10 JUNE 2026

Hello.

It’s Chris Mead here - I’m an improviser, teacher and theatre-maker and I write this here newsletter every Wednesday for your delight and delectation.

And this week, I have a very special announcement about an upcoming show and workshop - skip straight on down to the Spotlight section to read more.

OK, I love you buh-bye!

Rule of three

[Improv] Mashable x Dropout
Digital culture site Mashable just did a huge feature on Dropout and it’s breakout stars. This is a big deal - there are multiple interviews and think pieces to peruse. Very excited to see something that is so unapologetically improv-forward finding its place in popular culture. Seems like an incredible company too, with game-changing (ahem) employment practices and ethics. And this comes during a huge UK tour where they are selling out MASSIVE venues to do improv shows. For my part, I once won a game of improv mini-golf with Oscar Montoya - so that makes me part of the Dropout family, right?

[Film] Pizza Movie
I haven’t laughed this much at a movie since Hundreds of Beavers. I don’t know if I can give a bigger compliment than that. It’s so so stupid and I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but this tale of three college students trying to go down two flights of stairs to pick up a pizza is strange, inventive and utterly owns its scattergun, throw-everything-at-the-wall aesthetic.

[Barefoot] Wildsole
This week, I started running in barefoot sandals, instead of shoes. So basically a really-flexible, indestructible sole held on by one continuous strap. Yorkshire-based Wildsole make them and - apart from being another really lovely small company - their product is AMAZING to run in. It’s hard to explain - but having no toe box allows your forefoot to flex and splay in a way that transforms your balance and agility. I knocked 2 minutes off my running pace (minutes per mile) the very first time I wore them. Now I feel like an ancient Olympian every time I go out running the streets of Aldershot.

Spotlight

<Deep breath>

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to a lot of improv festivals, in fact I’ve seen improv in over 30 different countries at this point. My favourite show of all time is Sound Off by Bemme & Melange (Ursula Baumgartner & Anne Rab). It’s a non-verbal show where they play about a hundred characters all at once in the same location with a casual virtuosity that has to be seen to be believed.

And I’m overjoyed to announce that The Pretend Company are bringing them to the UK in July.

Ursula and Anne will be teaching a workshop on Body & Voice for a full weekend - 18th - 19th July 2026. If you want to level up your stagecraft, if you want to hone those essential tools that every performer needs to maintain, if you want to spend time with two true masters of the art form - then this is the workshop for you.

I expect this one to sell out pretty quickly, so today I’ll be opening up the waitlist for the workshop - and then we’ll go live next Monday 15 July. Waitlist members will be able to grab tickets at 11am, then we’ll open them to the public at 12pm.

Bemme & Melange will also perform their show at Pretend Night on 17th July - so look forward to more details about that shortly too.

I AM GENUINELY OVER THE MOON ABOUT THIS!

Radio contact

This week, Radio became an inadvertent father figure to this tiny pup.