Short Film Success for Second City Employee Jonathan Browning

Jonathan Browning, an Administrative Assistant at The Second City Hollywood, has found big success with short films. This week The Festival International des Tres Courts announced its official selections for the 2010 festival in Paris, France. Two of the shorts that will be screening were written & directed by Jonathan. Going Green is a short film with an ecological twist and The Sale is a satirical look at the busted housing market in the United States.

Jonathan will be attending the festival in Paris at The Forum des Images. What makes this festival unique is the way it shares the short films with such a wide and varied audience. The festival screens the shorts at over 80 cities in three days. Cities that will participate in the festival are located in - France, Martinique, New Caledonia, Belgium, Brazil, Guinea, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mali, Morocco, Moldova, Romania, Singapore, Serbia, Switzerland, Palestinian Territories, and the United Kingdom. So these two shorts will literally be seen around the world.

Jonathan has been making short films since his first endeavor, The Job premiered at SXSW in 2007. That short film has screened at over 200 International Film Festivals, has been honored with 28 Festival Awards and has received over a million hits on YouTube. You can see the short on YouTube.

Jonathan is thrilled to have had the opportunity to crisscross the United States going to film festivals and has traveled with his shorts to Paris & La Ciotat (France), Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia) and Palermo (Italy). In addition to going back to Paris with his two short films in May, he will be heading to Tokyo for the Japanese premiere of Going Green in June. The prestigious, Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia, selected only 90 films out of over 3,000 international submissions.

All of Jonathan's shorts take a comedic look at a political or social issue. They are also all shot under his production company, Screaming Frog Productions. Screaming Frog was co-founded with the funny & beautiful Second City Training Center graduate and Chicago Native, Leslie McManus. Jonathan is proud to cast his friends, several Second City graduates and some of Chicago's best improvisers, in each short film. He surrounds himself with passionate people that he respects and adores and does exactly what he loves. Luckily, he has found some success in that equation.

Jonathan Browning's website is http://www.jonathanbrowning.com.

Free workshops for students ages 9-18 on April 10th.

Come try one of our new classes for free! On April 10th the Chicago Training Center will offer three free workshops for students, including: Clowning & Physical Theatre, Stand-Up, and Singprov. Each workshop has students on their feet participating in exercises that develop stage presence, creativity, communication skills, patience, self-confidence and most importantly - are fun and free!

Workshop Schedule:

Clowing & Physical Theatre (ages 9-12) 4:30pm-5:30pm
Stand Up (ages 13-14) 4:00pm-6:00pm
Singprov (ages 15-18) 4:00pm-6:00pm

After the workshops, all students are invited to participate in our weekly teen jam in the deMaat Theater from 6:10 - 6:50pm. To reserve your spot, call the training center at 312-664-3959. Space is limited so don’t miss out!

Win a Scholarship to The Second City Training Center!

This is no laughing matter.

PUMA and The Second City's Outreach and Diversity Program are seeking diverse actors: Apply for The 2010 PUMA "LOL" Scholarship and receive one year of improv training with The Second City. Hurry, as time to apply is running out! For Scholarship eligibility and application, please visit www.puma.com/secondcity.

Take the full IFA program in one term this summer!

Students who are interested in taking the Improv for Actors (IFA) program can take the full program in one term this summer. Improv for Actors is a condensed version of our popular Improvisation program designed specifically for students who have completed a degree program in Theatre. Completion of the IFA program also fulfills eligibility requirements to audition for the Conservatory and Music Improv programs.

The Summer Full IFA will meet twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays during Term 4 2010, running from June 28 through August 18. The Full IFA course costs $495. Students must be approved to enroll in IFA, so any interested students can send their theater resume to Audrey Flegel at aflegel@secondcity.com. To register, call the Chicago Training Center at 312-664-3959. For more information, visit our website at www.secondcity.com/tc.