The Awkward Show by Bandit Theater

SL Rao & the Coach No One Asked For

For our last show of 2025, we brought in SL Rao (Jet City), who shares a story about conflict avoidance and then plays in with the cast. The set that follows includes a CEO with a problematic advice giver, a man who does super deep background research before a first date, detectives trying to unpack ambiguous murder clues, and a team trying to put the "ultimate" back in ultimate frisbee. The cast features Mike Kroner, Jess Lechtenberg, Geena Pietromonaco, Jess Lampe, Winnie Yeung, and Kristine Antonsen (Coonoor Behal also took part in the conversation but not the set). Chris Carter directs.

A.I. & Organ Donation

Chris loses control of the group for a while, and a heated conversation about A.I. leads to some hard facts about a body's afterlife. The set that follows features a grabby funeral, the worst friend to not get feedback from, arrogance presenting as largesse, a heavenly convocation of geniuses, and a billionaire looking to donate their corpse. The cast includes Mike Kroner, Geena Pietromonaco, Winnie Yeung, Coonoor Behal, Sarah Kylie, Jess Lampe, and Kristine Antonsen. Chris Carter (barely) directs.

Attachments & Battles

A conversation about attachments and career choices leads to a set that includes a divorce lawyer indulging a client's aesthetic, a heart-to-cart romance, an insult restaurant assessing the upper limits of offense, and an emotional twist on a body-horror concept. The cast includes Geena Pietromonaco, Winnie Yeung, Sarah Kiley, and Jess Lechtenberg. Chris Carter directs.

Influencer Chefs & Accents

Jess Lampe is only willing to do so much when his girlfriend leaves a scathing comment on a post by an influencer chef, and the cast discusses following recipes and the effects of accents on personalities and perceptions. The set that follows includes an effort to get IRL with an influencer, a date with an English language learner, a professional path through internet comments, a parent who runs from conflict, an effort to make a meeting more casual and fun, and a surgeon whose cultural tastes affect her career.The cast includes Sarah Kiley, Jess Lechtenberg, Mike Kroner, Kristine Antonsen, Winnie Yeung, and Jess Lampe. Chris Carter directs.

Throwback! Will Hines - Part 1

A trip to the archives finds a pandemic-era Will Hines sharing stories of awkwardness with Bandit founder Annie Barry. The set that follows includes a hunt for wedding supplies, prank improvements, a justifiably suspicious spouse, an underprepared camper, a very helpful server, a sartorially dependent love, and a cleaned-out Rite Aid. The cast includes Austin Olson, Chrysta Storm, Grant Michael Scott, Jake Foerg, & Lee Yang. Annie Barry directs. Will Hines has been teaching long-form improv since 2004 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, at both its New York and Los Angeles branches. He’s published a best-selling book on improv called How to Be The Greatest Improviser on Earth. He’s also a working comedic actor and has appeared on many terrific television programs (The Sex Lives of College Girls, Brooklyn 99, Search Party). He also hosts the podcasts Screw It We’re Just Gonna Talk about the Beatles and Screw it We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics