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Master Lecture Series

History of the 3rd Robot War

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Master Lecture Series

By: Recent Cutbacks
Narrated by: Nick Abeel, Becky Baumwoll, Lauren Berst, David Carl, Darian Dauchan, Cary Hite, Lindsley Howard, Evan Maltby, Sonia Mena, Natalie Rich, Kyle Schaefer, Richard Sears, Regan Sims, Matt Zambrano
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About this listen

Master Lecture Series: History of the Third Robot War is a future history lecture so epic it will knock your digital socks off! In this satirical Audible Original that turns The Great Courses on its head, Professor Tirannous Rexavier Shepard guides you through the multiverse-shattering events of the war, from the opening "pyew pyews" through Le Battle Finale. Master Lecture Series pays homage to the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres with gut-busting (and circuit-bending) whimsy.

Recent Cutbacks takes parody and pop culture seriously. The company fuses humor, nostalgia, and lo-fi spectacle to create imaginative theatrical and digital comedy. Known for its hit shows Hold On To Your Butts; Fly, You Fools!; KEVIN!!!!! and Next Day Thrones, Recent Cutbacks has played to sold out audiences in New York City, Chicago, Indianapolis and more places across the US.

©2020 Recent Cutbacks (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.
Comedy & Humor Fiction Humorous Science Fiction Witty Comedy Funny Feel-Good War
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Dear Listener,

What should you expect to learn from this lecture series?
"A recent study found that listening to this lecture series made students 10,000% smarter. That's right: 10,000%. That's because in this lecture series, you'll learn about robots; you'll learn about dinosaurs fighting in space; you'll learn about Viviendorf the Chosen One's quest to find the Understated Fork. You'll hear both Organic and Android guest lecturers of all species, vegetable, animal, and mineral. You'll hear poetic excerpts from the writing of Shakespearus Aurus and examine the paintings of Anonymous Borscht. Seriously, Professor Tirannous Rexavier Shepard spared no expense making this lecture series, using the latest technological innovations in a capella underscoring and vocal sfx. So if you want to be 10,000% smarter in just six hours, listen to Master Lecture Series: History of the 3rd Robot War!" –Recent Cutbacks, creator of Master Lecture Series: History of the 3rd Robot War

About Recent Cutbacks

Recent Cutbacks takes parody and pop culture seriously. The company fuses humor, nostalgia, and lo-fi spectacle to create imaginative theatrical and digital comedy. Known for its hit shows Hold On To Your Butts, Fly, You Fools!, KEVIN!!!!!, and Next Day Thrones, Recent Cutbacks most recently was commissioned to create a drive-thru theater spectacle, Objects in Mirror May Be SPOOKIER Than They Appear, which was featured on the CBS Evening News in October 2020. The company released Zoomhog Day, its 20-minute virtual parody of the classic film Groundhog Day, last summer. Since 2014, Recent Cutbacks's critically acclaimed shows have played to sold-out audiences in New York City, Chicago, Indianapolis, and elsewhere across the US. The company has also taught workshops on its unique style of comedy at Second City's Training Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Alden Theatre, and more.

About the Creator and Performer

Nick Abeel is proud to call Recent Cutbacks an artistic home, where he's been able to hone his skills as a performer, writer, director, video editor, foley artist, sound designer, and musician. Abeel is also a veteran company member of Broken Box Mime Theater, collaboratively creating and performing contemporary stories entirely through movement. These two companies form the backbone of Abeel's creative work, but he's also performed at The PIT, UCB, Keen Company, 59E59, the Tank, the Duplex, Dixon Place, the Denver Center and the Kennedy Center. He's developed new work with All for One, New Dramatists, Manhattan Theatre Club, NY Stage and Film, Partial Comfort, Primary Stages, The Lark, and New Georges. He recently appeared in Chisa Hutchinson's film The Subject, starring Jason Biggs and directed by Lanie Zipoy.

About the Creator and Performer

Kristin McCarthy Parker is an award-winning director of stage, film, and audio. In addition to co-founding and directing Recent Cutbacks, their work includes Puffs: Or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (Off-Broadway & Filmed Live), Monsoon Season (AFO/Rattlestick), Kapow-i GoGo (The PIT), and the web series Awkwardly and The Weekend Detectives. They have directed and developed work with All for One, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Primary Stages, Ma-Yi, 59E59, Pittsburgh CLO Spark Festival, Columbia University, the University of Florida, and many others.

About the Creator and Performer

Kyle Schaefer is a New York-based actor, musician, and collaborative creator in film, TV, theater, and audio. In addition to creating original projects with Recent Cutbacks as a performer and founding member, he has developed work at Williamstown, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and A.C.T., where he graduated with his MFA. He has also performed at the PIT, Irish Rep, Arkansas Rep, the Kennedy Center, and Berkshire Theatre Festival, and toured internationally. Schaefer’s work in independent film, television, and webseries/sketch can be found online and streaming.

About the Creator and Performer

Lanie Zipoy is a Memphis-born, New York-based creative producer and director. She has produced for Recent Cutbacks since 2016. Her award-winning feature film directorial debut, The Subject, stars Jason Biggs and Emmy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis. Zipoy’s select theater credits include Laura Marks’s Bethany, starring America Ferrera (associate producer, WP Theater); Emmy Award winner Ted Greenberg’s ACE (Annenberg Center, Philadelphia; Off-Broadway); and the Brooklyn premiere of Caroline, or Change. Her theatrical productions have been nominated for multiple Lortel and Bessie Awards. She received the Mira Nair Rising Female Filmmaker Award from the Harlem International Film Festival. Zipoy was a Time Warner Foundation Producer Fellow of the 2012-2014 Lab at WP Theater, New York. She is a member of Film Fatales, Filmshop, and The FilmMakeHers.

What listeners say about Master Lecture Series

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If you like silly humor you'll like this

I thought it was pretty good just a bunch of made up craziness to kill 6 hours and there was actually some story to it but yeah I liked it

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Mildly Amusing

The narration and acting were good. Reminded me of radio shows. I had to spend a credit to listen to it, though. I probably won't listen again, tbh.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Loved this oddball book

This is fun lighthearted junk food for you brain. What starts out as a miner border dispute turns into a battle for all of existence. Full of just about every cheesy sci-fi cliche out there.

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  • Overall
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Very fun listen

Master Lecture Series ranks among the best audio dramas I’ve heard from Audible.

The story moves along quickly, frequently switching between a standard single narrator and full multi-cast sections. The story is funny and entertaining throughout, but its biggest strength is the pitch-perfect performance from an extremely talented cast.

The production features sound effects elements throughout, but not too much as to become a distraction.

Very enjoyable overall.

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20 people found this helpful

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great listen

I came on expecting something wacky and fun. It was that and a lot more. The plot was great and the voice work was some of the best I've heard on audible.

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6 people found this helpful

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I… dont even know what to say.

It was an adventure. I lol’ed many times. It was def bizarre. And i guess i need at least 15 words to leave a review.

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1 person found this helpful

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Cheesy yet True

The world is somehow a collection of blatant knockoffs and sincere. Things connect in ways that seem organic, and while the story of Olivia is rather... normal. The presentation of the setting, and the depth in how the world works makes it still exciting. You dont need to roll your eyes at Chosen ones when you got a cosmic tuning fork.

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8 people found this helpful

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I had so much fun listening to this

I laughed so many times in the middle of a three hour experiment thanks to this book. Much thanjs to the author for such a fun listen.

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8 people found this helpful

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Full Cast Sci Fi Parody

Oh how I love a good sci fi parody! Especially when it's wrapped up in an Audible Originals package, complete with full cast, musical interludes, and sound effects! This novel is a parody of Master Class lectures, taking place in the year three hundo thirty. On the planet Toxic Earth. It's the Star Wars \ Fellowship of the Rings mashup that you didn't know you needed. With some Harry Potter, Terminator, & Independence Day references thrown in for good measure. The Organic Multiverse against the Robotic Multiverse. The standard Chosen One. But what I loved most is the imaginative nature of the characters\species. The head of the History Department? Bowl of Pudding. Different Multiverse beings include cyclops cats, spaghetti and meatball monsters, and cod fish pirates! Listen if you have the sense of humor of a pirate. Skip if you have the sense of humor of said bowl of pudding.

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1 person found this helpful

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Applause for Recent Cutbacks

As a big fan of recent cutbacks, and super fan of sci-fi/fantasy... brav...what would be the gender-neutral/nonbinary/gender non-conforming version of bravo/brava?! ––>I would be saying that on repeat.
Recent Cutbacks stayed true to themselves in brightening the world by bringing humor, spinoffs, and hidden deeper themes by building off of a wonderful variety of lore...Lord of the Rings/Fly, You Fools!...Harry Potter...Star Wars...Game of Thrones/Next Day Thrones...Jurassic Park/Hold On To Your Butts...Ancient Greece...more I am unaware of, yet appreciate...

Although this is long, I enjoyed taking my time absorbing myself in a story. I am someone who would rather hours in depth than a quick summary or snapshot. So many things nowadays skip from one thing to the next and leave out details. As a detail-oriented person and a mixture of Hermione, Ginny, and Luna...a lifelong learner, a defender, and a lover of fantastical and quite real things, I appreciated this book and storyline very very much.

As a mega doctor who fan, this felt very similar to those story episodes. The classic robot wars, with characters engaging with good and evil...or well...I won't spoil anything. And...slower paced, which I preferred, and that felt soothing and engaging.

The foley and character voices are hilarious, incredible, realistic, tear-worthy, and amazing. I liked the progression of the story and loved the guest speakers within the lectures. It really made it all come alive. So many pieces brilliantly woven together. There is so much I want to say about how the story progresses and the psychological depths of the characters, but...listen yourself! As someone who loves stories about a hero's journey(s) and journeys of collective transformation, this was right up my Diagon Alley.

Thank you all for creating this and bringing joy and connection to my bus rides between Cambridge and Manhattan.

To Lanie, I wish I could have known you more. From what I heard, you were an incredibly special person. Thank you for everything you gave to the world to make it a better place for everyone, and for all you gave to those around you, especially Recent Cutbacks. Happy birthday.

May the fork always be with you all.

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