The Bat cover art

The Bat

Improv in the Dark

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The Bat

By: Cole Stratton, Janet Varney
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About this listen

Hosts Cole Stratton and Janet Varney join four guest improvisers to create this show in total darkness in front of a live audience at a comedy club in California. The characters and the conflicts are all based upon the one-word suggestions from the people in the room and are enhanced with music and sound effects. Episodes feature a unicorn who plays board games, a talking dog that saves the day, and a boy who escapes from a bubble to pursue his passion for coin collecting.

Janet Varney is an Emmy-Nominated actor, comedian, writer and producer. She played the award-winning voice of Korra on the Nickelodeon hit The Legend of Korra. She co-stars on the IFC show, Stan Against Evil and the FXX comedy You're The Worst. She was the host of the beloved TBS show Dinner and a Movie and was a regular on the series Burning Love.

Cole Stratton is an actor, improviser and writer based in Los Angeles. You may have seen him on the TV shows, American Horror Story, Nash Bridges, and Good Girls. He writes and performs comedic commentary for films on RiffTrax.com, an online venture helmed by the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Episode Listing:

"Pancakes" - Featuring guest improvisers Phil LaMarr, Stephanie Courtney, Gary Anthony Williams and Tawny Newsome. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Bobcat" - Featuring guest improvisers John Michael Higgins, Tawny Newsome, Oscar Nunez and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Women's Rights" - Featuring guest improvisers Scott Adsit, Lucy Davis, John Ross Bowie and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Gateway Theatre.

"Unicorn" - Featuring guest improvisers Phil LaMarr, Stephanie Courtney, Gary Anthony Williams and Tawny Newsome. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Nickel" - Featuring guest improvisers Tawny Newsome, Seth Morris, Brian Huskey and Edi Patterson. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Fountain" - Featuring guest improvisers Phil LaMarr, Stephanie Courtney, Gary Anthony Williams and Tawny Newsome. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Brisket" - Featuring guest improvisers John Michael Higgins, Tawny Newsome, Oscar Nunez and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.

"Lawn" - Featuring guest improvisers Scott Adsit, Lucy Davis, John Ross Bowie and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Gateway Theatre.

When you add The Bat to your library, you'll get all 8 episodes, each with a runtime of about 18 minutes.

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Episodes
  • "Pancakes"

    "Pancakes"
    Nov 28 2018

    [Contains explicit content] Featuring guest improvisers Phil LaMarr, Stephanie Courtney, Gary Anthony Williams and Tawny Newsome. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.
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    16 mins
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  • "Bobcat"

    "Bobcat"
    Nov 28 2018

    [Contains explicit content] Featuring guest improvisers John Michael Higgins, Tawny Newsome, Oscar Nunez and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Westside Comedy Theater.
    Show More Show Less
    14 mins
    Try Premium Plus free
  • "Women's Rights"

    "Women's Rights"
    Nov 28 2018

    [Contains explicit content] Featuring guest improvisers Scott Adsit, Lucy Davis, John Ross Bowie and Gary Anthony Williams. Recorded live at the Gateway Theatre.
    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
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All stars
Most relevant  
Sorry, I'm sure Americans love this but I find it difficult to understand. This is because I am from the UK.

Too 'American' for me

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So American. “OH MY GOD” in Janice’s voice from friends pretty much sums up the comedic value of this audio programme. I was very disappointed in the comedy and even more so in the delivery.
A narrative is hard to accomplish in improvisation, and it took less that 10 minutes for me to realise this wasn’t my type of comedy.
No wit. Few puns. Much disappointment

Very American

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. . . to tell me I didn't want to listen to any more. It took a second to remind me that sometimes you can rely on first impressions. While I'm not the brightest bulb in the firmament I didn't need a third.

In a way an improv show performed in the dark is an interesting idea and the actors do keep the momentum up quite impressively but, it just isn't funny.

It Took Just One Episode . . .

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I find audio comedies a bit hard to listen to sometimes, I know they're supposed to be funny but they occasionally don't hit the mark, especially improv. This is different. there are some very skilled performers in this show and there were some laugh out loud moments. really r commend, it's one of the better ones.

a particular fave from the pancake episode when I don't my tea out when someone said "so, do we actually get our pancake?" - brilliant and imaginative and works really well in audio.

Well done all on a well devised and entertaining show.

Funny and worth it!

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