Read more
This completely new and updated second edition of The Second City—released to coincide with The Second City's sixtieth anniversary—tells the full story of the comedy institution in a high-end gift package with rare behind-the-scenes photos and stories from the star-studded cast. The Second City is the complete and authorized history of the most important and influential improv comedy theater in the world.
List of contents
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Second City Origin Story: Before the Beginning
Chapter 2: 1959: A Comedy Revolution Begins
Chapter 3: The 1960s: Coming Out Swinging
Chapter 4: The 1970s: New Blood, New Horizons
Chapter 5: SCTV, 1976-1984: Welcome to Melonville
Chapter 6: The 1980s: Triumph & Tragedy
Chapter 7: The 1990s: Changing the Format
Chapter 8: The 2000s: Expanding by Land & by Sea
Chapter 9: The 2010s: Second City on Fire
Afterword
Complete Alumni List
About the author
The Second City began as a pioneering improvisational theater in Chicago in 1959. It has grown into one of the world's largest and most influential entertainment institutions, with theaters and Training Centers in Chicago, Toronto, and Hollywood.
Sheldon Patinkin was one of The Second City's first directors and served as the company's artistic consultant for fifty-five years. A mentor to thousands of performers, directors, and creative spirits, he passed away in 2014.
Liz Kozak has been with The Second City since 2013 as a writer, an editor, and a producer on a variety of special events and film projects, including the upcoming Netflix
SCTV reunion special directed by Martin Scorsese. Prior to her time at The Second City, Ms. Kozak spent over a decade working for Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios in Chicago.
Comedic trailblazer Catherine O'Hara first found success onstage at The Second City Toronto and as an actress and Emmy Award-winning writer on the iconic sketch comedy series
SCTV. Her prodigious career in film and television has gifted pop culture with iconic performances in
Home Alone,
Beetlejuice,
Best in Show, and
Schitt's Creek. A native of Toronto, O'Hara received the prestigious Order of Canada in 2018 in recognition of her lifetime of outstanding achievement.
Summary
"Chicago's temple of improvisational comedy." -New York TimesSince opening in 1959, The Second City has transformed the state of comedy as we know it, creating a wickedly funny culture of improvisation and training thousands of artists-who now dominate popular entertainment-in the art of improv-based theater. This newly revised and
Foreword
Marketing:
- Promotion on The Second City’s website (more than 2 million annual visitors) and social media platforms (64.2k followers on Twitter and 153k followers on Facebook) and to visitors of The Second City’s theaters (more than 400k in 2018)
- Holiday gift guide promotion
- LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway
- Regional bookseller outreach
- Social media campaign targeting fans of comedy and improv theater
Publicity:
- Events in conjunction with The Second City’s sixtieth anniversary programming
- National radio and television campaign, including NPR
- National print and online media campaign targeting arts and entertainment magazines and websites
- Local (Chicago) media campaign, including radio, television, print, and online
- National campaign in conjunction with The Second City’s publicity team for the sixtieth anniversary
Additional text
“The entire recent tradition of American theatrical satire can be summed up in three words: The Second City.”
—New York Times
