Second City


After their quick stop at The Bean, everyone headed straight to Second City Chicago. The Second City is an improvisational (improv) comedy enterprise and the oldest ongoing improv theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959, and has since become one of the most influential and prolific comedy theaters in the English-speaking world. To participate in a workshop at The Second City is truly a special experience, and the students picked up on that right away.


“I’m really happy we got to go to Second City and be a part of that. That was really fun and really eye- opening,” ISBVI student Cory reflected. “Like, ‘Hey. It’s not as hard as you think it is, and no one’s laughing at you. We’re all going along with it.’ It was a great environment, and Nick was awesome.” Nick, the instructor, stood out as a highlight for several students. He welcomed them warmly, stayed engaged throughout the entire two-hour workshop, and crafted an empowering environment for everyone.


Students were led through a series of improv games like Five Things, Pass the Present, and Dr. Know-It- All. “Those got us interacting with people in our class and were just fun engagement games,” explained Nate, a senior at ISBVI. “I think they were all fun, but the most fun was Dr. Know-It-All. It’s where each person says one word. You go down a line, and the next person would say a word and the third person would say a word. You have to complete a sentence, but you’re first given a topic, like an animal and a sport. One of them was teaching bears how to play football. You have to answer, but each person can only say one word [at a time].”


Nick also explained one of the rules at The Second City - that "Improv is about listening to one another and making others look good." The concept of lifting each other up and being there to support each other really resonated with the students, and as the games went on, their ownership of that concept became clearer and clearer. Not a single student made fun at another’s expense during the entire workshop. If anyone lacked the confidence to speak up, everyone encouraged them and worked together as a team. Even the adult chaperones counted that particular idea as a valuable takeaway from this once-in-a- lifetime experience.


Photo Descriptions (Left): Four ISBVI students stand in a row, all smiling as they take part in an improv exercise. In front of them, Second City instructor Nick is seated with hands outstretched and an animated expression on his face. (Top Right): ISBVI high school students sit in a row, all with focused expressions on their faces. (Bottom Right): Three ISBVI high school students stand in a row. The two students on the right both appear to be laughing delightedly.


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