Dave Heron
58 episodes listed below
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A cathartic podcast charting the trials and tribulations on my journey to becoming better at Improv Comedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Two characters, one line each, passed around a circle: your next rehearsal has homework.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A thoughtful look at how audience awareness shapes improv and work calls.
Dave Herriman turns audience awareness into something more immediate than stage theory: the recurring fact that people are watching, and judging what they see, whether he is onstage, in the back line, or in a work call.
A careful look at solo improv, with the prompts and nerves that keep it grounded.
Dave Herron makes solo improv easier to picture by walking through how he approached it. He is candid about the nerves, why he wanted to try it, and the problem of building material when there is no one else on stage to carry the load.
Practical improv talk built around experimentation, listening, and what gets used in the room.
Dave Herron treats improv as something to test, not a set of rules to memorize. He draws on classes, workshops, courses, and stage time, but keeps the focus on exercises that can be used in practice.
A grounded look at using props to support a scene instead of sending it off course.
Dave Herron treats props in improv as a practical problem rather than a gimmick. A prop should support the reality of the scene and build on what is already there, not pull the work sideways just to explain why the object exists.
A clear-eyed look at when a new improv format helps and when it starts to get in its own way.
Dave Herron frames long-form improv as a practical test of judgment: when does a new format open things up, and when does it just slow the room down?
A warm, practical improv chat that treats the messy work of making scenes and communities as part of the craft.
Dave Herron uses the conversation with Ed to surface how improv actually gets made: the teaching, the rehearsals, and the stop-start learning that shapes a group over time.
A candid improv conversation about teaching, over-explaining, and learning from a worst gig.
Dave Herron and Ed Pithey spend this episode on the nuts and bolts of teaching improv: what shifts between a drop-in, a scene skills workshop, and the labs, and why a harder class can feel less fun before people hit their stride.
Pressure, teasing, and chaotic comic timing.
Smosh chaos, left in the room.
Riddles as bait, derailments as sport.
Games criticism with its elbows out.
D&D at Brian Posehn's table, jokes included.
Fast riffs, bad premises, committed chaos.
Dave Herron interviews Ed Pithey, founder of Dingbats Improv in Hawley and Crawley, about the difficulties of teaching improv and performing in unsuitable venues.
Dave Herron interviews Ed Pithie about how he moved from youth theatre at the University of Kent in Canterbury into short-form improv, then into long-form after seeing UCB's ASCAT 3000 on a CD or DVD-ROM brought in by Dan South.
The host introduces his podcast about his personal journey in improv comedy and interviews a guest who was selected for a special improv group.
Host Dave Herron discusses improv comedy and is joined by his son to talk about how rapping relates to improv.
Dave Herron interviews Lewis Hill about self-reflection in We Are Dave and Lewis's development as a hip-hop improv teacher.
Dave reflects that only a few senior management presentations resonated because they used familiar, day-to-day language instead of disconnected, highfalutin terms.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, revealing struggles and lessons learned.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, revealing lessons from both successful and failed performances.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy's trials and tribulations.
Dave Herron declares he has 'failed' his year-long challenge to improve his character work in improv comedy.
Dave Herron shares his improv journey and the cathartic lessons learned from performing and teaching.
Dave Herron explores how his daily meditation unexpectedly mirrors the living-in-the-moment mindset of improv comedy.
The host reflects on his journey in improv comedy over the past year and a half, discussing challenges and growth.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, inviting you to join in on the struggles and learnings.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, from struggles to performances.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, from struggles to performances.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, from struggles to performances.
Dave Herron shares his cathartic journey through improv comedy, revealing both successes and struggles.
Herron defines his improv goal as creating an 'alternative believable universe' with 'slightly unhinged' characters, unlike the 'very real life' characters of the Naked Improv Group.
The host shares his personal journey in improv comedy and reflects on the difference between saying no at work versus in an improv scene.
Dave Herron recalls being chastised by an instructor after freezing on the backline during a courtroom improv scene that stalled for three silent seconds.
Dave reveals his mood lighting technique where audience colors change scene emotions.
Dave Herron explains how his group used the 'mono scene technique' with a shooting club location to establish character connections through shared objects.
Dave Herron shares his journey and struggles with improv comedy, discussing how to better incorporate the tech person into improv shows.
Dave Herron identifies the critical improv skill: using a prop to justify and reinforce the scene's reality, not justifying why the prop itself exists.
Dave Herron shares teacher Liz Allen's principle that improv isn't good or bad, but 'an optimal choice,' and warns a flashy new format can't cover up missing the basics.
The host shares his personal journey and lessons learned in improv comedy, focusing on taking control of an entire improv set.
The host discusses his journey to improve at improv comedy and focuses on achieving peak performance in every show.
Dave Herron recounts moving from long-form improv toward musical and hip-hop improv after seeing Ryan perform with a musical group in London.
George Butcher, a science teacher and improv teacher, tells host Dave Herron that his biggest stage thrill is no longer the laugh but watching a scene partner's 'Oh no, what have you just done?' look after he twists a scene.
The host shares his early experiences doing improv games with his children, discussing what works and how it differs from teaching adults.