#136 A silly & sentimental thing
Dogs. Toxicity. The 19th Century. More Dogs.
16 OCTOBER 2024
Greetings from Oslo!
I just played a human version of Radio in a new format I developed with the incredible Billy Kissa. In Radio Mojo we secretly based our characters’ personalities on our respective dogs and put them both in a dead end job for forty minutes of improvised conversation and connection.
It was a beautiful show full of the kind of improv I adore.
Thanks to the excellent Oslo Impro Festival for letting us do such a silly and sentimental thing. It felt very precious to me.
Rule of three
[Article] Toxic Superfans
In her newsletter, Charlie Jane Anders talks about the problem with toxic fandoms and their power to destroy but never create. This really resonated with me. I would say I’m a member of several global fandoms (the most important being my beloved Doctor Who) and I’ve certainly experienced this behaviour firsthand. If we keep looking to the past, we’ll seldom create anything that feels truly fresh or progressive. I think there’s something for us to learn in the improv community too - we can’t just forever play the games and formats that were popular in the mid-to-late twentieth century.
[Cards] Jhyap
Introduced to me by the amazing Roz Gregoire, this game, played with a standard deck, is incredibly easy to learn but wildly nuanced and fun to play. It’s only enhanced my opinion that Playing Cards are the original and best gaming system.
BONUS FACT: Nintendo was originally a card manufacturer, established in the nineteenth century. That means the earliest that you could grab a Coke and play Nintendo was 1889.
[Update] Things I’ve mentioned before
Yes, it’s another round-up of things that have graced the pages of the Pretend Post before but I have MORE TO SAY.
Cryptic Crosswords: Many readers, including my own personal cryptic patient zero, Tom Mathias, recommended Minute Cryptic which sets a single clue each day and goes on to explain how it works.
Colin from Accounts: This Australian sitcom about a dog on wheels is back for another series and it’s still absolutely wonderful.
Brian K Vaughn: My favourite comic book writer of all time has returned with another six issue arc of Saga (arguably the greatest story ever told about people with TVs for heads and last recommended in issue 3 of this esteemed periodical). You can also read his ever-evolving (and decidedly NSFW) ghost story Spectators FOR FREE.
Down the Witch’s Road: Now there’s a ROCK version.
Spotlight
Talking of ghosts, there’s still time to apply to create a new SUPERNATURAL improv format with me in Germany, right at the start of 2025. It’s a five day intensive and we’re planning film nights and thrift shop visits and all kinds of fun extracurricular activities. Read the details here.
Also, it’d be remiss of me not to mention our aforementioned polymath Tom Mathias’ directorial debut Bleak Expectations at the South London Theatre. You can read a great interview with him (and book tickets) here. Tom is a joy fountain of creativity and kindness and I can’t wait to see what he has wrought.
Radio contact
At times I felt like Radio & Mojo were onstage with us.
PS- Arfie sends his love.