Shadowing Practice: Molly Ringwald and Bob Odenkirk Talk Off-Broadway Show - Learn English Speaking with Video
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We are back now with two acting greats.
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Molly Ringwald and Bob Odenkirk have starred for years on the screen and now they are teaming up on the stage.
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They are starring in the off -Broadway show Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?
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So the play follows the work of the infamous 1940s House Un -American Activities Committee which investigated
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anyone suspected of having communist ties including some powerful members of
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hollywood as well molly bob good morning to both of you
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love the concept for folks who may not be familiar with
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this particular part of american history the play we should point out based on actual transcripts from those committee meetings.
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Yeah.
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How do your characters fit into the story?
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YOU WANT TO GO?
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Well, I play Lillian Hellman,
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who was blacklisted, and MY PART IS A LETTER THAT SHE WROTE.
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I DON'T WANT TO GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY, BUT SHE'S A PRETTY FORMIDABLE PRESENCE.
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I PLAY LIONEL STANDER, WHO PEOPLE MIGHT REMEMBER FROM HEART TO HEART.
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Uh, THAT'S THE BEST.
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YOU KNOW, THE BEST.
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THE TV SHOW?
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YEAH.
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HE WAS THE BUTLER, MAX.
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OH, YEAH.
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YEAH.
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BUT HE WAS AN ACTOR HIS WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE.
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AND HE APPEARED BEFORE THE HOUSE THE FAMILY IS NOT A LITTLE WHOLE THING MEANT HE WAS BLACKLISTED.
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HE ENDED UP NOT, YOU KNOW, STRUGGLING FOR WORK, DOING NIGHT CLUBS, GOING TO EUROPE FOR A COUPLE YEARS.
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IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS HE'S IN ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.
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HE'S IN THAT MOVIE BECAUSE THAT WAS SHOT IN ITALY.
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BUT HE STRUGGLED FOR WORK FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS AND THEN WAS SLOWLY FOUND HIS WAY BACK TO ANOTHER CAREER IN SHOWBIZ.
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and certainly for people in the arts, because for some reason, everybody got very scared
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and excited about who might have been a communist or even just attended a meeting or been friends with somebody who was.
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And it became...
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YOU KNOW, THIS BLACKLIST AND PEOPLE DIDN'T WORK AND WERE FORCED TO TESTIFY.
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AND SO THE PLAY IS, AS YOU POINT OUT, TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE ACTUAL HEARINGS THAT A GREAT PLAYWRIGHT, ERIC BENTLEY, CUT TOGETHER.
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AND YOU SEE EVERY SIDE OF IT.
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YOU SEE PEOPLE WHO NAME NAMES, Ilya Kazan, AND OTHER PEOPLE LIKE THAT.
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YOU SEE PEOPLE WHO FIGHT AND PUSH BACK.
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YOU SEE EVERY SIDE OF IT.
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Gave him the finger.
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Sorry, can I say that?
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You can leave it at that.
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And Molly, this really does sort of have a revolving door of talent, if you will.
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And you two are now stepping in for the next few weeks.
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How do you find your groove so quickly?
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How do you get your tempo going?
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Well, it's a story that's always really been interesting to me from the time I started in Hollywood.
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I DIDN'T LEARN ABOUT THE McCARTHY ERA IN SCHOOL.
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I ACTUALLY LEARNED ABOUT IT ON SET BECAUSE SOMEBODY THAT I WORKED WITH
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was friends with Kazan and I really wanted to work with Kazan
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and I went out to a dinner meeting with someone a director
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and she said oh who do you want to work with
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and I said I really love to work with Ilya Kazan
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and she said oh what would you call it naming names I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
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I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
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I WAS GOING TO DO.
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I WENT BACK TO WORK THE NEXT But they already had every name.
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They already have it, you know, and you know, and so and I thought, oh, this is interesting.
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So I started to do a lot of research about it, and it really was.
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THIS TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY THEIR OWNERS, THEIR OWNERS, THE in that sort of environment now.
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Bob, we love when you come visit us today.
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And there's been so many great things over your career to talk about.
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I mean, from comedy to drama, from screen to stage.
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You also even told us about an album.
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Oh, my God.
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You want to know how it's going.
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Is there going to be a tour?
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Well, if I survive, are you now or have you ever been off Broadway
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and the audience doesn't hate me and kick me out of the door?
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I will try to come back with a tour of me singing.
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I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
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I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
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LOOK OUT.
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THEY ARE ALL COMEDY SONGS.
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WRITTEN BY A FRIEND OF MINE, A GREAT WRITER FROM CHICAGO WHO I 'VE KNOWN MY WHOLE LIFE.
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SO WE'RE PUTTING THEM TOGETHER.
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WE MAY DO A LITTLE TOUR.
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THANK YOU.
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COME BACK WHEN THE ROM COM STARTS.
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ONE NIGHT ONLY IN AUGUST.
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WITH CALM TURNER, MONICA BARBERO.
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on Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, July 14th through August 2nd over at the New York City Center.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Molly Ringwald and Bob Odenkirk Talk Off-Broadway Show”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Kazan, molly, bob, tour, meeting. This video has 80 sentences and 814 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:21. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| blacklist noun | /ˈblæklɪst/ | A list or set of people or entities to be shunned or banned, disallowed or blocked. |
| mali noun | /ˈmɑli/ | A member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener. |
| transcript noun | /ˈtɹæn.skɹɪpt/ | Something which has been transcribed; a writing or composition consisting of the same words as the original; a written copy. |
| playwright noun | /ˈpleɪˌɹaɪt/ | A writer and creator of theatrical plays. |
| revolve verb | /ɹɪˈvɑlv/ | To cause (something) to turn around a central point. |
| showbusiness noun | /ˈʃoʊˌbɪznɪs/ | The entertainment industry. |
| stander noun | /ˈstændɚ/ | One who stands. |
| formidable adjective | /ˈfɔɹmɪdəbəl/ | Causing fear, dread, awe, or discouragement as a result of size, strength, or some other impressive feature; commanding respect; causing wonder or astonishment. |
| tempo noun | /ˈtɛm.poʊ/ | A frequency or rate. |
| groove noun | /ɡɹuv/ | A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tire groove, or a… |
| infamous adjective | /ˈɪn.fə.məs/ | Having a bad reputation; disreputable; notorious; unpleasant or evil; widely known, especially for something scornful. |
| testify verb | /ˈtɛstɪfaɪ/ | To make a declaration, or give evidence, under oath. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| starring verb | That which has the specified actor or actors, especially those in lead roles, in its cast. | |
| butler noun | /ˈbʌt.lɚ/ | A manservant having charge of wines and liquors. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| point out verb | To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| look out verb | To be vigilant and aware often as an imperative to alert a person to danger. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do your characters fit into the story?
- Sorry, can I say that?
- How do you find your groove so quickly?
- How do you get your tempo going?
- You want to know how it's going.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have starred · Have You Ever Been · there's been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was blacklisted · was shot · were forced |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | somebody who was · PEOPLE WHO NAME · people who fight |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'm, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like blacklist, mali, transcript.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.