Amanda Blake Davis worked on multiple oceans and multiple deserts before ABD (as she's known) hit the ETC. She shares her stories from all of these wet/dry climates, as well as the temperate midwest (ha.). Jobs are a theme as the financial sacrifice of working for tourco comes up as well as how sometimes you have to move away from Chicago so that you can move back to Chicago. And though this episode was recorded a while ago, I think I remember us talking about the grinding world of theater le...

Following up on last week's ETC origin story, we welcome Harry Murphy to share his thoughts on that transitional time in The Second City's history. He describes the freedom and fun of creating your own company and operating with relatively little oversight, and how the "promotion" to the Main Stage didn't bring that same energy. We also touch a little bit on some of the early attempts at establishing a foothold in LA, and also some of the middle attempts. Not much on recent attempts. And...

For over 30 years the Second City ETC (Experimental Theater Company) has been pumping out hilarious shows in Pipers Alley, right next door to its older sibling, the Chicago mainstage. In that time the ETC has produced as much quality comedy as any Second City stage. Today we are delighted to have the three actors who were the driving force behind the creation of the ETC. Jane Morris, Jeff Michalski, and Bill Applebaum were members of the touring company who wanted to put up an original s...

Actor/Writer/Producer Todd Stashwick joins us to share stories about his short but eventful time working at the Second City. Todd was one of the last people hired by legendary producer Joyce Sloan, and the way she hired him reminds us of a simpler time. Todd was part of an incredibly talented (and tall) generation, working at second city during the emotionally charged "changing of the guard" in management. He also was there in the early days of the Detroit Theater and he tells us about the ma...

When our host first moved to Chicago, he made a point to try to watch Craig Cackowski improvise whenever he could.Today that very same Craig Cackowski joins us to...1. explain his initial reluctance to appear on the show (hint: it was Joe)2. tell us some of his favorite people to watch/ improvise with.3. talk about his appreciation for fundamentals4. deny accusations that he has a list of the greatest improvisers ever5. much much more!and despite this list of 5 always remember the rule of 3Su...

Improv Legend Stephnie Weir joins the show and after we get through the awkwardness of our host getting her name wrong for 25 years things really pick up! Steph shares her long journey to discovering improv and then her much shorter journey to the top of the improv mountain. Did you know that Stephnie has the shortest tourco run of anyone who's ever had a tourco run? Do you even know what a tourco run is? Have a listen and find out! (*keep in mind any and all "statistics" in this po...

Andy Cobb joins us to talk about injecting politics into sketch comedy, marrying a second citizen and making people laugh immediately after 9/11.Listen to the show and tell us which one was the hardest to pull off successfully!*Also some valuable information about auditioning for commercials (don't be afraid to swear!)Subscribe, Rate and Review!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondcitizenspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SecondCitizens_

The delightful Ruthie Rudnick joins us to talk about her long history at the Second City. Item of interest include:- changing her voice- going on workers comp from a comedy related injury- finding out about a monumental change in company management and a personal promotion in the same meeting- Taking part in the creation of "Pictionary", the most lucrative sketch in the history of the Second City. And of course the item of most interest is Ruthie herself and she has many more stories to ...

Shelly Gossman joins us for an engaging and honest conversation about her time at the Second City. Whether it's discussing the Las Vegas job she took for the health insurance or the challenges encountered while writing the 50th anniversary show, Shelly holds nothing back. This is no surprise to our host, who had the pleasure of writing 2 Main Stage shows with Shelly in Chicago and always considered her the straightest shooter in the building. We talk about those shows and how Shelly was able ...

From the very beginning of this Podcast we've promised to bring you a Canadian Second Citizen and now, we can finally deliver on that promise with comedy legend and SC Toronto alum Dave Thomas!We start out talking about Dave's new venture into Science Fiction writing before diving into his Second City history. And what a history it is!Before any of them were professional comedians, let alone legends, Dave was doing bits in a living room with Eugene Levy, Martin Short and Paul Shaeffer! ...