improv class to becoming a "professional" improviser. Rob and Adam remember their origin story, how they first met, and how they created their first improv troupe. Passive aggressive burns in this episode: #4 (Try to find them all!). Music by The Brunswick Project.
The scariest episode of the Backline to date! Rob and Adam discuss the nature of fear onstage: Where does it come from? Is fear a good or bad thing? What does fear look like in new players? Passive Aggressive Burns: #3.5 (Can you find them all?). Music by The Brunswick Project.
Time for real talk! You need some feedback about notes: good notes/bad notes, how to receive them, what notes you should avoid, and what to do when a fellow improviser gives a note. Rob and Adam chat about it all in this episode and respond to listener questions. Together they also reflect on the best note they were ever given by a coach/director/teacher. Passive-Aggressive burns are bursting through the seams in this one! Music by the Brunswick Project.
Ever have that feeling like you’re just going through the motions onstage? Rob and Adam also feel that way all the time! Today these two best buds discuss anxiety, comfort, improv trances, being in your head, and some solutions to find freedom and play onstage. Also, both Rob and Adam try something they’ve never done in the podcast! Questions? Send them via Twitter @thebacklinepod
If there's one improv technique that Rob and Adam use more than anything else onstage, it's Game of the Scene. Together they discuss their personal definitions, simple techniques to try onstage, and moves to avoid while trying to build patterns. If you aren't well-versed in GOTS then this podcast is a must listen. Also in the episode, ROB IS BACK IN THE BACKLINE STUDIO (Adam's weird apartment). Leave us a comment on Facebook or Twitter @thebacklinepod
It’s time to grab a posse! YOU CAN'T IMPROVISE ALONE! But how do you go from a random smattering of people to a reliable improv family onstage? Rob and Adam discuss creating your first improv troupe, finding rehearsal space, securing a coach, and how to make your troupe stand out in your comedy community. The guys also answer listener questions, discuss the Improvising Now book launch, and what it’s like to improvise with a complete stranger. Passive-aggressive burns: 7 (Most of them very mean).
Have you ever wanted to know EVERYTHING that happens in your audition after you leave the room? From professional gigs to auditioning for Conservatory, Rob and Adam take you behind the curtain and reveal all: who is on the panel, what they are thinking, and how you can do the best job possible! Learn tips on how to avoid stressing about the insignificant details and focus on your process!
Rob and Adam pack up the Backline podcast and take it on tour. Driving from Toronto to Peterborough they discuss their best touring memories, pitfalls of playing away shows, and they bicker. LOTS OF BICKERING!!! The Guys also have some concerns about this particular show. They discuss what changes they need to make to their regular show. We check in with them after and figure out how it went! PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE BURNS: Sideways 8!
Rob and Adam discuss the improvisation of Theatresports, ComedySportz, and Whose Line is it Anyway? SECRETS REVEALED: how to set up an intro, building a running order, the value of shortform for longform improvisers, and the ongoing imagined beef: shortform VS longform. Also Adam loves bourbon! Listen and find out where he gets his secret stash from!!!
Shame is that secret, perceived weakness that can either power or handicap an improviser's performance. We're comedians. We are all dealing with some kind of childhood psychic trauma that continues to affect us adults. In this episode, Rob and Adam reveal their own personal shame and how it affected their comedy careers early on. Also video games and hockey!
