Get an inside look into the Second City's Training Center Community. Each week, Chicago Public Radio contributor and veteran improviser Jimmy Carrane will sit down for a candid conversation with some of Second City's most interesting people.
Brian Posen
Brian Posen is a native of Chicago. He has been active in the Chicago theater scene of over 20 years as an actor, producer, director, and a teacher. Brian created and produces under two award-winning theater companies: B & F Productions & Lukaba Productions. Besides consistent excellent revues, B & F have received several honors including 'Jeff' and 'After Dark' awards. Lukaba Productions, a non-for-profit corporation, is the parent company of several different theatrical production companies, including The Chicago Annual Sketch Comedy Festival (Started in 2002...The largest sketch comedy festival in the nation, hosting over 100 sketch comedy troupes- 800 artists- performing the first two weeks in January to over 10,000 patrons) and The Cupid Players (Started in 1999...A musical sketch comedy troupe which has the longest running show in Improv Olympics 25 year history-6 years : "Cupid Has A Heart On"). "Cupid..." received the honor of being named "The best sketch comedy troupe" by The Chicago Reader in their "Best of..." issue last year. As an instructor, Brian has been teaching at The Second City Theater since 1993 where he holds the title of senior faculty. He has also been teaching at Columbia College Chicago since 1994. He has taught at Steppenwolf Theater, Actor's Theater of Louisville, University of Illinois (where he won the Charles Luckman Award for excellence in teaching), Act One Studios, The Bristol Renaissance Faire, several Fortune 500 Companies, various Theaters, Colleges, High Schools, Corporations, and guest faculty at DePaul University, & Roosevelt University. Brian has directed and performed in hundreds of stage productions. He has his MFA in acting from the University of Illinois. Performink named Brian as one of the most influential people in the Chicago theater scene. He is also a member of SAG and AFTRA.
Listen to Brian's interview
Bina Martin
Bina Martin as been a member of the Second City faculty in New York and Chicago since 2001. She is the Artistic Director of CarniKid Productions, an improvisationally-based theater company whose signature piece, Chairs, has had critical successful runs around Chicago and in festivals around the world. As an actor/improvisor, Bina has performed Off-Broadway in the improvised play, Lifegame, at A.R.T. in Cambridge, at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., and played on innumerable improv teams across Chicago. She has also appeared in sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, is the co-author of Miss Manners Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding and has showed photographs in several Chicago galleries. Bina is a graduate of Harvard and The Actors Studio MFA Program at The New School.
Listen to Bina's interview
Anne Libera
Anne Libera has worked with The Second City since 1986 and has taught in The Training Center since 1991. Her book, The Second City Almanac of Improvisation is published by Northwestern University Press. For The Second City, she directed The Madness of Curious George and Computer Chips and Salsa, the Theatre on the Lake productions The Second City Goes to War and The Second City Looks at The Windy City as well as touring company productions that have appeared all over the United States, in Edinburgh, Scotland and Vienna, Austria. Outside of Second City, her directing credits include Bunny, Bunny for Illinois Theatre Center and Stephen Colbert's one man show Describing a Circle at Live Bait. She has been an artistic consultant to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and is on the part-time faculty of Columbia College. She has reviewed theater on WGN radio and written for the NPR news quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Anne serves on the governing board for Gilda's Club Chicago.
Listen to Anne's interview
Michael Gellman
Michael Gellman was a Resident Company member of The Second City Chicago for three years and he has directed at The Second City since 1980. He was nominated for Outstanding Director for the national Dora Mavor Moore Award in Canada and the Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago, and he won the Detroit Free Press Award for Best Comedy. Michael served as Artistic Director of Chicago Theatre Works and Wavelength and as an Artistic Associate of Organic Theater. In addition to The Second City Training Center, Michael has taught at Columbia College, Northern Illinois University and Artistic New Directions.
Listen to Michael's interview
Michael Descoteaux
Michael Descoteaux was head of the Music Program at the Second City Training Center and resident music director of the ETC stage. His work has been heard at The Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, American Theater Company, The Theatre Building, Davenport's and numerous other Chicago venues. With Baby Wants Candy, pHamily, Jazz Hands Across America, and Musical! The Musical, Mike has "composed" over 1,000 improvised musicals. He has been named one of the top young songwriters in America (Johnny Mercer/AMTP), worked with a handful of Tony Award winners, and is the creator/director of the hit satire, Best Church of God. Mike is a member of ASCAP and the Chicago Federation of Musicians.
Listen to Michael's interview
Norm Holly
Norm Holly has directed Second City shows including Baby Richards Got Back and 40 Oz. And a Mule. He was the Assistant Chairman of the Columbia College Theater Department for eight years and directed many productions there including Caucasian Chalk Circle with Jeff Perry and Barbara Robertson and Once in a Lifetime with Michael Maggio. Norm appeared in the New Broadway Theater production of Streamers with Dennis Farina, directed by Terry Kinney. He was director of the live comedy series Anti-Comedy I/II/III with Dino Stamotopolous and Andy Dick, on-camera director for Cinifolio (now Short), and director and producer of Second City's NBC pilot as well as dozens of revue productions.
Listen to Norm's interview
Tim O'Malley
Tim O'Malley is an alumnus of The Second City Chicago Resident Company (1989' - 93') where he wrote and performed in 5 original revues. O'Malley's original play Godshow ran for four years to sold out audiences and critical acclaim all over Chicago. Tim is a Core Faculty member at The Second City Training Center Chicago. He is currently shopping his second play, titled "9210 South Winchester". He recently wrote and produced his first short film "Reasonably Happy" with Dan Andries at WTTW Chicago which aired on WTTW's Image Union in November. He is currently performing with "Burning Desires" ,Chicago's funniest recovery based improv troupe. He can be seen in the films: "Return to Me", "Bad Meat", "Shift", and "Black Days".
