The Second City

The Second City
For other uses, see The Second City (disambiguation).
The Second City logo by Chicago calligrapher John Weber

The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.

The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959[1] and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City has produced television programs in both the United States and Canada including SCTV, Second City Presents, and Next Comedy Legend, as well as being heavily involved in the creation of the satirical 1969 science fiction film "The Monitors". Since its debut, the Second City has consistently been a starting point for comedians, award winning actors, directors, and others in show business.

Contents

History

The Second City was the first, on-going improvisational theater troupe in the United States. It evolved from the Compass Players,[2] a 1950s cabaret revue show started by undergraduates at the University of Chicago.[3] The troupe chose the self-mocking name from the title of an article about Chicago by A. J. Liebling that appeared in The New Yorker in 1952.[1] In 1959, the first Second City revue show premiered at 1842 North Wells Street, and the company moved a few blocks south, to 1616 North Wells, in 1967.[1] Bernard Sahlins, Howard Alk and Paul Sills, son of teacher Viola Spolin, founded the theater as a place where scenes and story were created improvisationally, using techniques that grew out of the innovative techniques Spolin developed and taught, later known as Theater Games, with Sills as its director.[4] The cabaret theater, comedy style of the Second City tended towards satire and commentary of current social norms and political figures and events. In 1961, the theater sent a cast to Broadway with the musical revue, From the Second City, directed by Sills and earning a Tony nomination for ensemble member Severn Darden.[5] Eventually, the theater expanded to include three touring companies and a second resident company, and now fosters a company devoted to outreach & diversity. The style of comedy has changed with time, but the format has remained constant. Second City revues feature a mix of semi-improvised and scripted scenes with new material developed during unscripted improv sessions after the second act, where scenes are created based on audience suggestions. Another Second City innovation is the inclusion of live, improvised music during the performance.

A number of well-known performers began careers as part of the historic troupe and later moved to television and film. In 1973, Second City opened a theater in Toronto. By the mid-1970s, both venues became a source of cast members for Saturday Night Live and SCTV, which borrowed many of the writing and performing techniques pioneered by Second City and other improv groups. In 1983, the adjoining e.t.c. theater became the second resident stage in Old Town, Chicago location, handling overflow crowds and increasing the number of resident company members. Co-founder Bernard Sahlins owned the theater company until 1985, before selling it to Andrew Alexander and Len Stuart.[1]

Along with its theaters, training centers, and television shows, Second City also produces improv and sketch shows for Norwegian Cruise Line. In the 2000s, Second City began producing "theatrical" shows, bringing their brand of social and political satire to regional theaters around the country in revues that featured sketches written for and about each location, including Phoenix,[6] Boston,[7] Baltimore,[8] and Louisville.[9]

SCTV

Main article: Second City Television

Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of the Second City and ran from 1976 to 1984.

The basic premise of SCTV was modeled on a television station in the fictional city of Melonville. Rather than broadcast the usual TV rerun fare, the business, run by the greedy Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) sitting in a wheelchair only to gain sympathy and leverage in business and staff negotiations, operates a bizarre and humorously incompetent range of cheap local programming. The range included a soap opera called "The Days of the Week"; game shows such as "Shoot the Stars", in which celebrities literally are shot at in similar fashion to targets in a shooting gallery; and movie spoofs such as "Play it Again, Bob" in which Woody Allen (Rick Moranis) attempts to entice Bob Hope (Dave Thomas) to star in his next film. In-house media melodrama also was satirized by John Candy's vain, bloated variety star character Johnny La Rue, Thomas' acerbic critic Bill Needle and Andrea Martin's flamboyant, leopard-skin clad station manager Mrs. Edith Prickley.

The Second City Training Center

Main article: The Second City Training Center

The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. The Training Centers have grown substantially since the Second City Conservatory was established in the mid-1980s under the tutelage of longtime Chicago improv instructors and mentors Martin de Maat and Sheldon Patinkin. The Chicago Training Center has over 1,800 students in several disciplines, including improvisation and comedy writing. Former Training Center students include Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Bonnie Hunt, Stephen Colbert, Halle Berry, Sean Hayes, Amy Sedaris, Jon Favreau, Hinton Battle, Jack McBrayer, Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald. Classes are taught by working professionals, many of whom are current and former Second City performers.

The Second City Parents School

In the early days of the Second City, several parents and Lincoln Park community members—including Paul and Carol Sills and Dennis and Mona Cunningham—started a progressive school for their children, based on Viola Spolin's Theater Games techniques and philosophy with her son Paul Sills' refinements. Theater Games were gaining recognition and are now incorporated in Drama Therapy, Play Therapy and are used as an educational tool. Early Second City staff, and Old Town and Lincoln Park community members, were deeply involved in the school, including the Sillses and Cunninghams, Viola Spolin, John Schultz, Mel Spiegel, and Beverly Gold. The progressive curriculum included daily theater games, and many students went on to careers in entertainment. Briefly at the original Old Town theater site at the intersection of Clark, Wells, and Lincoln Avenue, the school had several locations in Lincoln Park until it closed in the mid-1970s.[10] In 1971 Josephine Forsberg, The Players Workshop was Chicago's only official school of Improvisation for over a decade. Although it was never officially a part of The Second City cabaret theater, The Players Workshop was often referred to as Players Workshop Of The Second City, due to the school's close affiliation with the famous sketch comedy stage.

Andrew Alexander

Main article: Andrew Alexander

Andrew Alexander took the reins of Second City Toronto in 1974 and formed a partnership with Len Stuart in 1976, starting The Second City Entertainment Company. Its first television production was SCTV. Alexander co-developed and executive produced over 185 half-hour shows for the award-winning comedy series, and produced over 150 hours of award-winning television comedy. Alexander has had co-production deals with MGM Television, Imagine Films, Disney Studios and United Artists, and has developed television programming for CBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, and A&E. He has produced movies and television with such notable talents as John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Bonnie Hunt, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas, James Belushi, George Wendt, Edward Asner, Andrea Martin, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey.

In 1985, Alexander and Stuart became owners of Chicago's Second City. He has produced or executive produced over 200 Second City revues in Canada and the United States. Most recently, Alexander has expanded The Second City TV & Film Division with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto and was executive producer on the recently released feature film Intern Academy.

He serves on the Columbia College Board of Trustees, is Chair of the Gilda's Club Honorary Board (Toronto), and is also an Honorary Member of the Chicago Gilda's Club Board.

Mr. Alexander has received numerous awards including The Canadian Comedy Awards’ Chairman’s Award, Gilda’s Magic Award from Gilda’s Club, The League of Chicago Theater’s 2009 Artistic Leadership Award and named 2009 Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Tribune.

Awards

The Second City has been awarded several Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards, including for the 1997 ensemble in the "New Work" category for Paradigm Lost. The show featured Tina Fey, Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Jenna Jolovitz, Jim Zulevic and was directed by Mick Napier. Stephnie Weir received the "Actress in a Revue" Jeff Award for Second City 4.0 in 2000.[11] In 2009, as the company was celebrating its 50th year, the Second City was awarded an honorary Jeff for the milestone, as well as three awards for the e.t.c.' s 33rd revue Studs Terkel's Not Working, recognizing director Matt Hovde and actress Amanda Blake Davis and naming it Best Revue.[12] In 2011, the e.t.c.'s 35th revue Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting) won the Jeff for Best New Work (Musical or Revue), as well Best Revue and Best Actor, for ensemble member Tim Baltz.[13]

Toronto's Second City mainstage troupe has won eight Canadian Comedy Awards: "Best Improv Troupe" (2001), "Best Sketch Troupe" (2001), "Best Sketch Troupe" (2006) "Best Sketch Troupe" (2009) and "Best Comedic Play" winners Family Circus Maximus (2002), Psychedelicatessen (2003), Facebook of Revelations and Barack to the Future (2009).

The Compass Players, Playwright's Theatre Club and The Second City, NY

(1955–58, in alphabetical order) Alan Alda, Jane Alexander, Howard Alk, Alan Arkin, Larry Arrick, Rose Arrick, Ed Asner, Sandy Baron, Lloyd Battista, Walter Beakel, Shelley Berman, Haym Bernson, Roger Bowen, Hildy Brooks, R.Victor Brooks, Jack Burns, Mona Burr, Loretta Chiljian, Del Close, Robert Coughlan, Barbara Dana, Severn Darden, Kornel Michael David, Bob Dishy, MacIntyre Dixon, Paul Dooley, Andrew Duncan, Tom Erhart, Theodore J. Flicker, Barbara "Bobbi" Gordon, Mark Gordon, Philip Baker Hall, Larry Hankin, Valerie Harper, Barbara Harris, Jo Henderson, Mo Hirsch, Kenna Hunt, Henry Jaglom, Linda Lavin, Martin Lavut, Sid Lazard, Mickey LeGlaire, Richard Libertini, Ron Liebman, Freya Manston, Allaudin Mathieu, Elaine May, Paul Mazursky, Anne Meara, Lucy Minnerle, George Morrison, Mike Nichols, Tom O'Horgan, Robert Patton, Nancy Ponder, Diana Sands, Reni Santoni, Linda Segal, Omar Shapli, Suzanne Honey Shepard, David Shepherd, George Sherman, Yuki Shimoda, Peg Shirley, Paul Sills, Viola Spolin, Leslie J. Stark, Jerry Stiller, Ron Weynard, Collin Wilcox, Mary Louise Wilson

The Second City on Film

  • Goldstein (1964) - several members including Severn Darden
  • Second to None (2001) - A documentary by Matt Hoffman and Scott Silberstein about the process of writing Paradigm Lost, following the cast and director Napier from the initial rehearsal through opening night. Originally narrated by alum Jim Belushi, the film was reworked, with rehearsal footage added, ten years after its initial release.[14]
  • The Second City: First Family of Comedy (2006) - A documentary by Sharon Bartlett and alum Dave Thomas in three parts, focusing on the origins of The Second City in Chicago, the life of SCTV, and the success of notable alumni, including Tina Fey, Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, Patrick McKenna, and Martin Short.
  • I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006) - An independent film starring, written, directed and produced by Jeff Garlin, himself a former Second City actor, features scenes shot within The Second City's chicago theater, and features several of its alumni, including Mina Kolb, David Pasquesi, Amy Sedaris, Richard Kind, Dan Castellaneta, Tim Kazurinsky, and Bonnie Hunt.

Alumni

Chicago

See also: List of notable Second City Chicago Alumni

[15]

Toronto

Chicago E.T.C.

  • 1983 - Bill Applebaum, Rob Bronstein, Don DePollo, Jim Fay, Susan Gauthier, Carey Goldenberg, Jeff Michalski, Jane Morris, Bernard Sahlins, Joyce Sloane, Ruby Streak
  • 1984 - Steve Assad, Dan Castellaneta, Isabella Hofmann, Maureen Kelly, Harry Murphy
  • 1985 - Andrew Alexander, Len Stuart
  • 1986 - Mark Belden, Mindy Bell, Kevin Crowley, Kevin Doyle, Joe Keefe, Barbara Wallace
  • 1987 - Chris Barnes, Madeline Belden, Joe Liss, Ron West
  • 1988 - Laura Hall, Judith Scott, Jill Talley, Holly Wortell
  • 1989 - Mark Beltzman, Dan Gillogly, Nate Herman, Michael McCarthy, Ruth Rudnick
  • 1990 - Fran Adams, Steve Carell, Tom Gianas, John Rubano
  • 1991 - Rose Abdoo, Megan Moore Burns, Peter Burns, Ken Hudson Campbell, Dave Razowsky
  • 1992 - Scott Allman, Stephen Colbert, Ian Gomez, Jackie Hoffman, Jenna Jolovitz, Kelly Leonard
  • 1993 - Scott Adsit, Michael Broh, Jimmy Doyle, Norm Holly, Nia Vardalos
  • 1994 - John Hildreth
  • 1995 - Adam McKay, Jeff Richmond, Aaron Rhodes, Dee Ryan, Brian Stack, Miriam Tolan, Jim Zulevic
  • 1996 - Neil Flynn, Laura Krafft, Jerry C. Minor, Horatio Sanz, Peter Zahradnick
  • 1997 - Aaron Carney, Matt Dwyer, Rachel Hamilton, Mick Napier, Rebecca Sohn, Rich Talarico
  • 1998 - Craig Cackowski, Kristin Ford, Noah Gregoropoulos, Tami Sagher
  • 1999 - Ali Farahnakian, Martin Garcia, Sue Gillan, Beth Kligerman, Jack McBrayer, David Pompeii, Lyn Pusztai, Klaus Peter Schuller, Angela V. Shelton, Trey Stone, Michael Thomas
  • 2000 - Andy Cobb, Debra Downing, Abby Sher
  • 2001 - Sam Albert, Joshua Funk, T. J. Jagodowski, Keegan-Michael Key
  • 2002 - Peter Grosz, Nyima Funk
  • 2003 - Jeremy Wilcox
  • 2004 - Lee Brackett, Jen Bills, Rebecca Drysdale, Ithimar Enriquez, Robin Johnson, Frank Caeti, Matt Craig, Alison Riley
  • 2005 - Rebecca Sage Allen, Jim Carlson, Alex Fendrich, Robert Janas, Chad Krueger, Niki Lindgren, Nicky Margolis
  • 2006 - Amanda Blake Davis, Kirk Hanley, Andy St. Clair
  • 2007 - W. Shane Oman, Marc Warzecha
  • 2008 - Christina Anthony, Michael Descoteaux, Tom Flanigan, Megan Grano, Laura Grey, Matt Hovde, Timothy Edward Mason, Bruce Pirrie, Joseph Ruffner
  • 2009 - Beth Melewski
  • 2010 - Tim Baltz, Billy Bungeroth, Jesse Case, Brendan Jennings, Mary Sohn, Monica Wilson
  • 2011 - Kyle Anderson, Aidy Bryant, Jessica Joy, Michael Lehrer

Fiftieth anniversary

In December 2009, the theater celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a weekend of panels and performance which featured many prominent alumni, including an SCTV reunion show starring Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas.[16] Other notable alumni returning to participate included Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Garlin, Jack McBrayer, James Belushi, Dan Castellaneta, Amy Sedaris, Ian Gomez, Richard Kind, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, David Rasche, Betty Thomas, and George Wendt,[17] as well as original cast member Mina Kolb, Compass Player Shelley Berman, and founder Bernard Sahlins.[18]

Notable alumni of the Second City

Main article: List of alumni of the Second City

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Christiansen, Richard (2004). Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L.. ed. Second City Theatre. Chicago Historical Society. pp. 744. ISBN 0-226-31015-9. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1128.html. Retrieved 2008-03-07. 
  2. ^ {{cite By bob marley book|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/631.html%7Cauthor=Adler, Tony|title=Improvisational Theater|pages=408–9|accessdate=2008-03-07|editor=Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L.|year=2004|work=The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago|publisher=Chicago Historical Society|isbn=0-226-31015-9}}
  3. ^ Adler, Tony (2004). Grossman, James R., Keating, Ann Durkin, and Reiff, Janice L.. ed. Theater. Chicago Historical Society. pp. 815–7. ISBN 0-226-31015-9. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1244.html. Retrieved 2008-03-07. 
  4. ^ Robertson, Campbell (2008-06-04). "Paul Sills, a Guru of Improv Theater, Dies at 80". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/theater/04sills.html. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  5. ^ http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=2312
  6. ^ Robrt L. Pela. "The Second City Does Arizona, Or Close But No Saguaro Proves There's Plenty of AZ to Poke Fun at Outside of SB 1070". Phoenix New Times. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2010-05-13/culture/the-second-city-does-arizona-or-close-but-no-saguaro-proves-there-s-plenty-of-az-to-poke-fun-at-outside-of-sb-1070. 
  7. ^ Anderman, Joan (2010-04-19). "From Chicago, joke's on Hub". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/comedy/articles/2010/04/19/second_city_troupe_comes_to_town_with_revue_of_foibles/. 
  8. ^ Smith, Tim. "Charm City gets Second City treatment". Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-arts-story-0107-20110106,0,4367843.story. 
  9. ^ http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110103/SCENE05/301030030/1011/SCENE/Second+City+seeks+coup+with+++Ville++
  10. ^ www.imdb.com
  11. ^ "Jeff Awards". The Joseph Jefferson Awards. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-02-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20070214022314/http://www.jeffawards.org/index.php. Retrieved 2007-03-30. 
  12. ^ "Second City takes home Jeff Awards and announces complete 50th anniversary lineup". Time Out Chicago. 2009. http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/10/second-city-takes-home-jeff-awards-and-announces-complete-50th-anniversary-lineup/. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  13. ^ "Chinglish, Chicago Shakes, Candide, Porgy and Bess, Mike Nussbaum Among Jeff Award Winners". Playbill.com. 2011. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/156345-Chinglish-Chicago-Shakes-Candide-Porgy-and-Bess-Mike-Nussbaum-Among-Jeff-Award-Winners/. Retrieved 2011-11-08. 
  14. ^ "Inside the Improv Process at Second City". The Chicago Sun Times. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/4694137-421/inside-the-improv-process-at-second-city.html?print=true. 
  15. ^ http://secondcity.com/history/alumni/
  16. ^ "Second City 50th Anniversary, SCTV Reunion: Live review". Time Out NY. http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/12/second-city-50th-anniversary-sctv-reunion-live-review. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  17. ^ "What's in a Ticket". Broadwayworld.com. http://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Whats_in_a_Ticket_Second_Citys_50th_Anniversary_Alumni_Performance_Sells_for_1800_a_Pop_20091211. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  18. ^ "The Second City Announces Complete 50th Anniversary Schedule". The Onion AV Club. http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/the-second-city-announces-complete-50th-anniversar,34923/. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Second City Training Center — was founded in the mid 1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous Second City theatre. The training center works directly with Second City s theatres in Chicago, Toronto, Metro Detroit, and Las… …   Wikipedia

  • Second City — may refer to:* Second city, a geographical and social term for a city of importance in its nation secondary only to that of the capital city. * Second City (Dresden), an episode of the Dresden Files . * The Second City, an improvisational comedy… …   Wikipedia

  • The Forest City — is a nickname or alternate toponym for Cleveland, Ohio. The inspiration for the name is a famous reference to Cleveland, describing a highly sophisticated society amid a heavily forested environment in Alexis de Tocqueville s Democracy in America …   Wikipedia

  • Second city — multiple issues OR = January 2008 weasel = January 2008 POV = January 2008 intro tooshort = October 2008The second city of a country is the city that is (or was) the second most important, usually after the capital or first city.Criteria for… …   Wikipedia

  • Second city of the United Kingdom — Identifying the second city of the United Kingdom is a subject of some disagreement. A country s second city is the city that is thought to be the second most important, usually after the capital or first city (London, in this case), according to …   Wikipedia

  • Second City Television — Infobox Television show name = SCTV Second City Television caption = show name 2 = Second City TV (1976–1981) SCTV Network 90 (1981–1983) SCTV Channel (1983–1984) genre = Sketch comedy creator = Bernard Sahlins Andrew Alexander starring = John… …   Wikipedia

  • Second City Saints — Infobox Wrestling team article name=Second City Saints type=S caption= members=CM Punk Colt Cabana Ace Steel Lucy Traci Brooks former members= debut=March 22, 2003 disbanded=July 29, 2006 promotions=ROH IWA Mid South hometown=Chicago,… …   Wikipedia

  • Second City Hall (Ottawa) — Ottawa, Ontario s second city hall was built in 1877 on Elgin Street between Queen and Albert Streets and next to Ottawa s First City Hall. Built by architects Horsey and Sheard of Ottawa, the Second Empire French and Italian Style had one tall… …   Wikipedia

  • The Second Angel — is a science fiction novel by Scottish author Philip Kerr. The title of the book comes from a bible quote, And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man (Revelation 16:3). Historical myths about… …   Wikipedia

  • The Devil in the White City —   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”