The Second City & SNL Foster Future Comedy Greats with Scholarship Launch

Legendary comedy institution The Second City today announced the creation of a new scholarship for up-and-coming diverse comedic talent in partnership with iconic television series Saturday Night Live. The SNL Scholarship will grant students at varying levels of experience the opportunity to further their professional development at The Second City, the renowned home of improvisation-based creative arts.

Comedians with diverse life experiences, including varying cultural and economic backgrounds, orientation, ethnicities, and points of view are encouraged to apply for the inaugural program. In addition to receiving Second City performance and writing training, recipients will be connected directly with SNL talent executives and have direct entry to submit an audition tape or sketch packet to SNL for the landmark show.

Long before SNL made history by becoming the most Emmy Award-winning show in TV history, Second City alumni Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner were members of the very first group of “not ready for primetime players” in 1975. Over the course of the show’s historic run, several more Second City-bred performers and writers have found a home at SNL, including Peter Aykroyd, Vanessa Bayer, Jim Belushi, Aidy Bryant, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rachel Dratch, Robin Duke, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Mary Gross, Bill Hader, Tim Kazurinsky, David Koechner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tim Meadows, Jerry Minor, Alex Moffat, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Mike O’Brien, Bob Odenkirk, Amy Poehler, Chris Redd, Tim Robinson, Tony Rosato, Horatio Sanz, Martin Short, Cecily Strong, Jason Sudeikis, and Nancy Walls.

The SNL Scholarship application for The Second City is available here. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, November 24, 2020, by 5 p.m. CST.