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 icons like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Amy Sedaris. This week, Adam and Mick discuss directing in Toronto, what makes a strong scene, and why bold choices matter.

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 interesting, and psychologically complex character.

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-year history. They explore why the move makes sense now and what it means for the future of Second City, improv, and sketch comedy.

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.

We all make mistakes—but how do we recover when they happen onstage? Is there a magic phrase an improviser can use to win the audience back? This week, Rob and Adam discuss the best strategies for recovering after bombing a scene.

This week Rob and Adam reflect on the year and give spread thanks to improv communities across the world: Ann Arbor, Chris the Cameraman, mentorship from Greg Yates, and never giving up on the dream of a Magnet House team.

In this episode, Rob and Adam dive into the challenges of handling heavy offers, navigating information overload, and figuring out how to deal with unexpected “bulldozers” that can derail an improv scene. They break down practical strategies, share examples, and explore how to keep scenes playful, collaborative, and fun.