Second City Faculty Member, Joe Janes, Publishes Second Book!

In 2009, Second City writing instructor Joe Janes took on the task of writing a comedy sketch a day for one year. He did this to do some damage to the notion of writer's block and also to explore writing all the various kinds of forms one might see in a sketch revue.

In 2010, they were all produced in a festival at Strawdog Theater over 11 nights with 200 actors and directors. In 2011, he wrote 50 Plays - most of them short ten-minute one-acts - which were also produced at the Strawdog with 50 directors and over 200 actors. A "Best of, Sort of" was produced at the Skybox later that summer and was described by The Chicago Reader as "silly, bizarre, violent, and provocative...the pieces showcase Janes's willingness to take risks of all kinds."

Both 365 Sketches and 50 Plays are available for sale at the training center reception desk. Not in Chicago? Buy Joe's books here.

This year's project is still in development, but it will likely involve sharks and ferris wheels.