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!
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!

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

Aug 11, 2026
Aug 11, 2026
58 min
It's a "Chat Scene" bonus surprise! In celebration of our award-winning 100th episode, we look back at the past two years of Charm Scene, discuss the show's creation, answer listener questions, and more. Happy 100!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Sam Scheidler, Chris DittonCharm 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!
Aug 11, 2026
58 min

Aug 4, 2026
Aug 4, 2026
59 min
Our LIVE 100th episode, and we're celebrating with a classic Charm Scene road trip - complete with NINE surprise guests - all at Chicago's own iO Theater. Old orphans, haunted hotels, precious programmers and more. Here's to the next 100!Recorded Sunday, July 12 at iO Theater. Special thanks to Brad Pike and the entire iO team <3Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Ben Auxier, Jessica Joy, Brandon Michael Thomas, Allen Lucas, Heather Scholl, Daryn Robinson, Mike Gospel, Josiah Robinson, Amber LindeMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonStage Manager / Live Audio Tech: Dan Wilcop, Tristan RamosSound Mixing: Ben AuxierCharm 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!
Aug 4, 2026
59 min

Jul 28, 2026
Jul 28, 2026
1 hr 3 min
It's a new day for podcasts as Charm Scene is visited by two LEGENDARY music improvisers - Ashley Ward and Adrien Pellerin! We combine their stories in this newborn improvised musical, complete with bobbing babies, dangerous dams, heroic horses and more. Did we mention it's a new day?Ashley Ward has been improvising for over 20 years and performed everywhere from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the Kennedy Center to the Sydney Opera House. Most recently she was seen in the musical “3 Months Later” written by Jess McKenna, Zach Reino and David Wain at the famed Charlie Chaplin soundstage in Los Angeles. She co-wrote and performed in the off-Broadway show “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” and has directed many one person shows, sketch shows and musicals. She performs regularly in musical improv shows Baby Wants Candy and Shamilton at UCB LA and teaches musical improv at UCB and WGIS. She can be seen on Apple+ in “Hello Jack! The Kindness Show” and on DropoutTV in “Play It By Ear”. She is also a Jeopardy! Champion. Adrien Pellerin is an NYC-based musical comedian and writer with digital credits on Comedy Central and Adult Swim. He produces Shitzprobe and music-directs international hits like Baby Wants Candy. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Edinburgh Fringe, SF Sketchfest, and the New York Comedy Festival. His work has been featured by Vulture, Mashable, and Funny Or Die. Insta: @adrienpellerin | AdrienPellerin.comCast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Ashley Ward, Adrien PellerinMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jul 28, 2026
1 hr 3 min

Jul 21, 2026
Jul 21, 2026
1 hr 1 min
A tale as old as time. Boy jumps in water. Boy drowns in water. Boy gets saved by a hot mom. It's our take on this classic story, told by 5 time charming guest Brandon Michael Thomas, that finally peels back the curtain on just who that hot mom was. Complete with chatty children, maternal muscles, and ill-advised improv invitations, this week's Charm Scene dares to ask the question, "Hey, aren't you in Shamilton?"Brandon Michael Thomas (He/They/Them) is somehow still legally an actor, comedian, writer, and director who will cash a check the second he gets one. Now in his fifth year living in Chicago, it’s official: there’s no music improv podcast he loves to grace more than Charm Scene. You can catch him playing @babywantscandy or @improvisedbroadway, or wherever you get your premise-forward improv. Stop by his enclosure at the Lincoln Park Zoo and say hi!!Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Brandon Michael ThomasMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jul 21, 2026
1 hr 1 min

Jul 14, 2026
#97: "2828 N Pine Grove Ave" with Megan Ramsey!
Jul 14, 2026
Jul 14, 2026
1 hr 6 min
Stunning one and two bedroom units available in this classic Chicago improvised musical. An easy walk to charming guest Megan Ramsey, with ample space for chore charts, in-unit babbling babies, erroneous air-conditioning, and crown molding. Laundry and maintenance on-site, no security deposit, pets welcome. Managed by @charmscenepod.Megan Ramsey is a performer, musical improviser, and writer; originally from St. Petersburg, Florida. Her Chicago musical theatre credits include Benny Bingo and the Evangelikids, Pigskin: The Football Musical, and Gums: A Shark Movie Parody Musical. She improvises with Duluth: an Improvised Midwest Murder (Annoyance Theatre), Wheel of Improv (Second City), and Teen Girl Book (musical improv). Megan is also a co-host and co-writer of the annual Miss Annoyance Pageant, returning to the Annoyance Theatre August 2026! When not performing, Megan loves to play guitar and spend her time near a large body of water.Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Megan RamseyMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jul 14, 2026
1 hr 6 min

Jul 7, 2026
#96: "Duck Ex Machina" with Tess Abedon!
Jul 7, 2026
Jul 7, 2026
58 min
Duck quack! It's a ducking duckprovised ducksical with charming duck Tess Abeduck (Holy Fuck Comedy Hour, Tuesday Musical Improv, Pigskin). Melodious mallards, aquatic actors, feathered families, and more on this week's Duck Scene. You just got DUCKED.Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Tess AbedonMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jul 7, 2026
58 min

Jun 30, 2026
Jun 30, 2026
1 hr 2 min
Welcome to Door County Summer Stock! We're sat as charming guest Delaney Sterling (Tuesday Musical Improv, Marquee) manages the house in this week's fully improvised musical. Talkative ticket buyers, shushed Shakespeare, and somehow Sara Bareilles - all this and more on this episode of Charm Scene. Shhhh!Delaney Sterling (she/her) is a Chicago-based actor, improviser, and singer. She has been seen in productions of Tick, Tick...Boom! (Susan), Kiss Me, Kate (Hattie), and Polly Peachum (Molly, World Premiere), among others. She can be seen most Tuesday evenings performing with Tuesday Musical Improv at the Annoyance Theatre. She also improvises with Marquee at iO and Jury Duty at the Annoyance. You can also hear her in a variety of audio plays with Secret Handshake Productions. Favorite credits with Secret Handshake include Mordred, Tales of Dread and Darkness, The Wombat, and One Shots. Ms. Sterling is an alum of the University of Illinois School of Music.Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Delaney SterlingMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jun 30, 2026
1 hr 2 min

Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
1 hr 6 min
A crossover episode?? We've got the incredible Katie Terres in this week with her own special blend of multiverse. It's an improvised musical of sexual celebrities, cigarette sandwiches, shipped Chalamet's and more as we enter the world of Katie's own creation - Bi-Curious George. Will we succeed? Find out NOW on Charm Scene!Katie Terres originally comes from Florida but now resides in Chicago. In the city that is windy, she does lots of improv including teams such as Bl!mp and Voila: the improvised musical. When she is not improvising, Katie grows her multiverse of madness through cartoons and dressing up @katiepatioart. Her favorite tale to tell is that of Bi-Curious George.Cast: Lily Ludwig, Austin Packard, Katie TerresMusic Director: Sam ScheidlerDrums: Chris DittonCharm 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!
Jun 23, 2026
1 hr 6 min






