Charm Scene: Improvised Musicals

Magic Mike is back! Charming guest Mike Gospel returns for a spellbinding fully improvised musical, complete with terrifying tricks, dutiful doves, cosmic calamities, and more. Find the magic inside us all, and inside James, on this week's Charm Scene. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Mike Gospel Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Charm Scene is performed entirely by humans in sunny Chicago, IL. For more on the podcast, follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, visit us online at charmscenepod.podbean.com, or email us at CharmScenePod@gmail.com. In listening to this show, we hope you continue to support live human art wherever you find it. Stay charming!

Adjective - of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to highly intelligent people. We're hot for teacher as charming guest Juliana Zepeda joins the esteemed faculty of Charm Scene High, but she's on the hunt for something else. Musical MILFs, wistful worms, principled principals, and more in this week's fully improvised musical. Class is in session! Juliana Zepeda is really busy, kind of all the time, but this is her favorite podcast and some of her favorite people ever. If you like what you hear please follow her on Instagram and Tiktok @jayz_nottherapper. She would also love it if you came to any of her shows. Wheel of Improv, Shamilton, and Baby Wants Candy at Second City. Improvised Jane Austen, Marquee, and Best of iO Improv at iO Theater, or any of the other shows she does and loves. Slay Always. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Juliana Zepeda Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Charm Scene is performed entirely by humans in sunny Chicago, IL. For more on the podcast, follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, visit us online at charmscenepod.podbean.com, or email us at CharmScenePod@gmail.com. In listening to this show, we hope you continue to support live human art wherever you find it. Stay charming!

We're just a week away from the first annual Fraudway Musical Improv Festival at Chicago's iO Theatre! In this all new episode of Chat Scene, festival creator and organizer Allen Lucas joins us to talk about the festival and his countless new musical improv endeavors at iO (including the amazing new show "Marquee"). We'll see you all at the Fraudway Musical Improv Festival, March 6-7. Tickets are on sale now at ioimprov.com. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Allen Lucas Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Charm Scene is performed entirely by humans in sunny Chicago, IL. For more on the podcast, follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, visit us online at charmscenepod.podbean.com, or email us at CharmScenePod@gmail.com. In listening to this show, we hope you continue to support live human art wherever you find it. Stay charming!

The game is afoot! FIVE TIME charming guest Allen Lucas is back once again, this time with a mystery! We take Allen's real life love of ice cream and friendship and turn it into a devious, delicious dessert of musical improv, complete with vats of vanilla, nosey neighbors, suspicious stains, and more. Get the latest scoop on this week's Charm Scene! Want to hear even more of Allen? Don't miss the first annual FRAUDWAY Musical Improv Festival at Chicago's iO Theatre, March 6-7. Tickets are on sale now at ioimprov.com. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Allen Lucas Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Charm Scene is performed entirely by humans in sunny Chicago, IL. For more on the podcast, follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, visit us online at charmscenepod.podbean.com, or email us at CharmScenePod@gmail.com. In listening to this show, we hope you continue to support live human art wherever you find it. Stay charming!

The cards have spoken! Daryn Robinson ("My Best Friend is Black," "Shamilton," "She The People") is BACK. Through the power of live Tarot readings, and inspired by Daryn's story about her real-life uncle (a member of the legendary band "Earth, Wind & Fire") we set off through the kingdoms of Earth, Wind, and Fire on a quest to rediscover ourselves - featuring bountiful bindles, swollen skunks, vicious volcanoes, and more. The cycle continues on this week's Charm Scene! Daryn Robinson (she/her) is a Chicago-based writer/performer originally from Washington, D.C. She is a performer at @TheSecondCity, where her credits include She The People, the 2025 Black Excellence Revue, the family-friendly shows No Grown-Ups Allowed and Rudolph Runs Wild, and understudying the Touring Company and ETC Stage. Her other improv shows include: @Shamilton_Musical with @BabyWantsCandy, and @ImprovAusten and @Birdlady.io with @iochicago. Daryn proudly co-produces the all-Black comedy show @MyBestFriendisBlackShow at @TheLincolnLodge, voted @Chicago_Reader’s Best Comedy Show of 2023 and 2024! You can follow her at @daryn_2dream and catch her headlining @CityWineryChi on Feb. 24th (her birthday!!!) with My Best Friend is Black ✨ Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Daryn Robinson Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

Welcome weary travelers! Charming dungeon master Jono Mammel is back for a fantastical improvised adventure, inspired by Jono's real work in "Oops! All Bards." Join us as we enter a magical, musical world of swamps & sparrows, rocks & rolls, taverns & telekinesis, and more. Roll for initiative! Jono Mammel (they/them) is an actor, musical improviser, and tabletop game master originally from Rochester Hills, Michigan. Their Chicago credits include "Anthony Rapp: Home for the Holidays," "Benny Bingo and the Evangelikids," "Fan Fiction," "Puffs," "Shark Tank: the Musical," "Oops! All Bards: An Improvised D&D Musical," "Phony Award Winning Musical," and "Blank! The Musical." They can be seen improvising at Second City in "Baby Wants Candy" and "Shamilton," at the Revival in "Faking the Band," at iO in "Marquee," and at the Annoyance in "Tuesday Musical Improv." When not making things up, they enjoy murder mystery novels, televised cooking competitions, and making time-consuming Italian food. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Jono Mammel Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

We're LIVE again from Williamsburg, VA at the 2026 Last Word Comedy Festival! This year, we looked to fiber-rich comedy major Li for inspiration for an all-new fully improvised musical. Copious carrots, vicarious villains, tasty transformations, and more on this week's Charm Scene! What's up, Doc? Special thanks to the city of Williamsburg for sponsoring the event, and to everyone at The Last Word Comedy Festival. Learn more at lastwordfestival.com Recorded January 29, 2026 at PBK Hall at The College of William and Mary Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, with introduction by Adam Stackhouse Music Director: Sam Scheidler Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

Buckle up, Charmers. We've got Richmond's own Sarah Murphy (Bite Sized Podcast, RIFF, Swiped) for a very special improvised musical, inspired by her real life DAD. It's an Uber ride you'll never forget, with curious kids, hazardous heists, troubled townsfolk, and more! Tippity tap that gas pedal for an all-new Charm Scene! Sarah (she/her) is a wife-guy and improviser from Chicago, IL. She cohosts @bitesizedpod_ and performs with @riffimprov and @swipedimprov around Chicago. In her free time, she volunteers at @pawschicago and fosters kittens. So if you need cat advice, Twilight fun facts, or a loud, gangly woman on your stage then hit her up. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Sarah Murphy Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

Step right up! Step right up! See the wonders of improvised musicales as we welcome charming guest and brilliant scientist Christian Pitsch. Motherless mummies, whirling wheels, strange sciences, and more! See something you've never seen before in this all new Charm Scene. Christian Pitsch is a capital-C comedian. You can catch him: hosting "The Open Stage," performing sketch with "Anti Virgin Club," improvising on "TMI," or singing his heart out in his original musical "Pigskin," Saturdays January 31-March 28 at The Annoyance! Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Christian Pitsch Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

Is it hotter in here, or is it just us? It's another INCENDIARY improvised musical as we welcome former member of "The Burn Team" and charming guest Josiah Robinson! Join us as we go undercover, into a world of smoldering secrets, combustible canyons, and torched Texans. Hope you don't get burned on this week's Charm Scene! Josiah Robinson is a improviser, actor, and podcaster in Chicago. You can find his music improv team Anarchy, the Improvised Rock Opera @anarchymusicimprov on Instagram. And check out his podcast How Star Wars Is It? (@howstarwarsisit) available wherever you get your podcasts. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Josiah Robinson Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!"

Let's go to the mall! It's the first episode of 2026, and we've got a DUO. Charming guests Barb Jackson and Hugh Walker (Director and Writer/Composer of "Evangelikids!") join us for an all-new improvised musical, set in the long lost world of US shopping malls. A captive Claire's, a submerged Spencer Gifts, troubling taekwondo, and more. Yay capitalism! Barb Jackson is a writer, performer, and director originally from Northern California. She has called Chicago home for 4 years, but you can still hear her say something is 'Hella cool dude' when she's excited. Catch her perform in "Improvised Jane Austen" at iO Theater, and don't miss the next run of "Evangelikids," opening January 2026 at The Annoyance Theater! Hugh Walker sometimes performs musical improv, sometimes writes stuff, sometimes plays piano, but mostly watches a man build igloos on YouTube. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Barb Jackson, Hugh Walker Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

What better way to celebrate the new year than a CHALLENGE EPISODE? We've got the gang together to ring in 2026 with resolute rhymes, timely time signatures, a charming champaign toast, and so much more - including a special surprise appearance from friend of the pod, Maya Tanaka! Happy New Year from all of us at Charm Scene! Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Maya Tanaka Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

You better watch out. You better not cry. Because this improviser is a heck of a guy. It's our CHRISTMAS EPISODE with charming guest and huge get - Santa Claus! In this week's fully improvised musical, we revisit the true (and dark?) origins of Kris Kringle, complete with radiated reindeer, 70s swag, and a babbling Baby New Year. Happy Holidays! Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Santa Claus Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

BRRRRRR. This week we welcome the abominable Daniel Matthews, as he shares his experience puppeteering "Nigel the Sasquatch" for a series of Chuck E' Cheese music videos. This wintery improvised musical comes complete with miserable misfits, supportive straights, and hungry hungry hippos. Find where you belong on this week's Charm Scene! Daniel (He/Him) grew up in the suburbs of Texas between Fort Worth and Dallas. He started improv back in his junior year of high school and has been performing ever since. He completed the training program at the Dallas Comedy House, co-wrote a couple horror movie musicals, and was a main stage performer at the Four Day Weekend theater in Dallas for years. Eventually Daniel made his way up to Chicago in March of '24 where he was delighted to join the cast of "Tuesday Musical Improv" at the Annoyance Theater. In his free time, Daniel likes convincing people to go do karaoke at weird bars, and trying not to slip on ice. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Daniel Matthews Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

To you he's just a sickly kid, but one day he just might be governor. Pod favorite Jessica Joy is back for another fully improvised musical, this time inspiring us with her real life summer stock experience in "The Secret Garden." Sour servants, talking termites, bags of bullets, and more in this week's Charm Scene! Make a wish! Jessica Joy is an actor and sketch comedian originally from Cleveland, Ohio! She is an alumni of the Second City in Chicago, where she wrote and performed in the Jeff Award-winning revue "Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting)", and toured the country with the Second City National TourCo and aboard the Norwegian Jade and Dawn cruise ships. TV credits: The Playboy Club (NBC), Modern Family (ABC), My Life Is A Joke (OWN), Chicago Med (NBC). Film credits: Screams From the Tower, Janie Jones, Bad Johnson. Jessica is a lifelong fan and employee of Cedar Point Amusement Park, having performed there in the early 2000's, and writing and directing shows there in the 2020's. Watch her solo show at www.jessicajoy.com! Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Jessica Joy Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

It might be December, but it's wedding season on Charm Scene! Charming guest Carlos Rivera helps us plan the perfect wedding in this week's fully improvised musical, with brooding brides, massive monologues, and aunt-ish ants! Will anyone find love? Find out this week on Charm Scene! Carlos, a rare species of "non-fluent in Spanish" Miami native, has done improv for most of his adult life. Since moving to Chicago in 2016 to pursue comedy, he has successfully graduated from the Annoyance, iO, CiC, Second City's Improv AND Musical Improv Conservatories, and has performed in improv & sketch all around town, and in festivals all across the country. You can currently find him in shows such as Shamilton, Wheel of Improv, Starship Edsel, Comedy Pageant, Swiped, Dinner Detective, & more! After a long week, Carlos likes to wind down by singing some "FERGALISCIOUS" at local karaoke bars around town, or watching his hometown football team the Miami Dolphins fail week after week. Find him on Instagram at "carlosrvra" or at http://allmylinks.com/carlosrvra. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Carlos Rivera Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

What's that shiny object at the thrift store? It's a surprise Charm Scene Thanksgiving with charming guest Sydney Clinton! Sydney tells us a bit about her time as a performer and comedian, and her dad's unique perspective on her career, which we use as inspiration for an all-new fully improvised musical - featuring balladic belts, feuding families, a kicked Kyle, and more. Happy Thanksgiving! Sydney Clinton is a Chicago-based performer who plays on stages across the city. Catch her regularly in "Voila! The Improvised Musical" (iO Chicago) and "ANARCHY: The Improvised Rock Opera" (Second City). Outside of Chicago, Sydney teaches music improv at festivals around the world, from Seattle to Nashville to Reykjavik and beyond. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Sydney Clinton Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

It's all rhymes and good times in this very special episode of Chat Scene! MC Hammersmith (aka our dear friend Will Naameh) is back again, this time discussing his origins in comedy and hip-hop, and giving us some advanced tips and tricks on rhyming. Join us! --- MC Hammersmith (the alias of Will Naameh), is a multi-award winning hip hop comedian.
He is the world’s leading rapper to ever emerge from the ghetto of middle class west London. In his live shows, MC Hammersmith performs improvised hip hop comedy. The lyrics and rhymes of his raps are 100% improvised and based entirely on audience suggestions. In this guise he has won numerous comedy awards, headlined weekends at every major comedy club in the UK, sold out multiple consecutive runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, supported Jason Manford on his live arena tour, and is currently on his third nationwide solo tour. He also writes and performs scripted hip hop comedy tracks, which have gone viral on numerous platforms – most notably racking up over 100 million views on TikTok. He has over 1M followers across social media. He has performed alongside famous hip hop and rap artists – most notably rapping for Dave in a viral “Guess The Musician” Beta Squad video, and being invited to freestyle at R.A. The Rugged Man’s London live show. He is also a writer for acclaimed YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History. Having started comedy as an improvisational comedian, he trained at Second City Chicago, iO, Annoyance, and UCB New York. He still performs improv today, in some of the world’s biggest touring improv shows – he can frequently be spotted improvising with Baby Wants Candy, Shamilton, and The Spontaneous Players at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and across the globe. He has headlined numerous international improv festivals, and was the first person in the UK to perform improv in an arena. @mc_hammersmith Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, MC Hammersmith Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, join our Discord, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!

Get PUMPED. This week we're joined by charming guest and UK's thickest boy - MC Hammersmith! It's a fully improvised musical, complete with melodious mayors, brutish boys, critical crosswords and more! Get your reps in on this all new Charm Scene! LADS LADS LADS. --- MC Hammersmith (the alias of Will Naameh), is a multi-award winning hip hop comedian.
He is the world’s leading rapper to ever emerge from the ghetto of middle class west London. In his live shows, MC Hammersmith performs improvised hip hop comedy. The lyrics and rhymes of his raps are 100% improvised and based entirely on audience suggestions. In this guise he has won numerous comedy awards, headlined weekends at every major comedy club in the UK, sold out multiple consecutive runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, supported Jason Manford on his live arena tour, and is currently on his third nationwide solo tour. He also writes and performs scripted hip hop comedy tracks, which have gone viral on numerous platforms – most notably racking up over 100 million views on TikTok. He has over 1M followers across social media. He has performed alongside famous hip hop and rap artists – most notably rapping for Dave in a viral “Guess The Musician” Beta Squad video, and being invited to freestyle at R.A. The Rugged Man’s London live show. He is also a writer for acclaimed YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History. Having started comedy as an improvisational comedian, he trained at Second City Chicago, iO, Annoyance, and UCB New York. He still performs improv today, in some of the world’s biggest touring improv shows – he can frequently be spotted improvising with Baby Wants Candy, Shamilton, and The Spontaneous Players at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and across the globe. He has headlined numerous international improv festivals, and was the first person in the UK to perform improv in an arena. @mc_hammersmith --- Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, MC Hammersmith Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, join our Discord, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!"

Jar Wars. Jar Jar Binks Star Wars. It's about Jar Jar. These are his wars. Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Christian Torres Music Director: Sam Scheidler Drums: Chris Ditton Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, join our Discord, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!