Shiny Things Improv Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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Shiny Things Improv Podcast

Aram Balakjian

Comedy

Frequency: 1 episode/34d. Total Eps: 11

A place to chat all things improv with some of the best lonform improvisers from around the world. Hosted by London based improviser Aram Balakjian

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Apple

Data updated on 15/09/2026

Recent rankings

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Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
15/09/2026
#35
🇫🇷 France - Improv
31/08/2026
#88
🇫🇷 France - Improv
30/08/2026
#64
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
23/07/2026
#92
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
22/07/2026
#78
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
21/07/2026
#66
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
20/07/2026
#59
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
19/07/2026
#43
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
16/04/2026
#93
🇬🇧 Great Britain - Improv
15/04/2026
#81

Spotify

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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467974/fan_mail/new
11 shares
https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2467974/open_sms
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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 41%

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Episode 11 - Jen Littlewood (FA, NANA) - Simplify your scenes

Season 1 · Episode 11

Friday, March 13, 2026 • Duration 01:07:57

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Today’s guest is Jen Littlewood — one of the Free Associations highly experienced teachers, as well as coach to one of their house Harold teams, and member of NANA one of the FA's most successful former Harold teams.

Jen trained at second city and iO under the legendary Dave Pasquesi of TJ and Dave, before she moved back to the UK to join the Free Association. After 17 years of improv, she now teaches multiple levels and has some wonderful insights into the art.

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Episode 10 - Joe Bill (Founder Annoyance Theatre) - Get out of your head

Season 1 · Episode 10

Saturday, December 27, 2025 • Duration 01:12:30

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Joe Bill is a legendary improviser who has been performing for almost half a century. He trained with Del Close, was a founding member of the Annoyance theatre in Chicago, and was director of corporate training at iO for 15 years.

He now travels the world, performing and teaching improv alongside some of the biggest names around. I caught up with him at the GBG Improv Festival in Gothenberg, where I had just seen him and Patti Styles perform an incredible improvised play.

We chatted about his experiences working with Del Close, his love of applying neuroscience to improv, and how improv helped him deal with his cancer diagnosis.

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Episode 9 - Patti Stiles (Rapid Fire Theatre, Theatre Sports) - Be a Storyteller

Season 1 · Episode 9

Saturday, September 27, 2025 • Duration 01:05:59

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In this episode I chat to Patti Stiles — legendary improviser, actor, director, and author who began her improv journey training with Keith Johnson in the 1980s. She has since gone on to perform, teach, and direct countless improvisational theatre companies all over the world.

I caught up with her at the GBG Improv Festival in Gothenberg, where I had just seen her and Joe Bill perform an incredible improvised play. We chatted about the her incredible four decades of experience, the way she approaches story, how she judges a bad show, and how London has a wealth of improv history to build on.

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Episode 8 - Sam Roulston (FA, Second City) - Play Weirder

Season 1 · Episode 8

Friday, August 8, 2025 • Duration 53:42

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In this episode I chat to Sam Roulston — improviser, standup, and character comedian. Having trained and then later taught at Second City Toronto, he returned to the UK a few years ago and has since starred in critically acclaimed shows like Winner and Sam and AJ. He recently joined the Artistic Committee at the Free Association in London.

I’ve always been inspired by the way Sam performs, effortlessly committing to characters and finding fun in unlikely places, so it was a pleasure to dig into his approach to improv, and comedy in general.

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Episode 7 - Graham Dickson (FA Founder, Austentatious) - Make More Mischief

Season 1 · Episode 7

Friday, July 4, 2025 • Duration 01:11:39

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In this episode I chat to Graham Dickson — founder of The Free Association in London and original cast member of west-end hit improv show, Austentatious. Graham has been improvising for nearly 20 years and has far too many accolades to list here. Most recently he’s been performing with Cool Story Bro, Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s hit improv show that just did a sell-out run at Soho Theatre’s new 1000 seat venue.

In this episode we cover Graham’s long-standing love affair with improv, the ups and downs of running the FA, why mischief is so important to comedy, and why British improv should never rest on its laurels.

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Episode 6 - David Elms (FA, Leap Day) - Slow, Stupid, and Obvious

Season 1 · Episode 6

Friday, June 13, 2025 • Duration 55:55

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In this episode I chat to David Elms — long standing teacher at The Free Association in London and member of El Classico team The Cartel. David has been improvising for 15 years and has recently started running his own workshops under his brand Leap Day. He’s also just come off the back of a 5 night sell-out run of his solo improv show, David Elms Describes a Room.

In this episode we cover David’s approach to justification, finding the fun in a scene, get a scoop on his new venue for Leap Day, and find out why he can’t always remember what he likes to do in his spare time.

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Episode 5 - Alex Holland (FA, Groundhog) - How to play game without thinking

Season 1 · Episode 5

Friday, May 30, 2025 • Duration 01:08:39

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This episode I chat to Alex Holland — head teacher at The Free Association in London. Alex has been improvising for over a decade and was one of their first teachers. As head teacher, he is now in charge of the FA’s curriculum, as well as casting their Harold teams, and performing in countless headline shows, such as Groundhog, 666 Hell Lane, and The Cartel.

In this episode we cover the best way to approach learning improv, what is “game”, what makes a good teacher, and how many furrows Alex would plough if he had a farm.

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Episode 4 - Laura Riseborough (FA, RADA, RSC) - Acting in Improv

Season 1 · Episode 4

Friday, May 16, 2025 • Duration 01:04:32

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This episode I chat to Laura Riseborough — actor, comedian, and improviser. Laura built a career as an actor including high-profile productions with with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before establishing herself as an improviser.

Show now has many hit shows under her belt, including Austintatious, Sliding Lives, and 666 Hell Lane, as well as teaching at The Free Association in London, including a course she devised focussed on Acting for Improvisers.

In this episode we cover how to commit to a scene, the importance of warming up, how to deal with a bad show, and the fact Laura can't bare to see animals suffering, even if they are imaginary.

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Episode 3 - Naomi Petersen (FA, Three) - How to be be More Playful

Season 1 · Episode 3

Friday, May 2, 2025 • Duration 59:55

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This episode I chat to Naomi Peterson, former Artistic Director at The Free Association in London, and star of many critically acclaimed improv shows such as Three and St. Doctors Hospital. We cover how to be a more playful voice of reason, her workshop on bringing shows Back from The Brink, the state of improv in the UK, and what it's like having a husband from a rival improv school.

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Episode 2 - Alex Berg (UCB, Convoy) - Make a Goddamn Choice

Season 1 · Episode 2

Friday, April 18, 2025 • Duration 46:16

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This episode I chat to Alex Berg, member of the legendary Convoy, and a long-time teacher at UCB. We cover the secret to Convoy' 20 year history, Alex's recent workshop Make a Goddamn Choice, as well as his thoughts on how to help a sticky scene, his feelings on the Harold, and the fact the he can't play first-person video games.

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Shiny Things Improv Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shiny Things Improv Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Buzzsprout2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Buzzsprout2

Apple Podcasts

Spotify