The Year of Licorice Cathedral
broadcasting an improv journey
with Jeff, Bela, and Camila
surreal, experimental, unedited
raw
About Us
Jeff Miner has been doing improv since 2008. In 2011 he helped found Liquid Mind, a house troupe at Pan Theater (Oakland, CA) where he also teaches and directs, and can be found onstage (or online) most Fridays. 
Within the yearlong exploration at Licorice Cathedral, Jeff developed an original longform format, The Dalloway, a grounded trio monoscene utilizing monologues that spiral into madness and the surreal. He hopes to bring this to stage soon, but in the meantime, Season 4 is dedicated to displaying the form’s development from spark of inspiration through every iteration we tried.
Bela’s been improvising since the mid ’90s. In addition to utter absurdity, his contributions to Licorice Cathedral are wildly performative exercises designed to get you out of your comfort zone, such as 30 Second Fart. He’s a gas.
Camila is the founder/producer/Evil Empress of all that is located within this entire site. Licorice Cathedral is the place she doesn’t care while paradoxically hopes to fuck shit up. Welcome to the surreal shadow side.
Season Playlists
Unfortunately, It really is everything
Season 1:
The Sets
Nearly every session we held ended in an exploratory set. Here they are, from beginning to end, in all their (un)glory, from serene scenes to terrible abstract poetry.
Season 2a:
Exercises
All trials of our original exercises and other explorations. There is no discernment here. One human’s trash is another human’s trashy delight.
Season 2b:
Monologues
These monologue targets & trials prepare for the surrealism and madness required of each character’s internal monologues for The Dalloway form.
Season 3:
Fun, Failures, & F*ck Yous
The beauty of improv friendship is that we can razz each other without taking anything personally.
(Note that Licorice Cathedral is now on hiatus…)
Flyby Playlist:
Just the Essentials
Don’t want to sort through the madness?
Our most frequently used exercises as stretches of performance and imagination (targets in shownotes).
Season 4: The Dalloway
Season 4 is dedicated to original longform format, The Dalloway, directed and developed by Jeff Miner. Season 4 begins with seeds of inspiration “Finding the Dalloway,” before settling on the first structured pass at a trio set that incorporated internal monologues. The direction of these monologues evolved over time to incorporate our poetic and surreal skills, hinting at character madness within a grounded world. Jeff’s brief intro (S4:E1) sets the stage, and we have noted our top 5.
To understand the targets of Dalloway, and to try it with our intentions in mind, read Jeff’s evolving Guide to the Dalloway here.
Top Episodes
The Weed
Our First
Obituary
Poetic and Poppy Performance
30 Second Fart
A Brilliant Original Exercise Leading to Laughter
Snail in the Stars
An ekphrastic exercise and short story
Presidential Wombs of Uncertainty
A highly character driven montage - with music!
Eclipse
Example of Jeff Miner's original longform trio format, "The Dalloway"