SNL Adds Mike O'Brien to Feature Cast and Cecily Strong Joins Weekend Update

Congratulations to Mike O’Brien on his move to feature cast and Cecily Strong for joining the Weekend Update desk on Saturday Night Live, NBC's Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase, for their 39th Season.

"We are always thrilled with the success of our alumni and we wish them all the best this season on SNL," stated Andrew Alexander, CEO & Executive Producer of The Second City, Inc.

Mike O’Brien graduated from The Second City Training Center Conservatory Program.  He worked with The Second City Touring Company as a performer and director. In December 2008, he opened America: All Better! at The Second City’s legendary Mainstage Theater in Chicago.  The following summer, he was hired from The Second City stage to join the writing staff of Saturday Night Live.

After studying at The Second City Training Center in the Conservatory Program, Cecily Strong performed with Second City Theatricals and was a member of The Second City Touring Company when she was hired last season to Saturday Night Live.

View a video clip of Mike O'Brien on Second City Mainstage and our behind the scene interview with him.

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Interview with the Creators of the "Kickstart WWIII" Video

On Monday, September 9th, The Second City Network released the "Kickstart WWIII" parody video. SerialOptimist.com took a few minutes to chat with Jeph Porter and John Loos, the creative minds behind this insanely successful viral video. Take a look at what they had to say.

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SC Alum Mike Myers' Directorial Debut

SC Alum, Mike Myers, will be releasing "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon,"his directorial debut film tomorrow. Read his interview with Deadline to learn more about the film and how he has brought to life all of these characters we have come to know and love.

Congratulations and best of luck Mike!

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SC Alum Kay Cannon Lands New CBS Pilot

SC Alum, Kay Cannon has teamed up with Jason Winer (Modern Family) to produce a new pilot for CBS, titled "The Runt."

"The Runt is a single camera comedy about a group of five adult siblings from the point of view of The Runt. Always the scrawniest and the butt of the joke, she’s now the most successful. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to break the family dynamics established when she was a kid."

Sounds like a great premise, we can't wait to see what's in store for these two, congratulations!

Read more here.

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Congratulations to SC Alum Bob Odenkirk on "Breaking Bad" Spinoff

SC Alum, Bob Odenkirk, will be playing Saul Goodman in "Breaking Bad's" new spinoff, "Better Call Saul." Congratulations on the new show Bob, we can't wait to see it!

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Help Kickstart WWIII

In response to recent world events, The Second City Network has joined forces to start a campaign to help President Obama kickstart WWIII. This "Kickstart WWII" video has become such a sensation that it reached over 1MM views within the first 72 hours of being live. It has also attracted the attention of Sean Hannity, from Fox News, as it aired on "Hannity" Wednesday evening, September 11th. The Daily Beast has also published a write up on the campaign to help promote our cause.

What an overwhelming response! Looks like we may just be able to help Obama kickstart WWIII afterall!

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Second City Communications On Using Humor To Make Online Training Stick!

Second City Communications On Using Humor To Make Online Training Stick!
Lessons in Social Learning Effectiveness at Training Magazine’s Online Learning Conference

Chicago, September 11, 2013 – Second City Communications (SCC) takes the stage at the annual Online Learning Conference 2013 to showcase how comedy and improvisation can drive stronger results in social learning programs.

The business solutions division of the world-renowned improvisation comedy theater, The Second City, is a featured presenter at the annual conference by Training magazine on September 18 in Chicago. The conference runs from September 17-19 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Lakeside Center.

"Improvisation and short-form comedy are great social learning solutions for breaking down barriers and getting people deeply engaged in training programs – both online and off,” said Tom Yorton, CEO of Second City Communications. “We live in a YouTube era of short attention spans – and humor’s a powerful tool for focusing on what’s really going on – speaking the truth and connecting with audiences. More and more training professionals now get that and are using it to engage audiences to drive training results,” Yorton added.

More information about Training magazine’s Online Learning Conference 2013 is at: http://www.onlinelearningconference.com

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