THE G.Y.M. — PILOT, ACTS TWO AND THREEBy Dani Hanks

Pick up where Act One left off. Valerie still cannot get her commercial. The film crew is still in her face. The Solstice gym across the street is still winning. And things are about to get considerably worse.

Bryan is teaching group fitness despite not knowing what "happy baby" is, and every senior in the building keeps asking when Reggie is coming back. Kayla is supposed to be training her client. Her client is currently turning purple under a barbell. The cameraman looks weirdly familiar to her and she cannot place it. Chris is somewhere in the locker room going through a smoothie situation he did not ask for. Wade the IT guy is crawling through a server closet stuffed with the unpaid invoices Valerie has been hiding in her clipboard. And Valerie, our hero, has just told the cute IT guy that her anaconda doesn't want his real estate funds.

It's fine. Everything is fine.

By the time we get to the pool, Alexa is jumping off a diving board she has no business being on, Bryan is leading a secret back room of seniors through a yoga pose he learned thirty seconds ago, Wade is sitting next to a soaking wet Valerie holding the worst envelopes she's ever seen in her life, and the truth about who's been filming all day is about to drop in the middle of the room like a brick through a window.

Underneath the chaos, this is what the show is actually about: a woman trying to save the only place she ever felt at home, with a crew of misfits who have nowhere else to go either. Norman Lear would recognize this gym. So would anybody who's ever worked at one.

Meanwhile, across the street, in a chrome office at the new Solstice, a Southern silver fox in a tall cowboy hat is watching the whole thing through binoculars. He is having the time of his life. He is not done with The G.Y.M. Not even close.

Recorded live at Podcast Movement at SXSW in front of a packed house of our peers, and you can hear it in the room. Video version available on YouTube and across our channels.

CAST

Heather Foster - Narrator Allison Dunbar - Valerie Yasmine Al-Bustami - Kayla and Spin Client Kensington Tallman - Alexa and White Trash Spin Diva Shaan Sharma - Wade, Bored EMT, and Johnny Joe Nemmers - Gary Hughes, Cocky Newscaster, Television, and Gruff Driver Jacob A. Ware - Bryan and Sam Brian Villalobos - Chris, Weak-Armed Client, and Handyman Amy Bailey - Mary, Gem, Peppy Newscaster, First AC, and Phone Scott Hervey - Client Carlin (special guest appearance, our attorney from Weintraub Tobin)

Produced by Manifest Media. Created by Jack Levy, Mark Knell, and Shaan Sharma.

This live read benefits Best Friends Animal Society, selected by Allison Dunbar, dedicated to bringing no-kill to every shelter in the country. Save Them All. bestfriends.org/donate

THE G.Y.M. — PILOT, ACTS TWO AND THREE By Dani HanksPick up where Act One left off. Valerie still cannot get her commercial. The film crew is still in her face. The Solstice gym across the street is still winning. And things are about to get considerably worse.Bryan is teaching group fitness despite not knowing what "happy baby" is, and every senior in the building keeps asking when Reggie is coming back. Kayla is supposed to be training her client. Her client is currently turning purple under a barbell. The cameraman looks weirdly familiar to her and she cannot place it. Chris is somewhere in the locker room going through a smoothie situation he did not ask for. Wade the IT guy is crawling through a server closet stuffed with the unpaid invoices Valerie has been hiding in her clipboard. And Valerie, our hero, has just told the cute IT guy that her anaconda doesn't want his real estate funds.It's fine. Everything is fine.By the time we get to the pool, Alexa is jumping off a diving board she has no business being on, Bryan is leading a secret back room of seniors through a yoga pose he learned thirty seconds ago, Wade is sitting next to a soaking wet Valerie holding the worst envelopes she's ever seen in her life, and the truth about who's been filming all day is about to drop in the middle of the room like a brick through a window.Underneath the chaos, this is what the show is actually about: a woman trying to save the only place she ever felt at home, with a crew of misfits who have nowhere else to go either. Norman Lear would recognize this gym. So would anybody who's ever worked at one.Meanwhile, across the street, in a chrome office at the new Solstice, a Southern silver fox in a tall cowboy hat is watching the whole thing through binoculars. He is having the time of his life. He is not done with The G.Y.M. Not even close.Recorded live at Podcast Movement at SXSW in front of a packed house of our peers, and you can hear it in the room. Video version available on YouTube and across our channels.CASTHeather Foster - Narrator Allison Dunbar - Valerie Yasmine Al-Bustami - Kayla and Spin Client Kensington Tallman - Alexa and White Trash Spin Diva Shaan Sharma - Wade, Bored EMT, and Johnny Joe Nemmers - Gary Hughes, Cocky Newscaster, Television, and Gruff Driver Jacob A. Ware - Bryan and Sam Brian Villalobos - Chris, Weak-Armed Client, and Handyman Amy Bailey - Mary, Gem, Peppy Newscaster, First AC, and Phone Scott Hervey - Client Carlin (special guest appearance, our attorney from Weintraub Tobin)Produced by Manifest Media. Created by Jack Levy, Mark Knell, and Shaan Sharma.This live read benefits Best Friends Animal Society, selected by Allison Dunbar, dedicated to bringing no-kill to every shelter in the country. Save Them All. bestfriends.org/donate

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 Produced by Jack Levy, Shaan Sharma, and Mark Knell  Manifest Media.

#1 Fiction Podcast | 2025 Webby, Shorty, and Signal Winner | Cinema for your ears.	

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Cinema for your ears. Performed by Hollywood’s best.Step inside the studio where Hollywood’s top actors bring award-winning screenplays to life... complete with a full cinematic score, immersive sound design, and the energy of a live performance.Each episode is a front-row seat to a one-of-a-kind production: 20-plus working actors, world-class scripts from acclaimed writers, and film-quality sound crafted by Emmy-winning producers. It’s not just a podcast... it’s a movie you hear.Recent guests include Mark Hamill, Rosario Dawson, Ty Burrell, Joe Mantegna, Fred Armisen, and more. Produced by Jack Levy, Shaan Sharma, and Mark Knell Manifest Media.#1 Fiction Podcast | 2025 Webby, Shorty, and Signal Winner | Cinema for your ears.	 👉 <a href="https://www.tablereadpodcast.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TableReadPodcast.com</a>

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THE G.Y.M. — PILOT ACTS 2 & 3

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/83698a10-e999-422f-8d74-b464013298da/transcript