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Master Lecture Series  By  cover art

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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Publisher's summary

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.

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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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    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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    4 out of 5 stars
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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
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fun listen with laugh out loud moments.

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. A fun few hours with great, some time ridiculous moments, that you can't help but laugh loud enough for every body around you to hear.

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6 people found this helpful

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Wow.. I am definitely going to buy their next book

This book is good. Voicing acting is also good, so are the sound effects.. It has strong charm.. I don't dare say. More about the story.. But it is nice and entertaining. There references everywhere spanning different movies and other things. Things a person would only get or understand if they saw them or remember the scenes from which they came. I encourage everyone to give it a try.. It's easy to spoil so I dont dare speak much about i.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

lots of campy fun

full of tropes and cheesy satire , a good fun listen. I was particularly fond of how effective it was to have the narrative framed as a lecture series , it worked really well for this.

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4 people found this helpful

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most informative series on the third robot war

May the fork be with you

I truly enjoyed this book and I think you will too if you have any love of spoofs, comedy, and all around shenanigans. definitely worth a listen and I would recommend it highly. if you are a fan of sci-fi in any way I think you will find this enjoyable.

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1 person found this helpful

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Entertaining enough

I enjoyed this. I was a bit disappointed by how derivative the story was in places, but I really liked the framing of the story as a history audio lecture and there were many clever parts. Give it a go.

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  • Overall
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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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7 people found this helpful