The Second City has named Rob Chambers as President and Anne Libera as Executive Artistic Director of the Second City Training Centers and Education Programs, International. This new executive management team will oversee the international operations of the company's training and education programs and will work together to strengthen the relationship between Second City's stages and its training programs; increase communication and shared resources between locations; expand programming and enrollment; oversee artistic continuity; establish brand consistency; and institute staff development systems. Second City currently has Training Centers in Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and Detroit with a combined enrollment of about 15,000 students each year. The company runs Education Programs in Chicago and Toronto that focus on programs for elementary and secondary schools.
"The Training Centers are among the fastest growing divisions of Second City," said Andrew Alexander, executive producer of The Second City. "That, along with our increasing number of school programs, requires us to have greater oversight and coordination of these activities. Rob and Anne will continue to work with the Chicago team while advising the staffs in our other cities to help them manage and grow their divisions."
The Training Centers offer classes in improvisation, acting, comedy writing and music for adults and children. The Education Programs provide performances, residencies and professional development training for teachers and students. At the Second City Training Center in Chicago, Norm Holly will assume the title of Artistic Director/ Head of Conservatory and Improv for Actors Programs, and Mary Scruggs will assume the title of Head of Writing and Education Programs. They, along with Chambers and Libera, are the team that oversees the programming in Chicago. Training for corporations will continue to be offered by Second City Communications, the division that provides workshops and entertainment for corporate clients.
Students of the Second City Training Centers have included scores of actors, writers, directors and producers, including Emmy winner Tina Fey, Academy Award winner Halle Berry, Tony winner Greg Kotis, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Bonnie Hunt, Sean Hayes, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Horatio Sanz, Steve Carrell, Amy Sedaris, Hinton Battle, and Stephnie Weir. |
