THE SECOND CITY

The Second City is the world's most famous comedy theatre, with stages in Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York. It has been referred to as 'a temple of satire' by Time magazine. Just some of the famous alumni the theatre has produced include Bill Murray, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Steve Carrel and Stephen Colbert. Second City was responsible for the much-loved and highly award television program 'SCTV', which introduced the world to such talents as John Candy, Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy.

Second City shows typically star 5 actors who enliven an empty stage with topical comedy sketches. Using few props and costumes, punctuating scenes with original music, the ensemble creates a slice-of-life environment, lampooning our modern lives - political, social, and cultural. The Second City develops all of its material in a performance situation, improvising on ideas suggested by the audience during improvisational sets held nightly after the regular show. Then, by refining, culling, and amplifying the ideas during rehearsals, the finished pieces become the next revenue.

Today, Second City Communications delights audiences all over the world by drawing together some of the funniest sketches ever to grace the stage into an hour-long 'Best of Second City' revue.

THE SECOND CITY'S NATIONAL TOURING COMPANY

For over 35 years The Second City National Touring Company has been delighting audiences all over the world with The Best of Second City, a compilation of sketches, songs, and improvised scenes. Choosing material from the early sixties to the present day, The National Touring Company compiles the best material from the best revues to make The Best of Second City.

The Second City's National Touring company has always been something of a comedic "boot camp" for Second City' resident stages in Chicago and Toronto. Performers such as Bill Murray, Betty Thomas, James Belushi, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have all one time or another, completed a "tour of duty" with the Second City's National Touring Company.

Today, Second City has taken it successful history and brought it to corporate settings. Show business and your business have more in common than you think, and Second City Communications can help you find your voice on your stage. We help you communicate your message with clarity, impact and a little zip. In other words, we use show biz to help you excel in your biz.

Each of our clients is different, and we have a lot of flexibility in our offerings, but most often our clients want:

Customized Corporate Entertainment...
Our most popular offering, it's a Second City style revue with some scenes customized to your particular industry, audience, or company issues. A perfect idea for that company-wide meeting or dinner party. Our staff -- the finest comedy writers in the industry -- will create scenes custom-written for your event. Additionally, we'll include scenes from the Second City Theater archives as well as some improvisation. Using information you provide about your group or company, we will create an original show that will be appropriate for corporate crowds, but still riotously funny.

Best of Second City...
Looking for some light after-dinner entertainment for your next event? Let us perform a show for you that highlights why Second City has been North America's premier choice for comedy for nearly half a century. You'll see some of the best sketches ever performed on our stages right in the comfort of your favorite venue (did you think we were going to say "living room?"). We're a great way to entertain a diverse group of your favorite clients -- we'll help you seal the deal.

The Improv ShowShop...
Learn the basics of improv-based training in this one hour program. Part training workshop and part comedy show, this program teaches the fundamentals of improvisation, teambuilding and improved communications and demonstrates them with a team of our hilarious improvisers. But it's more than just a show. The audience gets involved, participating in exercises and on-stage demos. The ShowShop is perfect for conventions, large groups and anyone who wants to sample our programs in a theatrical setting.

Meeting Breaks & Speaker Support...
The perfect way to break up the monotony of a long day's meeting, or excite and rev up your group for a big day of information processing. We will perform custom-written scenes to highlight and reinforce the important points of each section of your meeting.

You can also use our uproarious comic sketches to reiterate important points from your speech and show practical examples of how the information you provide will affect your industry and quite possibly change the world.

Whether it's a small group meeting or a conference for hundreds, your audience will learn through a series of hilarious scenes strategically placed throughout the course of your meeting. A great way to kick off the day, sprinkle some educational entertainment throughout, or to wrap up and drive a point home. Don't go to the podium without us.

Master of Ceremonies...
Take the worry out of your awards ceremony this year: hire us. We'll provide one of our top comedian/improvisers to host your event and make your evening one to remember (no more nervous employees to shoulder the responsibility).

Trade Shows & Promotional Tours...
We can help you promote just about anything. Hire us to staff your booth and provide product training, and you will find that our exhibit hosting and live presentations will bring humor to your product and customers to your door. No matter what the product -- whether it's a one-day event or a nationwide tour -- Second City Communications has what it takes to bring life, energy and excitement to your next series of promotional events.

Improvisation Show...
Looking for something up close and personal? It doesn't get any better than this! We'll provide a team of our talent to help make your meeting or party an instant success with an all improvised show. We rely on audience suggestions for many of the games, so this show will be shaped by you and ideas that you shout out!