CONNOR RATLIFF presents THE ACTING CLASS: THE PODCAST

Making some plans for the show -- maybe returning to Chicago?  Maybe elsewhere?

I am about to do a bunch of shows in a bunch of different places!  And I have some thoughts...

Just some odds & ends, ramblings about The Odyssey, etc

After 5 years, the lower east side improv show, Raaaatscraps, has come to an end! Built from the ashes of ASSSSCAT (which died with the 2020 lockdown but has since been reborn at the new UCB), this show was created by Shannon O'Neill and gathered together a crew of some of the world's best improvisers to do shows every Sunday night.  And now, as of last night, it's over. Which has left me in a rambling, melancholy mood.  I turn 51 this month and each chapter that comes to and end now feels like I am inching towards that final big ending.  Here's 30 minutes of NYC improv talk which may contain things I've said previously on this very podcast.

I've noticed a teeny-tiny trend where people are fundamentally misunderstanding the concept of "Yes, And..." in improv, and then confidently wading into the comments section to give notes on online clips from improv shows. A minor annoyance, which I rant about for nearly 20 minutes.  Hello!  

Retired filmmaker George Lucas has opinions about A.I. that have recently been a source of controversy -- I answer a question about those views and about how new information about George Lucas affects the way I approach my "Retired filmmaker George Lucas" character...

A question about the writing process for the Disney comics I've been writing with my friend James III

A question about the unknown future of Deputy Kent on the smash hit, Emmy-nominated Widow's Bay, which you should watch on Apple TV if you haven't already!

Just some light musings on the film performances of Tom Hanks

A question about "Special Editions" (i.e. when artists revisit their old works and change them)

Today is Tom Hanks' 70th birthday, and a listener has a birthday-timed pair of questions

A specific question about my character process when doing Comedy Bang! Bang! live shows

A question about which singer/songwriter I would select to create a jukebox musical based on my life (I give a detailed but disappointingly evasive answer)

There's a book!  1st edition limited to 100 copies.  Also: a question about the voices in the Peanuts TV specials & movies

Should I keep doing this podcast?  Maybe not!

A question about my process for devising characters for Comedy Bang! Bang! live touring shows

Thoughts on interacting with famous ppl

A question about George Lucas returning to CINEMA as the voice of one of the Minions in this summer's MINIONS & MONSTERS

Asked to rank the Toy Story films, and I more-or-less do, while also suggesting what I hope will at some point be done with the first one.  I also talk about the way that people wish for good things to end before they go downhill, including thoughts on Widow's Bay and The Wire.

Am I **not funny**?  Well, it depends on who you ask!

New Steven Spielberg movie I auditioned for... and I did **NOT** book the role!  But there is always HOPE for the FUTURE!  Allow me to unpack the process a teeny-tiny bit...

Longest episode yet!  The first half is deep-dive stuff about the Del Close Marathon, the multi-day, multi-stage improv festival which just returned to NYC for the first time in close to a decade!  Then I pivot to the recent controversy about who can call themselves a "New Yorker."  I talked too long!  But then again, what is the point of this thing, anyway, if not to talk too long?

how my brain work?

I just finished a week of touring with Comedy Bang! Bang! and somebody asked me a question about how that whole thing works!

As promised: expanded rambling thoughts regarding one of my favorite characters of all time: Miles Drentell.  I recorded this one while very tired, so I don't remember all the different things I veered off-topic about!

I saw a clip of Melissa Villaseñor talking about her post-SNL experience, and it got me thinking.

2 mostly unconnected concepts: will I ever perform in Australia, and are there ways for people to support my various creative endeavors?

A re-record of an episode I recorded 2 days earlier (walking through London) which proved unlistenable.  This is me talking about the same things in the quiet of my Earl's Court hotel room late at night.  Buckingham Palace & St James Park are the central topics, though of course I ramble.

100TH EPISODE!!!  Contains a brief section about the fictional character Miles Drentell, which is a topic I will likely return to in a future episode.

A question about "Nepo Babies" leads me to several other terms that rattle around in my head sometimes

2 questions!  One about D&D and another about Doing Dialects!

I am about to cross The Brimley/Cocoon Line, which is the moment in life when a person is the same age that actor Wilford Brimley was when the film COCOON was released in theaters.

My thoughts about "non-actors" doing acting!

Someone asked about Griffin Newman and these are my thoughts about him!

In episode 4 of the Apple TV Original Series WIDOW'S BAY, I play the role of Deputy Kent.  It is a brief appearance, but here I go talking about it for way too long!

A little behind the scenes insight into one of the craziest stage shows I've ever been a part of.

A clarification about me performing as "Retired filmmaker George Lucas" at the soon-to-be-opening Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art

NYC vs L.A.?  Which is better?  Which is right for me?  Which is right for YOU??

A question about mixing up words, flubbing lines, etc!

A question about whether or not I have any HOPE regarding the future of The Entertainment Industry PLUS 2 MORE BONUS QUESTIONS!

Some thoughts about traveling with my CRpTAC show, and some related DIFFICULTIES and FEARS!

A question about really successful and famous ppl doing appearances at fan conventions when it SEEMS like maybe they wouldn't/shouldn't need to do such things

A question about inappropriate utterances and awkward interactions with audience members or monologists

The first of what may end up being an ongoing series of episodes about Meryl Streep

A long episode where I unpack my entire current situation, i.e. why I do the Acting Class shows, etc

Since 2014, I've been talking about the Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art -- it has been one of the core topics on The George Lucas Talk Show since long before it found its permanent home in Exposition Park, Los Angeles.   Now that the museum is set to open on September 22nd, 2026, do we have plans for GLTS?  Yes, we do!  And beyond that, we have a ton of vague ambitions that won't find their shape until we find out what is possible!  It is an exciting time to be alive!

About acting with animals!

I've been recording and deleting episodes before posting them!

Connor's regular Sunday night improv gig, Raaaatscraps, heads into its final 7 shows, while a new TV series, a movie premiere, and another live NYC edition of CRpTAC are all happening this week!

The next in-person CRpTAC guest is Zach Cherry (4/30/26 at UCBNY), so here are a few thoughts about Zach in anticipation of him doing the show!