8 Winners Announced in the Online Round of Our Next UP Stand-UP Search

On December 5 we started the online search for Chicago comedians to perform in our Next UP Stand-UP Showcase, to find talented local comics to open for the healine comedians in UP Comedy CLub.

The online contest winners are in! The 8 performers with the most votes, who will be performing in the Next UP Showcase on January 12 are:

Joey Newfield
Carlton Ohaver
Luai Hodi
Jack Baker
AJ Lubecker
Katie Hughes
Brad Rickert
Keith Evans

If your video didn't win, or you didn't get a chance to submit, fear not! You can still audition live on January 3rd at 3pm at UP. Sign up starts at 2:30 and audition slots are first come, first serve. Space is limited. 8 performers chosen from the live audition will join the 8 from the contest in our showcase.

Congrats to our online video winners and we hope to see everyone at the live auditions!

My Musical Comedy: The Training Center's Newest Class For 13- 14 Year Olds

Fans of Glee, Broadway musicals, and theater will love this brand new class! Students will write and perform their own musical comedy! This 14-week course offers students the opportunity to learn story and lyric writing techniques while developing their own original musical. The instructors set the lyrics to music, compile and edit the final script to direct the ensemble in a performance of their very own original music.

Click here for class details.

Acting 1 Class Added!

Acting 1
Class Added Due To Popular Demand!

Over the last year, Second City students have been jumping at the chance to join our acting program but spots have been limited. Not any more! We just opened a Thursday 7pm class set to start January 5th. Learn how to prepare for an acting audition, perfect a monologue and more! To find out more information or register, click here or contact us at 312.664.3959.

Second City Holiday Hours

The Second City Administrative Offices will be closed on December 23rd, 26th and January 2nd for the Holidays. The box office and theatres are still open though, so if you're looking for something to do this season, check out one of our current shows.

Celebrate the New Year @ Second City

Choose your New Year's Eve adventure in Old Town. Have an adult celebration at The Second City's South Side of Heaven or The Second City e.t.c.'s Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting) or bring your teens to UP Comedy Club for a performance of The Second City's History of Chicago. Guests at the 10:00pm performance enjoy a champagne toast with the cast. Or check out the show at 7:00pm and get home in time to see the ball drop. It's a guaranteed good time.

WHEN:

Saturday, December 31, 2011 Performances at 7:00p & 10:00p Tickets are $55.00 each for all shows.

WHERE:

South Side of Heaven The Second City Mainstage Theatre 1616 N. Wells St. Box Office: 312-337-3992 www.SecondCity.com Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting) Second City e.t.c. Theatre 230 W. North Ave, 2nd Floor of Piper's Alley Box Office: 312-337-3992 www.SecondCity.com The Second City’s History of Chicago UP Comedy Club 230 W. North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper's Alley Box Office: 312-662-4562 www.UPComedyClub.com

Second City Turns 52!

Today is Second City's 52nd birthday, and we're stronger than ever, because of you. Thank you for writing and performing amazing shows, coming to the theatre, teaching and taking classes, watching videos, joining us on Facebook and Twitter and most of all, for laughing with us. We couldn't have made it 52 years without one of the most amazing communities in the world.

Joshua Funk Interviewed by ithentic.com

Joshua Funk, Vice President of Television Development and New Media & Artistic Director, The Second City Training Center Hollywood, talks New Media Production. Click here to read the article.

Second City to open for Jay Leno in Chicago on April 28

OMNI Youth Services announced that tickets are now available for its 40th anniversary celebration featuring Jay Leno and Second City on April 28, 2012 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago. OMNI's "An Evening of Laughs with Jay Leno" presented by Allstate will benefit OMNI Youth Services and highlight the organization's 40th anniversary providing services for youth in crisis. Tickets for the gala event are $350 and $400 and show-only tickets will be available for $150 and $135, and are available for purchase at www.omniyouth.org. In addition to Leno's act, Second City will perform as the opening act of the event. The performance is in honor of OMNI's contributions over the past 40 years in providing counseling, services and programming needs for children, teens and their families in Chicago and 20 communities in the surrounding suburbs. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Girls After School Program (GAP), REALITY Theatre, and the Outdoor Wilderness Therapy and Adventure Program, an experiential therapy program. Join us on Facebook.

"From Chicago, a Comedy Collective Second to None" - Washington Post

The Washington Post reviewed our production of Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies currently at the Woolly Mammoth theatre in D.C.

Whether they are crooning a love ballad to Chipotle's burritos or asking the essential cosmic questions, such as "How come all the addicts on 'Intervention' have better apartments than me?," the irreverent invaders from Chicago's Second City are hitting so many comic nails on the head they could be up on the stage assembling a McMansion.

Read the full review at The Washington Post

Don't Miss Sex & The Second City at the Alliance

Don't miss your chance to see the final weekend of Second City Theatricals' criticially acclaimed Sex& The Second City at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta! Tickets are on sale throughout the weekend. Click her for more information.

Response to Rick Perry's "Strong" Ad

Andy Cobb from The Second City Network, created a response video to Rick Perry's "Strong" ad.

It's hard to tell exactly what he was on about in much of this.

Honestly, if kids "observed' Christmas any harder in schools than they already do, they would be elves. And liberals don't hate religion, we're too busy drum circling, same sex marrying, and not owning guns to bother. - Andy Cobb

Second City's Dysfunctional Holiday Revue Receives Raves at Metropolis

The Second City's Dysfunctional Holiday Revue is back on the road and receiving rave reviews. Critic Tom Witom says that it packs a punch at Metropolis and Sally Jo Osborne with Chicago Stage Style describes the show as having "plenty of laughs and plenty of talent."

You can catch a performance of The Second City's Dysfunctional Holiday Revue at Metropolis Performing Arts Center, The Second City and UP Comedy Club.

The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa Returns – December 6-7

The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa
24 HOURS OF IMPROV AND MUSIC
The Second City e.t.c. Theatre, Chicago, IL
December 6, 2011 7pm concluding Wednesday December 7, 2011

For a decade, The Second City has enlisted Chicago's best improvisers and their musical counterparts to create twenty-four consecutive hours of the best improvised live art you will see in the city. This unique event raises money and gives hope to disenfranchised Chicago families on Christmas day. This year's improvisation will be spearheaded by Second City alums TJ Jagadowski, Tim Baltz and Brendan Jennings.

Improvisational games, scenes and songs inspired by sleep deprivation will accompany performances by the following musical acts:

7:30-8:00pm	Jeff Tweedy - live from Minneapolis auctioning a private show and more
9:30pm	Nina Nastasia
Midnight	The Mountain Goats
3:00am	Jeff Parker
5:00am	Bonnie Prince Billy
9:00am	Danielson
11:00am	Nora O'Connor
1:00pm	Robbie Fulks
3:00pm	Helen Money
5:00pm	The Blisters

There will be great raffle prizes, unique auction items and children improvising at 7:00am.

This event is open to all ages. Tickets are $20 and will be available at the door from 6pm on Tuesday December 6 throughout the event as long as seats are available.

Event will stream live at http://letterstosantachicago.com with a suggested $10 Paypal donation.

Letters will be provided by Onward Neighborhood House http://www.onwardhouse.org

Facebook Event Page https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=312998768716813

Second City @ Woolly Mammoth Theatre – December 6 – January 8

We're headed back to Washington, DC, for another great run with our friends at the Woolly Mammoth Theater from December 6 – January 8. If you're in the DC area, please join us for Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies directed by Billy Bungeroth and featuring James Alfred, Aaron Bliden, Jessica Frances Dukes, Maribeth Monroe, Scott Montgomery and Travis Turner. Click here to reserve your tickets and learn more about the show.

BuzzKill Music Video and Release Date

Second City is helping to produce the upcoming film BuzzKill, which will be available on Valentine's Day 2012. The following combines music and video from the upcoming film:

The Training Center interviews members of Delirious Confetti

December 2nd, 2011 - Performance - Delirious Confetti

Delirious Confetti is comprised of an ensemble that met at The Training Center. Join hosts Nancy Fast and Andrew Thorp as they find out what makes Delirious Confetti click, how they structure a rehearsal, who believes in ghosts and more! Check out their sketch show at The Gorilla Tango on Fridays at 8pm (December 6th ,9th ,16th). Find out more at deliriousconfetti.com.

The cast: Natalie Burris, Sean Godsey, Eli Golden, Alex Hancock, Michael Lackos, William Meincke, Chris Siefer

To listen to this podcast and all others, please visit our TC Spotlights page!

Next UP! Chicago's Best Stand-Up Comic Search

The UP Comedy Club is proud to announce our first ever stand-up comedy search: Next UP! Chicago is full of stand-up talent and we want to find the best local comics and have them perform on our new stage. There are 2 ways to enter and everyone who wins will receive a performance slot in our Next UP! Comedy Showcase on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7pm. The best stand-up in the January 12 showcase will receive an opening slot performing for one of our headline stand-up comics. The UP Comedy Club is located at 230 W. North Avenue on the 3rd floor of Piper's Alley.

Enter Online:
Enter a video of your best 3 minutes of stand-up in the content tab hosted on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/upcomedyclub?sk=app_95936962634

Submissions begin on December 5 and close at the end of the day on December 18. Voting begins on December 19 and closes at the end of the day on December 29.

The top eight videos with the most 'votes' by the end of the day on Friday, December 29, 2011 win a slot in our Next UP Chicago Showcase Show on Thursday, January 12, 2012 in UP!

Audition Live:
Come to the UP Comedy Club on January 3, 2012 at 230 W. North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper's Alley and audition live. The sign up starts at 2:30pm, and we'll see comics from 3pm to 6pm. Judges will cast their votes and the top eight will get a slot in the Next UP Chicago Showcase Show on Thursday, January 12, 2012 in UP.

Contestants in the online and the live auditions are competing to win a slot in the Thursday, January 12 show and the winner of that showcase gets an opening slot for future headlining comic here at UP. There will be 8 separate winners in the online contest and 8 separate winners from the live auditions. Comedians who are not selected in the online competition are encouraged to audition live.

For more information, contestants can log onto UPComedyClub.com or e-mail: nextup@secondcity.com.

UP Comedy Club is Chicago's new premier comedy club. Featuring the best in headline stand-up comedy and a variety of original full length shows and improv revues created and presented by Second City Theatricals, UP Comedy Club is Chicago's hot new destination for comedy with shows 7 nights a week.

In addition to a diverse slate of original programming, UP Comedy Club also features a full service restaurant and bar with a Chicago-style menu that includes Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Pizza, Vienna Beef and Eli's Cheesecake.

Student Spotlight - Delirious Confetti

December 2nd, 2011 - Performance - Delirious Confetti
Delirious Confetti is comprised of an ensemble that met at The Training Center. Join hosts Nancy Fast and Andrew Thorp as they find out what makes Delirious Confetti click, how they structure a rehearsal, who believes in ghosts and more! Check out their sketch show at The Gorilla Tango on Fridays at 8pm (December 6th ,9th ,16th). Find out more at deliriousconfetti.com

The cast: Natalie Burris, Sean Godsey, Eli Golden, Alex Hancock, Michael Lackos, William Meincke, Chris Siefer

The Second City Training Center Open Mic

When: Saturdays at Midnight
Where: The de Maat Theater
Cost: Free to Training Center Students and guests

Starting December 1st, jump on stage and join Host and Training Center stand-up instructor Bryan Bowden for the Training Center stand-up open mic. For a 4-minute slot, email Andrew at Athorp@secondcity.com with your name and phone number. Please submit your slot request by 3pm on Friday. A set list will be posted Fridays at 6pm on the Donny's Skybox Facebook page. Day of registrations will begin at 11:45pm on the night of the show.

See you there!

Steve Carell Named GQ's Ham of the Year

Steve Carell was named the "Ham of the Year" in GQ's Men of the Year issue recently for his work on The Office and his new found role as movie star and producer. Tina Fey paid him tribute in the article. Check it out at GQ.