Improv In Real Life is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Jude Treder-Wolff that features conversations about the benefits of learning the skills and principles of improvisation. Each episode focuses on an improv concept or skill set, a rich, fascinating discussion about how to apply it in real life and some improv exercises that demonstrate it.
Selected by Apple podcasts as “new and noteworthy” after 6 episodes, this podcast is helpful, informative, and entertaining.
All episodes are available on Apple, Spotify, Podcast Collaborative, and all other podcast platforms.
Link to the podcast on:
Apple podcasts
Episode 14: Making It Up, Making It Work with Peter Michael Marino
What do working artists know that the rest of us need to learn? In this episode, Jude speaks with Peter Michael Marino, creator of Show Up Kids, about the improvisational mindset that builds resilience, activates resourceful creativity, and leaves us open to receiving.
Episode 13: Miracle on 57th Street (A Holiday Story)
In this special holiday episode, Jude shares a true story about her first December in New York, a season of struggle, heartbreak, and unexpected magic. What unfolds is a series of unpredictable moments that remind us: life can throw us curveballs, but if we accept what's offered, the surprises can be beautiful.
Episode 12: Double Down on You with Kathy Klotz-Guest
What do you do when staying silent protects the relationship, but speaking up protects your truth? In this episode, Jude speaks with Kathy Klotz-Guest of Keeping It Human to explore how improv helps us navigate the tension between authenticity and harmony. They unpack the practice of truth-telling without burning bridges, and how conflict leads to deeper understanding.
Episode 11: Not Exactly What I'm Saying, with Louis Kornfeld
Empathy thrives when we meet each other in our imperfections. In this episode, Jude speaks with Louis Kornfeld of Kornfeld and Andrews, about how improv comedy reveals the flaws in human behavior, which helps us see ourselves more clearly with humor and compassion.
Episode 10: Kids Who Improvise, Thrive! with Beth Hagenlocker
What if the best way to prepare kids for an unpredictable future is to teach them how to improvise? In this episode, Jude speaks with Beth Hagenlocker, Executive Director of the Detroit Creativity Project. By bringing improv into schools, their organization helps teens grow more imaginative and emotionally resilient, all while discovering themselves in a space built for creativity and connection.
Episode 9: Did I Hear That Right? Featuring Rick Andrews (Magnet Theater faculty, Kornfeld & Andrews, applied improv facilitator). In this episode, we explore how listening is an active choice, unpack how hearing another person's perspective is a powerful act of empathy, and how improv trains us not just to react, but to understand.
Episode 8: The Wisdom of Showing Up with Patricia Ryan Madson (author of Improv Wisdom, retired Stanford University professor) In real life, there's no stage. So how do we learn to play our part with presence? In this episode, Jude we explore how improvisation teaches us to accept what's given, quiet our inner critic, and appreciate the overlooked gifts of daily life.
Episode 7: Built For Belonging with Michelle Gilliam
Improv has a way of turning strangers into lifelong connections, often in the span of a single scene. In this episode, Jude speaks with Michelle Gilliam about how improv builds community, fosters belonging, and helps us move from anxiety to connection.
Episode 6: Out Of Your Head, Into The Scene with Caitlin Steitzer Many of us second guess what to do in social situations. In this episode Caitlin Steitzer - a fellow improviser, therapist, and social worker - explains how improv's focus on the group can help people overcome social anxiety, shifting attention away from self-criticism and into the present moment.
Episode 5: Its Ok To Laugh with Belina Raffy
Many of us resist change. In this episode, Jude speaks with Belina Raffy, who uses comedy and improv to help us reframe that mindset. She takes on daunting challenges like climate change and social justice, showing how even the toughest issues can feel approachable and manageable.
Episode 4: Parenting, Unscripted, with Mary Theresa Archbold and Pat Shay
Parenting doesn't come with a script, which is why flexibility and a sense of play, the heart of improv, can be a game-changer. In this episode, Jude speaks with improvisers (and parents) Mary Theresa Archbold and Pat Shay who share how the principles of improv can transform family life.
Episode 3: Improv As Medicine with Beth Boynton, RN
Improv isn't just for the stage. It's showing up in hospitals, clinics, and memory care centers. In this episode, Jude speaks with medical improv trailblazer Beth Boynton, who shares how principles like "yes, and" are helping caregivers build connection, reduce stress, and bring more humanity to people with cognitive decline
Episode 2: Yes…And I’m Flawed with Elana Fishbein
Emotional intelligence is learning how to be responsive, not reactive. In this episode, Jude speaks with Elana Fishbein, professional improviser and facilitator, about how improv can help us develop the self-awareness and flexibility we need to handle those tougher life moments.
Episode 1: Practice Play With Gary Ware
Positive emotions aren't just pleasant, they're powerful. In this episode, host Jude Treder-Wolff speaks with facilitator and improviser Gary Ware about how improv-based play can build resilience, ease stress, and strengthen our sense of self.
Listen to Jude Treder-Wolff stories and interviews on these podcasts
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Stage Whisperer podcast Episode 552. This is a fun discussion about themes explored in the solo show FASTER, and why we need comedy now more than ever
All RISK! podcast performances are on the show website on this link
Story Collider Selected as “best of 2021” Click here to listen!
PBS Stories From The Stage: Changed Forever Click here to listen
Morning Moments With Maia: Tell Me Your Story: On Transformative Storytelling Click here to listen
RISK! podcast episode “Troubleshooting” recorded live at Caveat in NYC. Click here to listen