The Second City
The Second City is a Chicago theater group . The troupe is the best-known theater group based in the city outside of Chicago. Under the same name and based on the Chicago group, a group was formed in Toronto that produced the television show Second City Television .
The Chicago group was founded in 1953 as the Playwrights Theater Club . The current name comes from an article in The New Yorker magazine about Chicago published in 1949. It has been in use since 1959.
Instead of playing traditional pieces, they improvise .
Numerous former group members later appeared on the television comedy show Saturday Night Live . Well-known former members include:
- Alan Alda
- Dan Aykroyd
- Ed Asner
- John Belushi
- Shelley Berman
- Stephen Colbert
- Severn Darden
- Tina Fey
- Bonnie Hunt
- Elaine May
- Bill Murray
- Mike Nichols
- David Pasquesi
- Gilda Radner
- Harold Ramis
- Joan Rivers
- David Rasche
- Horatio Sanz
- Martin Short
- Ryan Stiles (Toronto)
- Rebel Wilson
- Mike Myers
- Dan Bakkedahl
- Chloe Bennet
literature
- Sheldon Patinkin: The Second City. Backstage at the World's Greatest Comedy Theater. 2000, ISBN 1-57071-561-0 .
- Jeffrey Sweet: Something Wonderful Right Away. 1978, ISBN 0-380-01884-5 .
- Janet Coleman: The Compass Players.
- Mike Thomas: The Second City Unscripted: Revolution and Revelation at the World-Famous Comedy Theater . Villard, 2009.