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Second Citizens
Second Citizens episodes
- Rebecca SohnI’ve spoken about the Annoyance theater before on the show, especially in the episodes with Susan messing (my ex wife) and Ed Furman. ( my always improv crush). But in all honesty, it completely slipped my mind that they had been preceded on the stages by many years by the true Annoyance pioneer, my guest today Rebecca Sohn. I think it’s important to point this out, because the Annoyance theater was always the place where truly ANYTHING went, and while that may have been incredibly psyc...1 hr 27 min
- Jean VillepiqueTodays guest, Jean Villipique had what one might consider a “prototypical” career on the stages of the Second City Chicago, having written and performed two shows in both the ETC theater and then the Main Stage, insuring she got a solid dose of every experience offered by the Second City. As in all of our episodes we’ll get into these experiences and Jean’s observations on them, but Jean holds a special place in my heart not for her on stage contributions, which are impressive in their o...1 hr 16 min
- David PompeiiThe second city has always aspired to be more than just funny, otherwise they wouldn’t include the quote dubbing them “the temple of satire” in EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF PARAPHANILIA THEY PUT OUT. (this may be a slight exaggeration)Point is they need people with opinions, people who have experienced some of the things that the second city audience will relate to AS WELL AS people who have experiences that may not be so familiar to the audience, but are important to understand. As I’ve stated...1 hr 21 min
- Ron WestAs a breeding ground for satire and comedy, the second city has long had a reputation for producing comedy anarchists, and with good reason. Names like Belushi, Farley or Tim Robinson immediately conjure images of untethered, primal forces of nature wreaking havoc on anything in their paths. But all of this unbridled energy is useless if there is no focus. A cannon is only effective when you have someone to point it in the right direction and pull the trigger at the appropriate time. To...1 hr 27 min
- Chris WitaskeFor decades in Chicago, and I suspect in Toronto, the path to employment at the Second City was similar for the vast majority of people. Take classes at second city and other spots around town, do free shows for several years and hope that you don’t get a total beginner in your tourco audition. Spoiler, more often than not you will get that overeager scene partner who will talk nonstop until your audition is over and …….see you next year.As the company grew, more opportunities for emplo...1 hr 11 min
- Molly ErdmanThis episode is about a dream. sooooo many of the second city performers of the last 20 years discovered improv in college, moved to Chicago right afterwards with the singular goal of performing on the main stage of the second city. Most people don’t ever get to live that dream. Today’s guest is one of those dreamers.If you’ve listened to a few episodes of our show it’s obvious what a big fan I am of all of our guests, but I can honestly say that there is no guest I will ever have...1 hr 4 min
- E.R. FightmasterThe last several years have been tumultuous to say the least for the Second City. Though the theater had been making strides to be more inclusive since the mid 90’s, their approach was superficial, Making sure there were diverse faces on the stages was progress, but the efforts seemed to stop short of including the points of view that diversity should provide. The definition of “inclusion” also was changing. In 1972, if you had proposed a cast with 3 men and 3 women there wou...1 hr 19 min
- Frank CaetiWe talk with Frank Caeti about his recent experience directing The new Chicago ETC show "The Best Decision You've Ever Made", the first Second City show since the pandemic.Also some fun stories about touring with complainers (in a good way), taking a TV job, our mutual love of the Second City AND where we hope it's headed in the future.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondcitizenspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SecondCitizens_1 hr 20 min
- Mark BeltzmanWe talk to Mark Beltzman about working with Del Close in the 80's as long form improv was being invented.We also discuss losing a spot on the Main Stage to Chris Farley, being at Del Closes death bed and carrying on the artform of improvisation for the next generations. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondcitizenspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SecondCitizens_1 hr 1 min
- Martin GarciaWhen Second city alums describe their years at the theater, the vast majority refer to it as “the best job” they ever had. There are any number of reasons for this, the camaraderie you develop with your castmates, the thrill of the audiences applause, or just the fact that you are being paid to make shit up. What ever those reasons may be, they can almost all be distilled into one word.. “Fun”The word Fun just kept popping up in my mind when I was thinking of ways to describe today’s guest. T...1 hr 15 min
About Second Citizens
From the publisher's feed
In 1952 The New Yorker Magazine published an article about Chicago and mockingly titled “The Second City”. Who could have foreseen the irony that the publication that was started by and published the…
great wits of their day, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, James Thurber and George S. Kaufman would end up christening the greatest incubator of comedy talent in show biz history? In 1959 on North Wells Street in that famed “second city”, for the price of $1.50 you could watch a revolution. The Second City has written and re written the history of comedy in America. It has been creating comedy and comedians whose influence would reach far beyond the walls of the theater into American culture. Beyond being a laboratory for modern improvisation they have also set the standard for contemporary satire in America AND Canada. But they are best known for the countless comedy geniuses who have cut thier teeth while working for the second city. From Alan Arkin to Bill Murray to Tina Fey to Tim Robinson and on and on, the list of comedy giants with ties to the Second City is seemingly endless. On The second citizens podcast, we interview Alums of the second city stages about their time working at the theater. Friendships made, lessons learned both good and bad, we set out to chronicle the formative years of our comedy heroes, before they were household names and try to get to the beating heart of an institution that thrives on creatives, but has been consumed by the corporate world. Join us as we talk to these talented second citizens.