We're excited to return to the beautiful Cincinnati Playhouse with The Second City 2: Less Pride...More Pork beginning Sun, April 29. Directed by Mick Napier, the cast features Second City veterans Cody Dove, Sayjal Joshi, Amy Roeder, John Sabine, Tim Stoltenberg and Travis Turner. Click here for more information and to book tickets.
See what Cincinnati Magazine had to say about the show.
Thank you to all who voted in the 2012 INNY Awards for choosing The Second City as the Best in Sketch Comedy.
Congratulations also to the many great Chicago winners including our own Second City Training Center - Chicago for winning Best Training Center, and Michael Gellman for Best Instructor.
The INNY Awards, from Improvisation News, honor excellence in comedy. See the full list of winners here.
Congratulations to Sean Cusick, the Second City Training Center Faculty Member of the Week! Sean teaches improv and sketch with The Second City and has directed The Second City National Touring Company. He's created, performed and directed numerous sketch and improv shows in Chicago, including the critically acclaimed, "Best Church of God," and "Urlakis and Cusick." As a teacher, he has taught at The Second City, the Annoyance Theater, and at Chicago Public Schools as part of the After School Matters program. He's originally from Upstate NY, and graduated from Tufts University. Training Center staff member Andrew Thorp was able to ask Sean a few questions about his new and honorable status.
Congrats on being in the Teacher Spotlight! What do you plan on doing to celebrate this honor?
Thanks! I plan on refreshing my browser every 20 minutes until you post this, and then seeing where it shows up when I Google myself!
What programs do you teach in?
Improv, sketch writing, and occasionally in the Teen/Youth Program.
What's the coolest thing about teaching?
Getting paid to share a passion. I'm lucky enough to spend my work day laughing, and that's something pretty rare.
What's the hardest thing about teaching?
Balancing a class so that each student gets what he or she needs. Every class brings a range of experience, of enthusiasm and of motivation. The differences among the students, and the needs of the class as a whole, are always in the back of my mind.
What is the most important thing a student should know when preparing to take on a class or program?
You get out of it what you put in. If you're here to do something fun - Great! You'll have a lot of fun. If you're here to learn how to do comedy, be prepared to put in the effort.
How do I become famous?
A bolt of lightning. This is the arts - like music, writing, dance or whatever. That means that if you work hard, stay focused and have a flicker of talent, you can make a fine living doing what you love among fantastic people. But if you want to get rich or famous? The best you can do is be ready... Know how to do the work, so IF a bolt of lightning strikes, you can take your chance.
The Second City is excited to partner with the 2012 Chicago Improv Festival to present ALL GIRL REVUE featuring Edie McClurg, Jane Morris, Ruth Rudnick, Mary Wachtel, Maureen Kelly, Kathleen Campbell and Dee Ryan from L.A with The Playboys featuring Kate Duffy, Rachael Mason and Susan Messing at The Second City e.t.c. Theatre (1608 N. Wells, 2nd Floor of Piper's Alley) on Tuesday, April 24 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $15. Click here to purchase tickets.
The Second City 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are? opened on Tuesday, April 17th to rave reviews from the critics and standing ovations from audiences. Listed below is what the critics are saying about our new show.
"3 ½ Stars (out of 4)...Money talks and hilarity rules...a whole new, highly desirable plane of roaring comedy…the show consistently kills." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"...an energetic and pleasing revue bolstered by a strong cast..." - Jason Heidemann, Time Out Chicago
"Honestly, the whole damn thing is funny. If you like sharp humor, this is the show for you." - Jasleen Jaswal Vines, The Fourth Walsh
"Recommended...fast-paced slightly unpredictable quality that makes for the best kind of sketch comedy." - Zach Freeman, New City
"...the kind of edgy comedy that put Second City in the theatrical map... a quality reminder of what has made Second City such a civic treasure for so many decades." - Dan Zeff, ChicagolandTheaterReviews.com
"Recommended...[the finale has] a touching view of the future as a mother lists all the things she fears her baby daughter will never experience, though it’s a good bet The Second City will still be around." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times
"Top notch, flat-out funny show." - Gordon Dymowski, Blog THIS, pal!
Get Tickets to The Second City's 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are?
| WHAT: |
Second City alumni and author Rachel Dratch stops by UP Comedy Club to promote her new book, Girl Walks Into a Bar...Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle with a live reading, audience Q & A and a book signing following the performance. Tickets are FREE, but require a reservation. Reserve tickets at UPComedyClub.com. |
| WHEN: |
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. |
| WHERE: |
UP Comedy Club 230 W. North Ave, 3rd floor of Piper's Alley |
Dr. Katherine McKnight, author of Improvisation in the Classroom, released an article detailing the benefits improvisation has on K-12 students. To learn how improv "sparks imagination," "encourages team building," "promotes intellectual and emotional growth" and more, read her article here.
More about Dr. Katherine McKnight
With 20 years experience, Katie is a nationally recognized expert in adolescent literacy, inclusive classrooms, Common Core State Standards, and integrating technology in the 21st century classroom.
More About Improvisation in the Classroom
The scores of ready-to-use exercises offered in this book can be used to teach a wide variety of subjects—including language arts, math, science, and social studies—as well as to build classroom community and develop cooperative learning skills. All of the lessons are linked to current national standards for the United States and Canada, and have been proven particularly effective with kinesthetic learners and students with attention difficulties. To purchase this book, stop by the Second City Training Center in Chicago (1608 N. Wells Ave – 60614) or buy from Amazon here.
Congratulations to the cast and crew of The Second City's 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are? on their opening! The production has been Jeff Recommended which indicates outstanding elements of theatre and that at least one element of a show was deemed outstanding by opening night judges. The entire production is eligible for Jeff Award nominations at the end of the Chicago theater season.
The Second City 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are? is written and performed by Edgar Blackmon, Tim Baltz, Holly Laurent, Katie Rich, Mary Sohn and Steve Waltien and directed by Matt Hovde.
Click here to reserve tickets for The Second City 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are?
Celebrate Mother's Day Weekend (May 11 – 13, 2012) with Legendary Emmy®- and Tony®-Award winning comedienne Andrea Martin in her hilarious new one-woman show, Final Days! Everything Must GO!! featuring musical accompanist and Emmy Award-winning actor, the sensational Seth Rudetsky, host of Sirius Radio's On Broadway. Final Days! Everything Must GO!! is a rare opportunity to see this comedy legend in a musical extravaganza, where everything is up for grabs. Ms. Martin opens the book on her life with great behind the scenes stories, song and a bit of Greek dancing.
Shows:
Friday, May 11 and Saturday May 12 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Sunday, May 13 at 1:00pm
Tickets are $60.00 and available by phone at 312-662-4562 or online. Full dinner menu and bar service available for all performances.
Relax and have some good laughs over Memorial Day Weekend with the international tour of Women Fully Clothed starring Second City alumni Kathryn Greenwood from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Robin Duke from Saturday Night Live, Teresa Pavlinek from The Jane Show on CBC and Jayne Eastwood from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Chicago and Hairspray. Women Fully Clothed has delighted audiences in Canada and is thrilled to bring their US tour into Chicago.
Shows:
Friday, May 25 and Saturday May 26 at 7:00pm and 10:00pm
Sunday, May 27 at 1:00pm
Tickets are $45.00 and available by phone at 312-662-4562 or online. Full dinner menu and bar service available for all performances.
Andrea Martin's Final Days! Everything Must GO!!
Celebrate Mother's Day Weekend (May 11 – 13, 2012) with Legendary Emmy®- and Tony®-Award winning comedienne Andrea Martin in her hilarious new one-woman show, Final Days! Everything Must GO!! featuring musical accompanist and Emmy Award-winning actor, the sensational Seth Rudetsky, host of Sirius Radio's On Broadway. Final Days! Everything Must Go!! is a rare opportunity to see this comedy legend in a musical extravaganza, where everything is up for grabs. Ms. Martin opens the book on her life with great behind the scenes stories, song and a bit of Greek dancing.
Shows:
Friday, May 11 and Saturday May 12 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Sunday, May 13 at 1:00pm
Tickets are $60.00 and available by phone at 312-662-4562 or online at UPComedyClub.com. Full dinner menu and bar service available for all performances.
Women Fully Clothed
Relax and have some good laughs over Memorial Day Weekend with the international tour of Women Fully Clothed starring Second City alumni Kathryn Greenwood from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Robin Duke from Saturday Night Live, Teresa Pavlinek from The Jane Show on CBC and Jayne Eastwood from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Chicago and Hairspray. Women Fully Clothed has delighted audiences in Canada and is thrilled to bring their US tour into Chicago.
Shows:
Friday, May 25 and Saturday May 26 at 7:00pm and 10:00pm
Sunday, May 27 at 1:00pm
Tickets are $45.00 and available by phone at 312-662-4562 or online at UPComedyClub.com. Full dinner menu and bar service available for all performances.
In a recent post on The Creative Mind, Douglas Eby writes about improv, both in music and drama. During the part about improv on the stage he cites a recent book by Jonah Lehrer who wrote about his experience studying Double Down at Second City Hollywood. onah said he wanted to try improv while he was here, but was intimidated because the performers were so good.
Read the full article here.
Toronto Second City Alumni and Tony Awarding Winning Writer/Performer Bob Martin will be our special guest for Student Focus Night on April 25th. This up close and personal Q&A will give our students a chance to meet the writer of the hit Broadway Musical "The Drowsy Chaperone." Bob divides his time between New York and Toronto while he stars in the CBC hit television show "Michael, Tuesday and Thursdays".
In this week's issue of Time Out Chicago Magazine, the writers and cast of The Second City's 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are? are featured in an interview with Comedy Editor Jason Heidemann. The interview features Tim Baltz, Edgar Blackmon, Holly Laurent, Katie Rich, Mary Sohn, Steve Waltien and director, Matt Hovde. Click here to check out the interview online.
Martin Short, the legendary Tony and Emmy Award-winning Second City alumnus, returns to his roots tonight in, I, Martin Short, Goes Home, a one-hour television special produced by Second City Television Productions.
Featuring appearances by other Second City stars such as Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin and Fred Willard, the variety special receives its broadcast premiere all across Canada tonight, Tuesday April 3, on CBC television. (9 pm in Toronto, check local listings)
For more about this landmark special, read a preview in today's Toronto Star
And Marty's interview in his hometown newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator.
