Chicago Live! Returns with Cardinal Francis George

Chicago Live! returns with an all new season on Thursday, May 5th. Grab a seat behind the headlines of Chicago's biggest stories at Chicago Live!, a weekly stage and radio show produced by the Chicago Tribune, in partnership with The Second City.(Clockwise from top-left) Howard Sudberry, Melissa Pierce, Cardinal Francis George, Billy Dec and CornmealMAY 5 SEASON PREMIERE:Cardinal Francis George, Catholic archbishop of Chicago (Manya Brachear interview)Arlington...

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Take a Tax Break, Canada!

(April 29, Toronto) As Canadians scramble to submit taxes before the April 30th deadline, we figured taxpayers might need a good laugh. So, for the next few days, we’re giving everyone a tax break.At The Second City, HST now officially stands for Hilarious Savings Toronto!Save 13% on tickets to select performances between Saturday April 30th and Tuesday May 3rd. To receive discount, tickets must be purchased online using promo code: TAXDAYOffer valid only for new ticket orders booked online for the following performances:This Party’s a Riot!Saturday...

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Alums Come Home for Chicago Improv Festival

We're excited to be part of the 2011 Chicago Improv Festival this year with two alumni performances including Delicious Moments featuring Ithamar Enriquez and Brian Shortall and Babymakers featuring Colleen Doyle and Dana Quercioli. Both shows will be presented on Wednesday, April 27 at 8:00pm in The Second City e.t.c. Theater (1608 N. Wells, 2nd Floor of Piper's Alley). Tickets are $15 and can be reserved online.Read more about Delicious Moments.Read more about Babymakers.Read more about the Chicago Improv Festiv...

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Colin Mochrie Returns to The Second City!

One Night Only! Tuesday May 10th(TORONTO) - On Tuesday May 10th, beloved alumnus Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) will return to The Second City’s stage in, as the inaugural special guest in The Second City’s IMPROV ALL-STARS, our new all-improvised comedy blast.Each Tuesday, The Second City’s greatest comedic minds throw away their scripts, and their inhibitions to battle wits before a live audience. Our current crop of all-star performers...

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Second City Teaches Workplace Skills Through Improv

Check out this article the New York Post did on Second City teaching workshop skills through impr...

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Go Behind the Scenes - South Side of Heaven

After opening to rave reviews, The Second City's new Mainstage show has garnered some incredible press. Take a tour below to learn more about the cast, director and process for creating South Side of Heaven.Chicago Tribune Feature – They'll Cry til You Laugh by Nina MetzLearn more about the cast, director and the process for creating South Side of Heaven.Chicago Tribune Photo Gallery – South Side of Heaven Photos by Keri WigintonGo behind the scenes during a performance of South Side of HeavenTime Out Chicago – Profile on Director, Billy Bungeroth...

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Tina Fey tells Sunday Life how Improvisation changed her life forever

Tina Fey details her time with Second City and the improvisational concepts that helped her succeed in her professional and personal liv...

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Alum Jim Belushi Receives Terrific Reviews for Born Yesterday

Congratulations to Second City alum Jim Belushi on his fantastic reviews for Born Yesterday which opened last night on Broadway at the Cort Theater in New York! Describing his performance, The New York Times said, "His brutishness and unbowed egoism are conveyed with ferocious humor by Mr. Belushi, who can pivot from amusingly doltish to truly menacing without so much as shifting the cigar clamped between his teeth." For more information and to book your tickets for Born Yesterday, click he...

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Second City Training Center Students find success on Comedy Central!

The Chicago Tribune has a feature article on one of our previous students that now works for Comedy Central! You can check out the article on their websi...

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Tina Fey takes her Improv training to heart

Tina Fey takes, "rules of improv to heart" and breaks down the basic rules of improvisation to fans at IndieWire 20...

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Extra! Extra! Megan Mack named a 'Woman to Watch!'

Conservatory 3 student Megan Mack has been commuting between Rochester, New York and Toronto since beginning to study at the Second City Training Centre in 2009. She joined the Conservatory program in 2010 and has a wealth of experience in television and film.Read her full st...

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Northwestern University Library Catalogs The Viola Spolin Papers

The Northwestern University Library has released a set of papers by Viola Spolin about her teaching techniques and her Theatre Games.Spolin's games were one of the biggest influences on The Second City and on improvisation as an art form.You can check out her work at the Northwestern University Libra...

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Comedy Desk: Fad-casting

Click to enlarge the latest Second City Comedy Desk in the Chicago Tribune by Seth Weitbe...

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The Second City e.t.c. is Proud to Announce the Cast for Their 35th e.t.c. Revue

The Second City e.t.c. is proud to announce the cast for their 35th e.t.c. revue.Returning ensemble members Tim Baltz, Brendan Jennings, Mary Sohn and Jesse Case (Musical Director) will be joined by new cast members Aidy Bryant, Jessica Joy, Michael Lehrer and Kyle Anderson (Stage Manager). Directing his sixth resident company revue will be Matt Hovde.Please join us in congratulating our returning and new e.t.c. cast membe...

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Congratulations to New York Times Best Seller, Tina Fey!

Congratulations to Second City alum Tina Fey for landing at the top of the New York Times Best Seller List with Bossypants! Check out this great feature on Tina from The New York Tim...

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Jim Belushi talks to GMA about Born Yesterday

Second City alumni Jim Belushi sat down with Good Morning, America earlier this week to talk about his new Broadway show, Born Yesterday which is currently in previews and opens to the press on Sunday, April 24. Click here to watch the clip. To purchase tickets and for more information about Born Yesterday, click he...

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Tim Kazurinsky and George Wendt Open The Odd Couple

Congratulations to Second City alums Tim Kazurinsky and George Wendt! They recently opened a staged production of The Odd Couple at the New Theater Restaurant in Overland Park, KS. Tim and George originally met at The Second City when they wrote and performed on the Mainstage in two revues. The Odd Couple runs through June 19. Click here to reserve ticke...

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Billy Bungeroth Talks to Time out Chicago About “South Side of Heaven”

In this week's issue of Time Out Chicago, Billy Bungeroth talks with Comedy Editor Jason Heidemann about directing the new Mainstage show, South Side of Heaven. Jason writes, "Whether Bungeroth's initial landing at the Second City was predetermined is debatable, but one thing is for sure: South Side of Heaven, a dark, emotionally charged assault on audience expectation, revels in the idea of destiny. 'This is a show about how everything that's happening is absolutely meant to happen,' says Bungeroth in March while sitting down to discuss the show's...

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Student Chronicles Her Experience With The Training Center

Jacki Carlson, a recent Second City Comedy Studies student, chronicles her experience studying with the Chicago Training Center. Read the sto...

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South Side of Heaven Earns Rave Reviews and Jeff Recommendation

Our new Mainstage show, South Side of Heaven is earning rave reviews from the audiences and critics. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune gives the show 3 ½ Stars (out of 4) calling it "groundbreaking, richly textured and deliciously dark." Check out the full review here. Kris Vire of Time Out Chicago writes "this latest revue gets very close to heaven." Tyler Tidmore with SteadStyleChicago.com describes the show as "side-splitting laughs continue to roll on...a fast-paced, intelligent comedy that will have anyone laughing" and Marissa Oberlander...

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The Today Show talks to Tina Fey

The Today Show talks to Tina Fey about her humble beginnings as a Second City student and then TourCo cast member. Check it out he...

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Student Spotlight: Sharon Sprague

Check Out The Second City's Student Spotlight! Get to know these awesome students and what makes them tick! Do you know a SC student that deserves the limelight? Email Andrew Thorp at athorp@secondcity.com with your recommendation.Who are you?Sharon Sprague. I'm a Senior Copywriter in Advertising.Where are you from?Ironwood, Michigan. Up 'der.Why did you start taking classes with The Second City?I've been a performer since a wee age and have been a professional writer in advertising for nearly 20 years now. I set out to master writing for the stage...

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Chicago Live! Returns May 5

Chicago Live! returns May 5 for an all-new season. The first episode is packed with great guests including Billy Dec, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, WGN Radio's Garry Meier, Chef Rick Trumanto, Chicago MOTH GrandSLAM champion Shannon Cason, members of the Chicago Children's Choir, jazz-vocal-guitar duo Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown and of course, Second City.For a complete guide to this season and to book your tickets, visit the Chicago Tribu...

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The Sound of Young America Returns to Second City with Guest Peter Sagel

The Sound of Young America returns to The Second City e.t.c. Theatre (1608 N. Wells, 2nd Floor of Piper's Alley) for a live taping on Wednesday, April 13 at 8:00pm with an interview with Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's hit show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, stand-up comedy from Cameron Esposito, and more to be announced!Reserve Your Tickets NowThe Sound of Young America can be heard on public radio stations around the country, including WNYC in New York and WHYY in Philadelphia. It was the first public radio program west of the Mississippi to podcast....

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"Second to None" Set to Air on PBS on Monday

On Monday, set your DVR to record "Second to None," an amazing documentary about the creation of Second City's "Paradigm Lost" which was written and performed by Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Jenna Jolovitz, and Jim Zulevic and directed by Mick Napier. It will air on PBS - you'll probably want to watch this a couple of times.To read more about "Second to None," check out this article from Darel Jevens in The Chicago Sun Tim...

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Tim Kazurisnky discovers improv by taking a Second City class!

After years in the ad-writing business, Tim Kazurinsky discovers the art of improv by taking a class at The Second City. The Kansas City Star interviews alums Kuzurinsky and George Wendt about their days at The Second City. Follow this link to read the full intervi...

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Join Us @ The Montrose Room this Saturday!

It's almost here – we're headed out to The Montrose Room at the Intercontinental Hotel this Saturday, April 9 for The Second City's Fair & Unbalanced. We're just about sold out of all of our shows in Chicago – take a quick trip to the suburbs to enjoy The Second City at one of Chicagoland's hottest venues. The Montrose Room was named by Time Out Chicago as one of the suburbs Top 5 bars!To book tickets, click here.For more information on The Montrose Room, click he...

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South Side of Heaven Opens Sunday! Limited Tickets Available – Join Us for the Big Night!

We are excited to open our new Mainstage show, South Side of Heaven on Sunday, April 10. Join us for the big night! A limited number of tickets are available. Click here to reserve your tickets.Join us on Facebook and check out photos from the sh...

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Toronto Training Centre Announces Spring Fever!

The date of the third annual Spring Fever has been announced! Saturday April 30th at 9pm, students, faculty and Training Centre Alumni alike will gather to celebrate everything Second City. The night starts in The John Candy Box Theatre where students from all programs and levels perform in a variety show. The fun continues at The Charlotte Room, the local Pool Hall, frequented by Second City staff and alumni. Students and Faculty look forward to this event every year, there's great food, great prize draws and you're always meeting someone new....

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Comedy Desk: F. Scott Hemingway

Click to enlarge the latest Second City Comedy Desk in the Chicago Trib...

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"Workaholics," Featuring Alum Maribeth Monroe, Debuts Tonight on Comedy Central

Workaholics, a new scripted series on Comedy Central featuring Second City alumni Maribeth Monroe, debuts tonight at 9:30pm. Read more about the creators, including Evanston native Anders Holm, in Nina Metz's feature in the Tribune tod...

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Student Spotlight: Praveen Dandamudi

Check Out The Second City's Student Spotlight! Get to know these awesome students and what makes them tick! Do you know a SC student that deserves the limelight? Email Andrew Thorp at athorp@secondcity.com with your recommendation.Who are you and what do you do?Praveen Dandamudi. I am a physician.Where are you from?Battle Creek, MichiganWhy did you start taking classes with The Second City?Awhile back during a bar conversation, my friend's brother was telling me about improv classes he took at Second City. And you know when you can see in someone's...

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Happy Cubs Opener from The Second City!

Happy Cubs Opener from The Second City! Enjoy this heartfelt plea from the cast of "America: All Better" — Lauren Ash, Joe Canale, Shelly Gossman, Anthony LeBlanc, Brad Morris, Michael Patrick O'Brien and Emily Wilson. (Beware - strong language)See it HE...

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Alum Maribeth Monroe Will Be on New Comedy Central Show

Congratulations to our very own alum Maribeth Monroe who is a series regular in a new show premiering on Comedy Central April 6th at 10:30/9:30cWorkaholics is a scripted series that follows three friends fresh out of college who live and work together as telemarketers.Dress codes, deadlines and waking up before noon isn't something these guys are used to. The crew spends their days scheming together to avoid doing any real work and their nights looking for good times.Get ready for ten half-hour episodes of Workaholics premiering on Wednesday, April...

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Alum Jim Belushi Begins Previews for Born Yesterday on Broadway

Second City alum Jim Belushi began previews on Broadway in Born Yesterday, Garson Kanin's award-winning romantic comedy about sex and politics. Directed by Tony winner Doug Hughes and featuring Robert Sean Leonard and Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday opens on April 24. To book tickets and for more information, visit Born Yesterday on Broadw...

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A New Longform Program at the Training Centre in Toronto

A new Longform Improv Program is being launched next session. The program will be in response to increased demand for quality longform Improv classes in Toronto. The program will be headed up by Rob Norman, a current member of the Second City National Touring Company and founding member of the Improv and Sketch troupes "Maybe" and "Mantown". Rob has developed a 4-Level curriculum that will introduce Improvisers to longform technique and eventually have them design their own form...

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Comedy Desk: Fight Club

Click to enlarge the latest Second City Comedy Desk in the Chicago Tribune by Kelly Leona...

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