Second City Improv: An Essential Tool for Actors
4:00 pm-6:00 pm – The Annex Room
Improvisation is the new gold standard on a résumé, during auditions, and on set. CDs and directors are not only looking for it but asking for it and for a very good reason: Improv creates malleable, dynamic performers who are ready for anything.
Take the first step. Come hear Joshua Funk, Artistic Director of The Second City Hollywood, talk about how improv will change your life and help you book the gig. Afterwards, you will break off into smaller groups and get an introduction to improv while working with some of Second City's best teachers. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity!
For 50 years The Second City has created a wealth of comedic material from a legendary group of performers. The Training Center follows the traditions developed by these groundbreaking and innovative men and women while encouraging the continued growth and development of the art forms of comedy and improvisation.
Speakers:
-- Joshua Funk, Artistic Director, The Second City Hollywood
-- Marc Warzecha, Associate Artistic Director, The Second City
-- Megan Grano, Teacher, The Second City
-- Rob Janas, Teacher, The Second City
-- Niki Lindgren, Teacher, The Second City
SPEAKER BIOS
Joshua Funk, Artistic Director, The Second City
Joshua Funk has worked for the Second City since 1994. He received his BFA in musical theater from the University of Michigan and shortly after became one of the founding members of the Second City Detroit touring company. After three years on the Second City Detroit mainstage, Funk moved back to his hometown of Chicago and became a resident director for the Second City.
He received Joseph Jefferson Awards for best director for "Holy War Batman," and best production for "Pants on Fire," and he directed the Second City's first tours to Asia and a USO tour to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Funk now resides in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. Some of his film and television credits as an improv director and coach include MTV's "Wild n' Out," "Katt Williams: American Hustle," "The BET Hip Hop Awards," and multiple pilots for Fox and CBS. As an actor, he has appeared in "Reno 911," "Short Circuitz," "Wild n' Out," "3lbs," and Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant."
Funk performs regularly in Hollywood with the improv groups The 313 and Opening Night: The Improvised Musical. He is also proud to have directed and performed a Second City revue for the Obama campaign at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Funk currently serves as the artistic director of the Second City Training Center Hollywood and is thrilled to be the managing director, new media.
Marc Warzecha, Associate Artistic Director, The Second City
Marc Warzecha is originally from Detroit and now lives in Los Angeles, where he has appeared on "MadTV" and "Reno 911." He has worked with the Second City as an actor, writer, and director, most recently co-writing and directing "Can You Be More Pacific?" at the Laguna Playhouse.
Other recent directing credits include SCC's "An Evening with Martin Short;" "BarackStars" at the Woolly Mammoth theater in Washington, D.C.; "The Art of Satire," a collaboration with The Economist Magazine; "Pratfall of Civilization" (The Second City ETC, Joseph Jefferson nominee for best director); "War! Now in its 4th Smash Year!" (Second City Chicago Mainstage, Joseph Jefferson nominee for best director, best revue, best ensemble); and Second City resident shows in Las Vegas and Michigan.
Warzecha served as writer-director for last year's political satire "Kwame a River: The Chronicles of Detroit's Hip Hop Mayor," a 2009 Wilde Award nominee for best new script, and its follow-up show "Kwame a River 2: The Wrath of Conyers." Warzecha's work as a satirist has been featured on ABC's "Nightline," Newsweek, and in the Washington Post. He has also been a guest on CNN's "Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer and NPR's "All Things Considered."
Megan Grano, Teacher, The Second City
Megan Grano has been teaching improv and sketch comedy at Second City since 2004. She has also taught at iO Theater and the Annoyance Theater, where she co-developed the sketch writing program. She enjoys working with up-and-coming comedians of any age; she equally enjoys teaching improv to improve communication skills.
In that regard, she has worked with corporations, children in foster care, and the homeless. Grano has had the privilege of teaching at Columbia College, The Great American Comedy Festival, and The Del Close Comedy Festival. She even flew to Paris to teach the French improv group Eux.
Rob Janas, Teacher, The Second City
Rob Janas wrote 3 reviews at Second City's ETC stage and was a member of its national touring company. A longtime Chicago improviser, he performed with several groups including Foursquare and JTS Brown. Rob has taught improv workshops at I.O. Chicago and UCB New York, and has appeared in many short films, including the award-winning "Stalk Much?" You can see him perform in Los Angeles with Mr. Johnson and North Wells Chowder Society.
Niki Lindgren, Teacher, The Second City
Niki Lindgren is thrilled to be a member of the faculty at the Second City Los Angeles. She moved to Chicago to study improvisation with a B.A. in theater from James Madison University. Lindgren wrote and performed "Immaculate Deception," "Disposable Nation," and "Pratfall of Civilization." Prior to the resident stage, she toured with Second City's national touring company. She studied improvisation at Annoyance Theatre, The Second City Conservatory, and iO Chicago.
She also studied physical theater at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. She is a member of the musical improv group Baby Wants Candy and all female improv group Virgin Daiquiri. Her one-woman show, "Photosynthesis of God and Man" was performed at iO Chicago and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, as well as other festivals in Chicago.
Her television credits include "The Beast," "ER," ESPN's "Mayne Event," "Top Chef" and two seasons "Sports Action Team."
