friday night i had the pleasure of seeing jay sukow's c-level improv class perform at the second city.
what: a training class performance!
where: the second city location in old town, demaat theatre,
accompaniment: dustin!
drinkability: no booze for sale in this SC theatre (but others do!)
show length: 30 minutes
out of four: three/four
my college/work pal aj recently moved to chicago and almost immediately jumped into the improv scene at the second city. its been super exciting for me to see him become an actor...as it was a funny little idea in the back of his mind for so long, then he finally went out for community theatre and was cast. and cast again. and directed, won a local award, and decided to pack up his things and move to chicago and really give it a go. now he's three classes deep at second city and i finally got a chance to see him perform.
the set up is this: at the end of your level c class and above you get to finish your training by performing for others- which is the end goal, really, right? this particular night they lined up all the level c classes (i think i counted 10+?) and give them 30 minute time slots in which to showcase their talents they've learned over the last handful of weeks. this class had 12 people in it and it was determined before the show which improv "games" they'd play, with suggestions from the live audience to move their scenes along. after each group got to play their game they concluded the evening with one group game.
one of the best parts about this quick thirty minutes of fun? the show is only $2! its $1 (or free?) if you're a current SC student. aj luckily nabbed us the last couple of tickets before his particular class sold out...something that seems to have never happened previously (kudos, dudes!).
the thing i really loved about this performance is seeing people genuinely excited to perform. when's the last time you saw a group of people that you can just tell are all so nervous, jittery, yet excited at the same time? the best part is getting to greet the students at the end of the show and see how excited they are to perform the skills they've learned.
i'm not sure how often these performances happen, but if you have pals in the program ask when they're performing! its a quick show, $2, and a bunch of laughs.
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bonus show: saturday night i had the pleasure of seeing oracle theatre's WAITING FOR LEFTY.
i don't want to break my rule of not reviewing the same company's show in the same year (or six months if i absolutely have to) as i already shared my thoughts on their production of THE MOTHER earlier this year, but i just want to applaud oracle and its members for once again putting together thought-provoking creative theatre that had me on the edge of my seat for a quick 55 minutes. byob. free theatre. great talent. go see it.
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upcoming june shows:
friday june 24th, 8pm: prop thtr's slaughter city
join me, will you?
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