Charm Scene: Improvised Musicals
Join Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Music Director Sam Scheidler, and drummer Chris Ditton as they create brand new musicals — completely on the fly — alongside some of Chicago’s most charming music improvisers and performers. Welcome to the scene!
Listen on:
Who is Charm Scene?
Collectively, the Charm Scene team can be seen across Chicago and beyond as members of Baby Wants Candy and Shamilton at The Second City, Phony Award Winning Improvised Musicals at iO Theater, ANARCHY: The Improvised Rock Opera and Tuesday Musical Improv at Annoyance Theatre, Lost Realms: Improvised Musicals From Beyond, RIFF, and more. Members of Charm Scene have performed on tour with Off Book: The Improvised Musical, the Second City Touring Company, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Episodes
4 days ago
4 days ago
It's TIME for another Charm Scene! This week, charming guest Bryan Duff takes us on a race against the clock in this time jumping fully improvised musical, with scintilating cyberpunks, brotherly bachelors, notable Newtons and more! The clock is ticking!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Bryan DuffMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
It's our 4/20 spectacular, and we're just DYING for you to hear it. Keenan Camp returns, with snacks in tow, for a high flying, afterlife-spanning, fully improvised musical. Bestest buds, dope dances, troublesome trips, and more! Smoke 'em if you've got 'em for this week's Charm Scene!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Keenan CampMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Donut touch that dial! Daryn Robinson RETURNS in this fully baked improvised musical! And that's muffin to joke about. Foxy fritters, leading long johns, berefect bagels, and more! It's a bearclaw of an episode on this week's Charm Scene!
Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Daryn RobinsonMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris Ditton
Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
It's our APRIL FOOLS switch-em-up spectacular! We tied Sam to a microphone and brought in LEGENDARY Chicago Music Director - Lisa McQueen! Filled with precocious pigeons, adversarial ad-men, infantile improvisers, and more - we're headed back to an extremely accurate 1960s Chicago in this week's Charm Scene!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Sam ScheidlerMusic Director: Lisa McQueenDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Yo ho! Yo ho! It's a pirate's life for charming guest Devan Seaman in this week's fully improvised musical! Inspired by her time in pirate dinner theatre, join us as we enter a pirate restaurant inside a pirate ride inside a pirate themed amusment park. Batten down those betas, guzzle that grog, and prepare to be piratized in this episode of Charm Scene! Dead dolphins tell no tales!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Devan SeamanMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Things are HEATING UP! Charming guest Jono Mammel RETURNS, this time taking us all the way back to early human history in this fully improvised musical - complete with ferocious fires, time travelers in training, smoldering sweethearts, and more! Welcome to the stone age!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Jono MammelMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
The doctor is IN. Join charming guest Liz McCreight in our sexiest improvised musical yet. Hot healers, infectious friendships, rambling reporters, and more! Can this doctor heal his patients, and more importantly... himself?Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Liz McCreightMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Are you single and looking to mingle? Amiss and looking to kiss? Look no further than this week's fullly improvised musical! Charming guest Christian Torres takes us to a pop-up dating game, complete with bachelorettes, bodies of water, and the Bechdel Test. Find your special someone in this week's Charm Scene!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Christian TorresMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
We're "hanging on by a thread" in this week's fully improvised musical - with charming guest Derek Demko! Jealous Jacks, preoccupied parents, dirty dodos, and more. It's a jungle out there in this week's Charm Scene!
Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Derek DemkoMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris Ditton
Follow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
It's time to impress your mom as charming guest Natalie Younger takes us back to our collective theatre-kid childhoods in this week's fully improvised musical! Captivating cousins, impractical plays, juicy jugs, and more! It's time for the show!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Natalie YoungerMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonFollow us @CharmScenePod on Instagram and YouTube, or shoot us a message at CharmScenePod@gmail.com!