By John Walker
Special to Inside
The Second City will open The Second City Children's Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 10:30 a.m., at The Second City Mainstage (1616 N. Wells St. in Piper's Alley) running every Saturday until Sept. 13. A special preview performance will be presented Saturday, Aug. 9.
Working within the parameters of favorite children's stories, The Second City has developed a hilarious, interactive children's show where the kids play an important role in deciding both the telling and the outcome of each story. In addition to being fun and funny, The Second City Children's Theater introduces youngsters to many of the important principles of improvisation, such as the value of listening, working as a team, and the amazing results of saying "yes and" rather than "no but."
The creative team behind The Second City Children's Theater includes a handful of top-notch Second City talent, including former Mainstage performers Sue Gillan and Ed Furman, along with the current Mainstage actress Abby Sher and Second City veteran and noted children's theatre playwright Klaus Schuller. T.J. Shanoff is creating the music for The Second City Children's Theatre.
Surprising to some, The Second City has a long history of children's programming—beginning at the beginning—as Viola Spolin's work with children's improvisational games at Jane Addams Hull House inspired her son, Paul Sills, to develop The Second City art form. Viola's protégé, Josephine Forsberg, then began the Player's Workshop, which produced a number of children's shows at the Wells St. location over the years. Forsberg employed a number of future Chicago theatre stalwarts in her kid's shows, including Bill Murray, George Wendt, and a young would-be playwright named David Mamet—who played piano for many of the shows.
The Second City made the decision to re-launch a children's theatre at its Mainstage location due to the overwhelming success of its new Youth Programs at The Second City Training Center. Over 200 students ranging in age from 9 to 18 years old are enrolled in Second City's 2003 Summer Camps. Additionally, The Second City Training Center continues to fill its eight-week improvisation classes for kids: ImaginAction (ages 4-6), Improvisation X (ages 10-14) and High School Improvisation (ages 15-18). The school will launch eight-week classes for ages 7-9 in the fall.
"The response to our youth classes has been tremendous since we began offering them last year," said Rob Chambers, executive director of The Second City Training Center. "Kids from all over the country and from as far away as Europe have come to study with us during the summer. A lot of parents have asked when we were going to offer a family-friendly stage show again. So we look forward to entertaining a whole new generation of young audiences in the art form of improvisation and comedy."
Tickets for The Second City Children's Theatre are $8 and can be reserved at (312) 337-3992.
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