The Second City

I saw Ski Doo Secret at Second city and those guys were unbelievable. I was there with a few friends on a whim and am definitely going to see them again! #skidoosecret

If you like improv shows or if you are looking for a fun activity for your Friday/​Saturday night, check out the performances at the Second City. I came here on a Friday night for their «Undateable» show and was blown away by the talent of the comedic artists. They are all so witty, hilarious, and lovable!
The venue is small, so it is recommended that you come early. I think, other Unilocalers advised to arrive 30 minute before the performance starts. However, my SO and I arrived at/​around 9 p.m. and we were fine with finding good seats. Maybe we were just lucky that night. Also, if you do not want to be picked on, you may want to avoid the front seats. The guy who sat in the front was picked on multiple times, but he was a good sport about it, so it was all good.
As far as parking goes, find street metered parking. If it is difficult, then there is several parking lots that range from $ 7 – 10.
After coming here for one show, I am definitely coming back for more shows. Check out Goldstar for slight discounted tickets. For two tickets, it turned out to be $ 18.00 with processing fees, compared to the website’s price of $ 12 per ticket.

I saw «Cancer, The Musical» last night. I laughed, I cried. What a great show. I was astounded that in addition to acting and singing, the cast also sub in an out as the band! I’ve never seen anything like it… and I go to A Lot of plays. Bravo! Just go!

Apparently Second City is where many stars got their start — everyone from John Belushi to Stephen Colbert. So you can go there to find up-​and-​coming talent that only the insiders know about.
I got to see Afros and Ass Whoopins here. The show was AMAZING! It was funny, poignant, and everyone loved the music.
Also the theater gave us free wine and hors d’oeuvres!
Afros and Ass Whoopins is supposed to be the «Next Big Thing» so I’m happy I got to see it.

Be sure to get here at least 30 minutes before your show starts, especially if you have your tickets on will call. As far as I can tell, every show has open seating and I like to pick my «perfect» seat…
I parked a couple of blocks away at 1633 Wilcox for $ 7. Parking near the theater is closer to $ 20.
As far as the theater goes, it’s very small and easy to miss — Seth (my male version of Siri) told me I was there when I wasn’t. I had to ask a shopkeeper who was closing for the day where the entrance was. It smells of urine at the bottom of the long staircase that leads to the theaters. There is no elevator. There was an artsy guy sitting at the bottom of the stairs… I wasn’t sure if he worked there until he asked if I had my ticket barcode to scan after I was about five stairs high. He, then, directed me to the will call «office» — a random rectangular room with two people sitting in very low chairs behind a desk adjacent to the staircase.
Upstairs is very plain. It’s an older building that’s oddly shaped. I was the first to arrive because someone was trying to commit suicide on the 101 which caused great traffic delays, so the play was running behind. Though the «pre show festivities» were supposed to only be for industry folk, shouts out to David and Christa who let me in early to enjoy the industry treats — but don’t tell anyone…
I truly appreciate this theater for:
1) the intimacy of the venue. The theater I was in only held 65 people. I never sit in the front row of these types of close contact settings because I don’t like to be part of the show. But I get a seat close to enough to almost feel their spit on my face.
2) the mixed crowd of the cast and the audience. Sista likes diversity and that’s what I saw!
3) the amazing pictures they were able to create with one stage and one keyboard. The simple stage setup of a brick wall with windows and a few seats served as a crime scene, plantation, home, Black Panthers rally site…
4) the content of the show I went to see, «Afros and A** Whoopins’». I had no idea what this show was about when I bought the tickets on Goldstar — I just liked the title and the accompanying picture. But I am about to get on my soap box about this musical…
This is a satirical musical at its finest! The opening act was a highly dramatic (I hope) and laugh worthy depiction of an unarmed black man getting shot by three white policemen. Then came a rendition of «Black People Get Shot», complete with blunt lyrics and corny dance moves, from a mixed cast. I knew I was in for a treat! This production is hilarious!!! The lady sitting next to me was laughing so hard she was snorting! I had at least a smile on my face the whole time.
This show very cleverly and gleefully addresses a very current situation — police mistreatment of black Americans — and provides a history of this very thing with nods to everything from slavery times to Malcolm X to Angela Davis to Johnny Cochran to «Friday» — yes, the movie. And just when something was deep enough to make you think too much or get too serious, someone would do a jig or mention some cultural meme to get you laughing again.
Just a note: saying «black lives matter» does not mean other colors of life do not. There is a very prevalent history of police mistreatment of people my color that dates back to the abolition days. It’s only now because cell phone videos and the presence of police «transparency» that this is salient in the media. This production beautifully and comically deals with this heavy topic in a way that sheds light to how heart-​breaking this is before wonderfully detailing (in the last song) that this is something we ALL (regardless of color or ethnicity) have a responsibility in fixing. It also dispels long held misconceptions — for example, about the Black Panther party. Off my soap box now…
As mentioned before, I happened to go on industry night so, after the show, we were invited to a lounge area that had free wine and other beverages as well as a very attractive array of sandwiches and fresh veggies as the cast and crew met the attendees. The writer/​producer, musical director, and select cast members came over to greet me and ask how I heard about the show. They asked me to spread the word of this production and I whole-​heartedly want to. GO SEE THIS SHOW!!! The talent involved with this show is incredible. I have no doubt that everyone involved is on the track to greatness!
If this is the kind of shows this theater features, I will definitely return without a Goldstar ticket. As far as I can see on the website, Second City has reasonable prices for all of its shows. PLEASE go see this show… it is sold out on Goldstar but SO worth the original price!

What a wonderful place to learn and grow and meet amazing people!

This is a review for the show Afros and Ass Whoopings. I was SO entertained! I highly recommend the show to anyone who likes live performances. The cast was awesome. There were a few standouts. The guys that played the cops were hilarious and the skinny, blond girl was great. She’s Canadian so of course I thought she was fabulous. Fun to watch even though the subject was dark. Great play, great cast!

I took a class here and really loved it, I would certainly take more as time and money permitted.

I love this place. The staff are so friendly and the drinks are awesome! I’ve seen the past 5 shows there and every time i leave in tears from laughing so hard. Awesome for couples out on a date. I cant really say anything for the meals i haven’t eaten there. if you’re looking for something to do in Toronto then this it it!

Amazing. $ 10 for a 50min show. I was laughing the whole time!!!

This was just alright compared to the other two second city venues I’ve been to. The theater was remarkably smaller and there was no bar/​refreshments available for purchase. Ticket prices are very reasonable however.

«Ithamar Has Nothing to Say» show is an hour long non-​speaking comedy show. Although it wasn’t the best and there were some parts I didn’t get or were not that funny, I still enjoyed myself and thought it was a good value: $ 10 per person! I really enjoyed the improv when the audience shouted out suggestions and the hand parodies of familiar movies. I appreciated that it was mostly clean and family friendly. I’ll definitely check out some of their other shows as it is a good way to laugh and unwind.

Went to go see «Picture Show The Show», and it was HILARIOUS. They had a great premise, where they based their sketches off of drawings from kids and their friends, and they’d show the picture on the screens so you could see what the inspiration was.
Seriously, one of the funniest comedy shows I’ve ever been to. Highly recommended!

Great people who work here, friendly and fun.
Came here to see Bro Squad — Laughed until my face hurt, and worked out my abs.

I registered for a class, was given no physical information of when/​where the class was other than a guy telling me it was in, «two days,» and overhearing other people say it was on a Tuesday. This was late on a Saturday afternoon. Figuring «two days» might consist of Sunday and Monday, I called in on Tuesday to find out what time my class was, was told ambivalently that «most classes» start at 6:30. Showed up at 6 to find the class I registered for was Monday at 6:30. It was only an 8 wk class, so I had missed an 8^th of the classes. You do the math. The fact I was bothered by this seemed strange to staff there, but they said I could make it up on Sunday morning. Again, not given any specific time or place and treated like I was weird for wanting specifics.
Because of that I decided to ask for a refund. Most of these places have no refund policies, which makes sense to me if someone gets halfway through a course and decides they don’t like the feedback, but for someone who hasn’t attended a class due to the staff’s ambivalence and cavalier attitude, I think a refund is warranted. After a full work week of calling and being told they’d call back and not getting called back, they rallied around the guy who told me «two days» who now claimed he had said «Monday.»
There is no business model where charging someone over $ 300 for nothing and having zero consideration and an «us» vs. «them» attitude toward your paying customers would work.
In conclusion, if you like disorganization, elitism, being ripped off, and treated like you’re a bad person, this is the place for you. But in a town pockmarked by other improv/​acting classes, they’re a dime a dozen. Everything good that you associate the Second City name with is related to Second City Chicago, so don’t let the name lure you in. Having black and white stills in the hallway of groundbreaking comedic actors who came out of Chicago in the ‘70s doesn’t make you a good school. It just means you know the address of a Staples.

Second City uses improv to create sketch comedy — that is the end goal here… a sketch comedy revue. This particular location is a «training center» and not a main stage (like Chicago or Toronto). The primary difference is that people who finish the Conservatory (Improv) Program here are called «graduates,» as opposed to «alumni» like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, or John Candy.
This review is about the improv classes. Not long after moving to LA from the South, I was looking for a way to make friends in this superficial city that isn’t generally recognized for its friendliness to outsiders. I can honestly say I have never met such an amazingly talented and supportive group of people elsewhere. Each of my teachers was incredible: Rebekah Walendzak for Improv 1, Kiff VandenHeuvel for Improv 2, Katie Nahnsen for Improv 3, and Rob Belushi for Conservatory 1. (Sadly, I have since moved across the country, or I would have continued in the program.)
Unlike other theaters that teach improv by focusing on developing crazy characters or finding the «game» of the scene, Second City really focuses on grounded scenework and a believable base reality. As one of my teachers aptly put it, «At Second City, we are actors who use improv to create, rather than improvisers who try to act.» In fact, some of my best/​favorite scenes were not funny at all, but the people watching were just drawn into a slice of life as a result of the relationship between the scene partners. That was pretty powerful.
There is just something about the environment and the people that finally caused improv to «click» for me. I finally got that feeling of, «Yeah, I love this, and I’m pretty good at it.» For what it’s worth, having taken improv basics elsewhere, I took Intensive courses for Improv 1 & 2, which were amazing! I think being in a room with your classmates for several hours per day for 3 days straight just creates an amazing bond and group mind that makes improv enjoyable.
One of the best parts of Second City is that they let you perform as students. In class, we performed with/​for the other classes every week, just to practice the various skills we learned. Once we got the basics down, we were able to put on student shows that were open to the public. Our improv 3 show sold out the theatre! Such an awesome feeling.
The only gripes I have are that there’s no water available to students and that the bathrooms need some work. It would be nice if we had a student water jug we could use during breaks, rather than have to venture out onto Hollywood Blvd and deal with the weirdos and overpriced drug store beverages. The women’s restroom is also not a sanctuary. It is literally right next to the theater, and the door is always open. So, people lining up to watch a show are standing right outside of you while you are taking care of business (and if you can’t do that in public, you will need to go elsewhere).
Okay, a third gripe — parking. The parking lot directly behind the school/​theater claims to give SC students a discount, but they enforce the student discount very sporadically, and it’s almost not even a discount if you go on a weekend. That said, if you are a student at Second City, most shows only cost $ 1 with your student ID card, which is rad!

This review is only for Ithamar Has Nothing to Say.
Let me preface this by saying I hate live theater. I know, I’m probably living in the wrong town. So when we were invited to see Ithamar’s one man show and told that he doesn’t speak the whole time I was like, oh god, just shoot me now.
How wrong I was.
This is the most entertaining, thoroughly brilliant and laugh out loud funny performances I have ever seen. That’s saying a helluva lot coming from me.
Do yourself a favor and go see this show immediately. Take everyone you know. It’s only $ 10 so you have no excuses.
Go.
Now.

This review is for Miley Montana: The Musical.
I met one of the cast members when I first to moved to LA at a meditation class and finally came to see one of her show’s when my cousin was in town. When she told me it was a show inspired by Miley Cyrus, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. Not that I hate Miley Cyrus, I’m just pretty indifferent and don’t spend much of my life thinking about her.
I was dead wrong for not being excited. This show was HILARIOUS. So odd, unusual, unique and FUNNY. It’s more of a coming-​of-​age story about two sisters (Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus) that’s set in high school as opposed to a musical about Miley Cyrus.
No matter how you feel about Miley Cyrus, if you like to laugh, you will LOVE this show. It’s goofy, edgy, and even touching at parts.
FUNNY show. Awesome cast. Great music.
A really fun, inexpensive night of live theater.

I saw this show at a Second City called Ithamar Has Nothing To Say and it was fun, funny and all around excellent! When you see this show you get doubly amazed, first, because it’s genuinely so funny, and second, because it makes you see how much more we all communicate without words than you’d think, as in, a lot more!
One of my favorite parts was when he improvised a series of little scenes with about twenty drawings of emotional faces audience members had drawn before coming into the show, super funny! Everyone should see this show at least once!

Anyone who hates great things should definitely NOT go see Ithamar Has Nothing to Say.
Having said that… Ithamar Has Nothing To Say is one of the most hilarious and original comedy shows I have ever seen. Ithamar has found a way to entertain you and everyone you know for one whole hour without saying a single word… And when it’s all over, your cheeks will hurt from smiling so much but it will still feel like it went by too quickly.
And I’m only saying this to warn you other fellas out there trying to impress your lady friends– you may even get a little choked up at the end… Just saying. Be prepared.
I’ve recommended this show to comedy nerd friends, co-​workers, neighbors, and the young kid who rang me up at Chipotle — and now I’m recommending it to the people of Unilocal (which I guess is just about everyone else). GO SEE THIS SHOW!