Podcasts by Improv, Beat by Beat
A podcast about improv, explored one piece at a time.
Further podcasts by Curtis Retherford
Podcast on the topic Comedy
All episodes
27–Goodbye, UCB NY from 2020-04-30T10:31:44
UCB has recently shut down its last permanent theater and training center. I asked people to share what UCB NY meant to […]
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25–The Movie from 2019-05-13T05:16:15
This episode focuses on a fun, but often difficult form, the Movie. One of the original forms developed by Del Close, the […]
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24–The Spokane aka the Pretty Flower from 2019-03-15T04:27:35
This episode focuses on the form of many names, the Spokane / Pretty Flower / Delicate Little Flower / Gadget / Family […]
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23–Coaching, Part 2 from 2019-02-01T03:34:28
How should a coach structure a practice session? What are some exercises to use? How is coaching a house team different from […]
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22–Coaching, Part 1 from 2018-12-25T02:27:23
What makes a great coach? How do you become a great coach? How do you give helpful notes? None of those questions […]
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21–Best Notes, Part 2 from 2018-11-04T05:34:50
Once again, each improvisor recounts the notes that shaped their understanding of improv or their understanding of themselves as improvisors. Featuring John […]
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20–Why Do You Do Improv? from 2018-09-28T05:02:52
I asked a bunch of improvisors a simple question: “Why do you do improv?” Featuring answers from Nicole Drespel, Kevin Hines, Devin Ritchie, Achilles Stamatelaky, David […]
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19–Cliches and Gaps from 2018-07-05T02:51:26
19 different improvisors discuss the cliches they are tired of seeing and the gaps between the improvised worlds we create and the […]
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17–Musical Improv from 2018-04-26T03:42:10
Musical improv is exactly what it sounds like: an improvised musical. A bit of dialogue, and then a lot of singing and […]
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16–House Teams from 2018-03-01T08:11:10
A house team is a team that is created to perform regularly at a particular theater. At UCB NY, there are 3 […]
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14–The Monoscene from 2017-12-23T10:03:36
The Monoscene is a form in which the location never changes: there are no edits. In this episode, we talk about how […]
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12–The Harold: 2nd and 3rd Beats from 2017-09-25T15:05:13
In a Harold, after the first beats and the first group game, the team returns to the first 3 games for second […]
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11–Auditioning from 2017-09-11T11:30:35
Most theaters hold auditions to add people to their house teams. Every year around 600 people audition for UCBNY house teams. Molly […]
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10–The Harold: Group Games from 2017-09-06T04:14:43
In a Harold, in between each set of beats is a group scene. These scenes can be tough if the entire team […]
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09–Best Notes from 2017-08-28T11:00:01
Each improvisor recounts the notes that shaped their understanding of improv or their understanding of themselves as improvisors. Featuring Jessica Morgan, Lydia Hensler, Jesse Lee, Jenny […]
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08–The Harold: 1st Beats from 2017-08-21T10:21:48
The 1st beats of the Harold are the most important part of the Harold. In each 1st beat, the ideas from the […]
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07–The Pattern Game from 2017-08-14T09:22:08
The Pattern Game is one of the fundamental Harold openings. It can seem intimidating at first, but once mastered it can be […]
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06–The Invocation from 2017-07-31T05:30:09
The Invocation is an opening developed by Del Close for the Harold. In this episode, Will Hines and Achilles Stamatelaky convince me […]
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05–The Opening from 2017-07-24T11:00:09
After a team gets a suggestion, they typically do an opening of some sort to generate the ideas they will explore within […]
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04–The Harold from 2017-07-18T06:23:04
The Harold is one of the fundamental longform improv structures, but it isn’t easy, at least at first. But once it’s mastered, […]
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03–Warm Ups from 2017-07-03T04:45:15
The next several episodes will focus on the Harold, one piece at a time. This episode focuses on what happens before the […]
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02–Game–Playing the Game from 2017-06-27T07:10:48
Now that everyone in the scene has identified the game, it’s time to have fun. This episode goes into the different approaches […]
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01–Game–Framing and Justifications from 2017-06-18T04:00:08
Identifying and playing the game of a scene is the foundation of long-form improv: the improvisors must agree on what’s fun about […]
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