Kicking the Bucket

Kicking the Bucket

✨ Growing old together was the plan. Dying together? That part’s improvised. KICKING THE BUCKET is an immersive fiction dramedy about love, aging, and winging it at the end of life. Dolores and Howard have decided to die with dignity. But they’re not exactly sure how. This darkly funny multicast serial podcast explores elder care, autonomy, caregiving, and all the awkward, tender moments in between. Created by award-winning artist Andee Kinzy, KTB turns taboo topics into conversation. Each 20-minute episode blends humor and heartbreak, building to a bold, choose-your-own-ending finale. ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast ------------- 🎙️ CAST Mimi Strum & Richard Gartner as Dolores & Howard Also featuring: Kendra L. Franklin, Mical Trejo, Kelli Bland, Chiara McCarty, Ivy Le, Dana Wing Lau, Vivian Glazier, Cynthia Preston & Shaun Conde 🎬 CREDITS Written/Produced/Directed: Andee Kinzy Producer & Casting: Dana Wing Lau Sound Design, Mixing, Mastering: Hemlock Creek Productions (Marisa Ewing & Melissa Pons) Dialogue Editing: Hemlock Creek Productions Marketing: Chiara McCarty Podcast Club Producer: Chloé Carcamo Studio Recording: Northshore Media Productions (Austin, TX) | Engineer: Kevin Chin 🔹 This project is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department. ImprovEd Arts is a sponsored project of Austin Creative Alliance. #AudioDrama #FictionPodcast #Aging #Caregiving #Caregivers #EndOfLife #ElderCare

Episodes

June 6, 2025 1 min

✨ KICKING THE BUCKET is a new fiction podcast about aging, caregiving, and end-of-life autonomy.

With 8 richly sound-designed episodes and a stellar cast aged 34 to 92, this audio dramedy is a TV series for your ears. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. And you get to choose how the story ends.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


—--...

Mark as Played

✨ Dolores and Howard set the stage for their last act after another unsatisfying tour of a “nursing home” (or retirement community, depending on who you ask) and a confirmation that Howard’s health is nearing its final curtain.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


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🎙️ CAST

Mimi Strum & Richard G...

Mark as Played
July 9, 2025 19 mins

✨ More talk of retirement communities and forced downsizing sets a strangely troublesome scene for Dolores and Howard. Can there be dignity in death? Tamika has a secret of her own.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast

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🎙️ CAST

Mimi Strum & Richard Gartner as Dolores & Howard

Also featuring: Kend...

Mark as Played
July 16, 2025 16 mins

✨ Another tour of a retirement home facility pushes Dolores to face the future. Howard hopes the stars will align, but after a terrifying memory lapse episode with Dolores, he admits the fault may lie closer to home. They may have also accidentally adopted a dog.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


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Mark as Played
July 23, 2025 19 mins

✨ Dolores and Howard realize that brainstorming ways to go out on your own terms is hard work. It also requires some imagination…and perchance, a little luck from Mother Nature. An annual family trip to a water park proves to be chaotic and isolating.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


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🎙️ CAST

Mi...

Mark as Played
July 30, 2025 17 mins

✨ This is it. The hour is nigh. Dolores and Howard make their move, but an unexpected visitor threatens to derail their carefully crafted goodbye. As Tamika reveals her secret, the question remains: will anyone hear Dolores and Howard before the curtain falls?


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


—-------


�...

Mark as Played
August 6, 2025 25 mins

✨ Dolores and Howard put their next plan into motion. But first, they need to get organized. Clear out the clutter and get the dog into a good, loving home. A feat that seems easy enough…


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


—-------


🎙️ CAST

Mimi Strum & Richard Gartner as Dolores & Howard

Also featu...

Mark as Played
August 13, 2025 20 mins

✨ Finally. It’s time. And not a minute too late. Or maybe it is? Will Dolores and Howard be foiled again? Still, the kids need an answer about a nursing home, so our persistent protagonists make a break for it. In a minivan.


⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and end-of-life decision-making. 


🌐 MORE INFO: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast


—-------


🎙️ CAST

Mimi Strum & Richard Gart...

Mark as Played
August 20, 2025 25 mins

NOTE: **Both endings begin the same and diverge about halfway through.** 


And now, dear listener, we come to a crossroads. For our final episode, we invite you to choose your own ending. If you are rooting for Dolores and Howard to go out on their terms - needing no permission, making no apologies - stay here on Tape 8, Side A, or Episode 8A, “Rounded with a Sleep.” But i...

Mark as Played
August 20, 2025 32 mins

NOTE: **Both endings begin the same and diverge about halfway through.** 


And now, dear listener, we come to a crossroads. For our final episode, we invite you to choose your own ending. If you are rooting for Dolores and Howard to go out on their terms - needing no permission, making no apologies - go to Tape 8, Side A, or Episode 8A, “Rounded with a Sleep.” But if you’r...

Mark as Played

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