Happy St. Patrick's Day from The Second City

Looking for a new way to celebrate? Celebrate with Finian's Meats...or else.

Want to hit the town this weekend? Check out our shows in Chicago, Toronto and Hollywood.

Offstage with Mike Kosinski

When e.t.c. actor Mike Kosinski first saw a Second City show, he knew that was what he wanted to do. But he was terrified of improv. To face his fear, he enrolled in the Second City Training Center. "Learning how to do it scenically is so different than just sitting around and joking with your friends," says Kosinski. Soon he was taking improv classes everywhere around the city of Chicago. He learned how to make choices to heighten certain scenes, and improv became the most rewarding and fun part of acting for him. He says he was "bitten by the improv bug."

"Working for Second City was my dream when I moved to Chicago," he says. And that dream came true. He performed on four different cruise ships with Second City, spent a year in Denver for a Second City Theatricals show and spent a year and a half traveling with the Second City Touring Company. "Being paid to travel and do comedy with my friends was so great." He was lucky enough to travel all over the country, including Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Northern Europe. He says performing at all these different locations "keeps you humble."

Mike is about to finish his first Second City e.t.c. revue and begin the writing process for our 37th revue at the end of this month. Before joining the e.t.c. company, most shows he performed were archived material. "These archive pieces are so time tested and we know they work. So then going from that to all original material, you don't know if it's going to work," he says. "There's almost a comfort and safety in doing a Steve Carell scene, but also there is this sense of responsibility to do those scenes as well as you can because your comedy idols wrote them."

For Mike's first revue in the e.t.c. theatre, "We're All In This Room Together," Kosinski definitely took some risks with original material. The scene "Parents" he created involves bringing an audience member onstage to be introduced as his boyfriend. The cast goes on to perform an entire musical wedding with a different audience member every night. "It's definitely risky but I think with all things the more risk the better the payoff," he says. "I think it's always fun and the audience member is always really well protected." He recalls performing it at the Jeff Awards and receiving a standing ovation. For him, that was one of the most special moments for his career.

"I am so excited to get new stuff in now," he says about the process of creating a new revue. "We're going to have a brand new show and I have no idea what that show will look like," he says. "Ultimately it's so rewarding." It's interesting to think that in three months time, they will have created a brand new show and he has no idea what it's going to look like. He says he is lucky to have such a great group of people to work with. "No matter what happens onstage, we know we're friends offstage."

"The thing that I was most afraid of initially when I first saw a Second City show, which was improv, is now the thing I like most about a Second City show 'cause you never know what's going to happen."

By Pamela Birchard

The Onion, The Second City Join Forces For Touring Show, 'The Onion Live!'

Two of America's finest comedic institutions, The Onion and The Second City, announced today that they are partnering to present a first-of-its-kind theatrical event called The Onion Live!

The nationwide touring show, which will debut Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013, at the Capitol Theater in Columbus, OH, will combine The Onion's insightful, award-winning satire with The Second City's expert stage production. Audiences won't just see the topical headlines that make The Onion famous–they'll also learn the history of America's Finest News Source and be given an exclusive peak at news so new that it hasn't even happened yet. Theatergoers will learn The Onion’s journalism secrets through a series of presentations from the same news and lifestyle experts who train The Onion's handsome, knowledgeable staff. Audiences will learn everything from how to chase a scoop to how to become as insanely wealthy and successful as our own reporters.

As the world's definitive authority on all human endeavors, The Onion's live show is the only theatrical experience guaranteed to leave audiences smarter, better-looking, and three inches taller than they were when they sat down.

Said Steve Hannah, CEO of The Onion: "The Onion Live! marks the first time in our storied history that we've done anything resembling a live, theatrical show. We wanted to bring a funny, biting new incarnation of The Onion to our followers, old and new, and The Second City is the ideal partner."

"I am a big fan of The Onion and can't wait to see the marriage of our creative teams, and I am sure they will produce a funny and irreverent show" says The Second City's CEO & Executive Producer, Andrew Alexander.

The Onion Live! will tour the country during the fall and winter of 2013.

For booking information, contact The Road Company at 212-302-5200 or sales@trcnyc.com.

Contact press@theonion.com for all additional inquiries.

The Onion
Since its humble beginnings as a Madison, WI student-run newspaper in the late-'80s, The Onion has become the America's most recognizable and prominent source of satirical commentary. With daily coverage of politics, technology, sports, business, entertainment and more, theonion.com welcomes over 8 million unique monthly visitors.

The Second City
The Second City is the leading brand in improv-based sketch comedy. With theatres in Chicago and Toronto, Training Centers in those cites as well as Hollywood, 11 full time touring ensembles, thriving corporate communications and theatricals divisions as well as television and film operations, The Second City has been called "A Comedy Empire" by the New York Times.

The Road Company
The Road Company is an independent theatrical booking agency, distributing award-winning musicals, plays and special attractions across North America, founded by Stephen Lindsay and Brett Sirota in 1997. Current clients include Wicked, Once, Evita, Peter and the Starcatcher, We Will Rock You, Donny and Marie and Experience the Beatles with Rain.

Steve Carrell Interview in the Chicago Tribune

Second City alum Steve Carrell shares his thoughts with the Chicago Tribune on his upcoming film The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, the Anchorman sequel and, how Second City influenced his career.

Read the interview at The Chicago Tribune

Chicago Improv Festival Shows Announced!

Celebrating their 15th anniversary, this year's Festival is their largest yet with more than 150 teams in over 90 shows on 20 different stages. The Second City is excited to host 3 great shows from the Chicago Improv Festival this year.

Tuesday, April 2, 8pm
Headliners: Lucas Neff & Craig Cackowski
Opening Act - Cook County Social Club
Second City e.t.c stage
Tickets: $20
GET TICKETS

Wednesday, April 3, 8pm
Headliners: Scott Adsit & Jet Eveleth
Opening Act - Virgin Daquiri
Second City e.t.c. stage
Tickets: $20
GET TICKETS

Sunday, April 7, 8pm
Headliners: 30 Rock show with Scott Adsitt, John Lutz & Kay Cannon
Opening Act - Improvised Shakespeare Co.
UP Comedy Club
Tickets: $25
GET TICKETS

Tickets to all shows can be purchased by calling 312-337-3392 or online at secondcity.com

Toronto Critics call "The Meme-ing of Life "an Epic Win"

A new revue hit the stage at The Second City Toronto last night, and critics have been quick to heap praise on the new production and its cast. The Meme-ing of Life -- the Second City's 71st Mainstage Revue in Toronto -- has an amazing opening night attended my members of the media, as well as many generations of Second City alumni.

The Toronto Star awarded the show four stars, and called The Meme-ing of Life "the most deliciously subversive comic stealth bomb of a show that the company has created in many years. It's also very, very, very, very, very, very funny. That's one 'very' for each of the gifted members of the cast."
(Click for full review)

Torontoist.com also awarded four stars, and said "The Meme-ing of Life is an Epic Win"
(Click for full review)

Congratulations to the wonderful cast and creative team!

The Meme-ing of Life is now on stage at The Second City Toronto each Wednesday through Sunday evening.
Click here for tickets or more information about the show

Columbia College and The Second City Announce New Comedy Writing/Performance Major

Growing out of our Comedy Studies program with Columbia College, we're thrilled to announce the world's first four-year degree in Comedy Writing and Performance.

Anne Libera, Director of the Comedy Writing and Performance Program, says, "The most successful comedians of our day - from Tina Fey and Louis CK to Chris Rock and Lena Dunham are writer/performer/producers. The new degree requires students to study both writing and performance, to do improvisation, physical clowning, and stand-up. Most college programs have focused on medium as opposed to content, but the current professional landscape requires that artists be content creators and providers across media and to be prepared to do so in media that have not even been created yet."

Read more about it at The Hollywood Reporter