

The Backline
The Sonar Network
Canadian Comedy Award winners Rob Norman and Adam Cawley discuss weekly improv-based topics based on a theme.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 7, 2025 • 60min
Classroom the to the Stage
This week Rob and Adam discuss the careful art of taking lessons from the classroom and applying them to the stage.
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Jul 31, 2025 • 59min
How Do I Know If I’m Getting Better?
This week Rob and Adam discuss personal growth, improvement, and developing yourself throughout your improv career.
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Jul 24, 2025 • 57min
Active Choice VS. Action Choice
This week Rob and Adam discuss one of the foundational rules of improv, “Always make the active choice.” In the age of modern improv, what does an active choice look like? How does an “active choice” interact wtih Game of the Scene? What’s the difference between “action” and an “active choice?”
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Jul 15, 2025 • 52min
The Anaesthetic of Yes And
We’re told that Yes And is the building block of every improv scene, but are there are drawbacks when using this tool? This week Rob and Adam discuss the origins of Yes And, how to agree effectively, and how to use emotion to hold the story in place.
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Jul 10, 2025 • 46min
Find the End
This week Rob and Adam discuss how to find your ending onstage, what a resolution looks like onstage, and how your ending might differ based on what format you’re playing. Thanks to ITS Company Director Kate Coates.
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Jul 3, 2025 • 1h 3min
Scene Paint Me (Like One of Your French Girls)
This week Rob and Adam discuss scene painting within scenes, openers, and transitions. As well as Mitch Marner, ceremonial swords, and the science of revenge.
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Jun 27, 2025 • 49min
Narrative Longfrom
This week Rob and Adam discuss story-structure, the limitations of modular improv, and how to create simple narratiaves for your improv show. Thanks to Garrett for his contribution to the Backline Mailbag.
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Jun 18, 2025 • 47min
Too Big
This week Rob and Adam discuss nuanced characters, creating active audience members, and avoiding going “too big” in a scene. Plus, the shame of not feeling enough onstage, some upcoming touring in the fall, and how every improviser is either Superman or Superboy onstage.
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Jun 16, 2025 • 55min
Body Movin’
This week Rob and Adam discuss finding the fun in physicality, object work for your improv essay and the antidote for Talking Heads Syndrome. Also covered: playing negative, not judging yourself, and Adam admits he was wrong about stacks/sacks.
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Jun 3, 2025 • 1h 4min
Hot Pockets
Every improviser has experienced “being in your head” and every improv podcast has discussed what it feels like. In this episode, Rob and Adam discuss the opposite, being “in the pocket”, as well as, the exciting improv scene of Buffalo New York, softball, and Adam’s new Dune-insipired improv catchphrases.
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