Second City's SIXTEEN SCANDALS Opens in Toronto to Glowing Reviews

The Second City's theatre in Toronto opened its 73rd Mainstage Revue, titled Sixteen Scandals, on Tuesday night, and received a standing ovation from the packed audience, including members of the media and dozens of Second City alumni.

Early reviews have been overflowing with enthusiastic praise. In his four star review, Richard Ouzounian, theatre critic for The Toronto Star, wrote:

"When a Second City show is as fast, fierce and funny as Sixteen Scandals, which opened on Tuesday night, all you have to do is give thanks to the theatre gods, buy your tickets and start laughing."
Read full review here.

Directed by alumnus Chris Earle, Sixteen Scandals is written and performed by Ashley Botting, Craig Brown, Sarah Hillier, Allison Price, Connor Thompson and Kevin Vidal. Musical Director Matthew Reid once again provides the show's score and soundtrack, with Christina Cicko serving as Lighting Designer and Stage Manager.

The production runs each Tuesday through Sunday evening at The Second City theatre through June.
Show time and ticket information is available online.

Second City Says Goodbye to Legendary Music Director - Fred Kaz

A memorial has been scheduled to celebrate the life of Fred Kaz at The El Portal Theater (5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601) on Monday, March 31st at 6:30p (doors will open at 6:00p). Parking is available across the street from the theater at the structure belonging to the Art Institute of California. A reception will follow the memorial with light appetizers and beverages.

To attend, please RSVP by March 28. You may either click here to RSVP.

Location:
The El Portal Theater
5269 Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601

For directions or additional location information: www.elportaltheatre.com

A Chicago memorial is being planned. We'll post information once details have been confirmed.

The Second City Announces the Bob Curry Fellowship Recipients

The Second City is very excited to announce the recipients of the first annual Bob Curry Fellowship. The sixteen recipients are Ali Barthwell, Sam Bailey, Lisa Beasley, Shantira Jackson, Peter Kim, Lauren Malara, Torian Miller, Saliha Muttalib, Chucho Perez, Dewayne Perkins, Patrick Rowland, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Niccole Thurman, Travis Turner, Kimberly Michelle Vaughn, and Damian Jason White. 
 
The Fellowship will begin on Tuesday, March 25th with master classes taking place at the Second City Training Center for eight weeks on Tuesday and Thursday 4pm - 7pm.

A culminating and celebratory showcase for family, friends and Second City staff is scheduled  in the e.t.c. theatre Wednesday, May 28th. Time is yet to be determined.

As you may be aware, this is an exciting piece of history at Second City. With this new fellowship program instituted, we are delighted to mentor the inaugural group of Bob Curry Fellowship recipients. We received over 140 submissions and auditioned 85 applicants. Thank you to all of the amazing talent who came out to auditions. These decisions were not easy, but we look forward to creating access and opening more doors for talent interested in pursuing a career in comedy!

The Second City Training Center Partner with School of Rock

The Second City Training Center and School of Rock Chicago team up to introduce Rock City Camp: An Opera of Rock, a stage-writing performance camp for teens aged 14-19, beginning July 7. Over two weeks, musical all-stars with multiple performance skills in music and theater, will create an original storyline, learn rock music and develop original music to produce a never-before-seen show. Rock City Camp will take place July 7 - 18 at Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Sessions are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For consideration, please fill out an application HERE before the March 31 deadline. $1200. Needs-based scholarships are available.

"The Second City enjoys finding partners to collaborate with in all areas of our business, from our theaters, to our corporate work, to our training initiatives," says Andrew Alexander, CEO and Executive Producer of The Second City, Inc. "This one-of-a-kind program with School of Rock is a fantastic blend of two organizations with similar ideals: expanding the education opportunities and styles for our youth students, while keeping the ideas of teamwork of creativity at the forefront of their experience."

"School of Rock Chicago joining forces with the legacy and stage prowess of our new pals at The Second City is like having Jackie Chan, David Lee Roth, Freddy Mercury and John Belushi as your spirit animals," says Adam Mackintosh, regional manager for School of Rock Chicago. "Clearly, I'm beyond sensible words here. This might be the coolest thing I've ever been a part of."

At the conclusion of the two-week Rock City Camp, students will perform rock classics and original songs in a two-night performance at Chicago's Athenaeum Theatre. Enrollment is open to drummers, guitarists, keyboardists, improvisers, actors, writers, vocalists and more who are ready to take their skills to the stage.

The Second City is the leading brand in improv-based sketch comedy. With theaters and training centers in Chicago, Toronto and 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 Second City Training Center has a current student body of 3,500 per week and is the largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy in the world.

For more than a decade, School of Rock has been inspiring kids to rock on stage and in life. Students develop confidence, talent and skills, through beginner, intermediate and advanced music programs. School of Rock offers music lessons on guitar, bass, piano, vocals and drums in an authentic, performance-based environment. School of Rock operates 129 schools in 26 states and 8 countries, with new locations opening worldwide every month. School of Rock Chicago has been on Ashland for 7 years and has a long, successful history of providing great camp experiences across broad themes for interested families.

Visit www.SchoolofRock.com for more information.

Read more here.

Student Headshot Day - April 3rd and 4th

Student headshot days with photographer Sally Blood return April 3rd and 4th. Each one-hour session includes a 45-minute photo shoot, touch-up makeup and a high resolution disc of all your edited shots. The cost is $200, a special deal for Training Center students. Reservations can be made by contacting the Training Center office at 312-664-3959.

SC Alum Stacey McGunnigle Lands Lead in New NBC Pilot

It was just announced that Second City Toronto alum, Stacey McGunnigle, has landed the lead in a new NBC pilot, titled "Ellen More Or Less." Read the full story here.

Student Focus Night With ACTRA

Join us on Wednesday, March 5th at 9pm in our very own John Candy Box Theatre for Student Focus Night with ACTRA!

Have aspirations of becoming a professional actor? Ever wondered what it takes to become a member of ACTRA? This FREE Q & A session will answer any and all questions you have about becoming part of the union, as well as provide you with helpful tips and information about your acting career!

This Q & A session with a representative from ACTRA is FREE for all current students.

To reserve yourself a spot in this FREE workshop, email: areoch@secondcity.com.

Spaces are limited, so it's first come, first served!