The Second City

The Second City Your home for comedy in Chicago. 🌭

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Kelly Leonard met Barack Obama outside Second City when he was running for president.On the street, Obama was demure and...
07/09/2026

Kelly Leonard met Barack Obama outside Second City when he was running for president.

On the street, Obama was demure and thankful. The moment he walked into the green room with the cast, his whole posture changed: "You guys." 🎤

Kelly told the story to Berkeley professor Toby Stuart on Getting to Yes, And.

Who's the best room-reader you've ever met? 👇

📌 Link in first comment.

Disney has a VP of Parking. 🎢It's not a joke job. They figured out that a great day at the park ends with finding your c...
06/24/2026

Disney has a VP of Parking. 🎢

It's not a joke job. They figured out that a great day at the park ends with finding your car — and the parking lot was the place guests were getting stuck.

What's a small detail a brand got exactly right for you? 👇

📌 Link in first comment.

Stephanie Weaver inherited her mother's recipe box after both of her parents had died.Inside were handwritten cards, typ...
06/19/2026

Stephanie Weaver inherited her mother's recipe box after both of her parents had died.

Inside were handwritten cards, typewritten pages from the 1930s when her mother was in stenography school, and notes in margins going back decades. A whole life, in a box.

On the latest Getting to Yes, And, Stephanie told Kelly Leonard that the box gave her something she'd never had with her mother in person — a kind of conversation. Out of it came her memoir, Bitter, Sweet: How to Heal Yourself When Your Family is Broken, structured around her mother's recipes.

Some of the most ordinary objects carry the most.

What's the object in your family that holds the most history? 👇

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⚠️ This episode discusses family abuse and estrangement. Please listen with care.

No one laughs at something they don't recognize. 😄Kelly Leonard has watched thousands of improvisers walk onto a Second ...
06/18/2026

No one laughs at something they don't recognize. 😄

Kelly Leonard has watched thousands of improvisers walk onto a Second City stage with nothing — no script, no plan, just a suggestion from someone in row five.

The magic, he says, is simpler than it looks. Those six performers have everything they've ever read, watched, lived through, and forgotten that they remembered. The audience laughs because they recognize something.

The laugh is the moment of recognition.

So the next time something makes you laugh harder than you expected — that laugh is yours. It's everything you've read and watched and lived showing up at exactly the right time.

What did you recognize the last time something made you laugh? 👇

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Journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis spent years interviewing people who had really changed. Recovering addicts. People out o...
06/09/2026

Journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis spent years interviewing people who had really changed. Recovering addicts. People out on parole. People who left marriages, tribes, old versions of themselves.

He expected to hear that they did it alone. By force of will.

That wasn't the story they told him.

Almost everyone pointed to one person. A mother who kept showing up. A friend who didn't walk away. A therapist who saw them before they could see themselves.

We tell ourselves that change has to be internal. That doing it for someone else doesn't count. The people Denizet-Lewis met would disagree.

The change was theirs. The reason they could make it wasn't.

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The Second City mourns the passing of Tim O’Malley, a longtime performer, teacher, and beloved member of the comedy comm...
05/12/2026

The Second City mourns the passing of Tim O’Malley, a longtime performer, teacher, and beloved member of the comedy community, whose work left a lasting impact on generations of artists and audiences.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tim starred in several acclaimed Chicago Mainstage revues at The Second City, including “Flag Smoking Permitted in Lobby Only,” “Winner Takes Oil,” and “Economy of Errors.”

During his celebrated run on the Mainstage, he performed alongside fellow alumni including Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Steve Carell, and Bob Odenkirk.

Tim also created the original play “Godshow,” a deeply personal work exploring his journey through addiction and recovery. The production played a sold-out run at The Second City e.t.c., earning praise for its honesty, vulnerability, and heart.

Beyond the stage, Tim appeared in film and television projects including Return to Me, Bad Meat, Shift, and Black Days.

Tim O’Malley will be remembered for his immense talent, generosity as a teacher and collaborator, and the authenticity he brought to both comedy and storytelling. He will be deeply missed by The Second City community and all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.

The Second City is sad to report on the passing of alum, Kevin Michael Doyle.Kevin was a proud member of The Second City...
05/09/2026

The Second City is sad to report on the passing of alum, Kevin Michael Doyle.

Kevin was a proud member of The Second City Touring Company and The Second City e.t.c. where he starred in the original revues: “Small Arts and Crafts Warnings,” “Kukla, Fawn and Ollie,” “Channel This,” and “The Heliotrope Players’ Production of Thornton Wilder’s American Classic ‘Our Town’ As Directed by d’Eric Blakemore, or Cash Stations of the Cross."

He would also go on to star in such television shows at “Early Edition,” and “Dear John” as well as feature films like “My Best Friend's Wedding” and “The Untouchables.”

Kevin took a different starring turn later in life, becoming a member of the Chicago Police Department where he was featured in this 2001 profile piece in the Chicago Tribune: http://bit.ly/4dfV30H

We send condolences to the entire Doyle family as well as Kevin’s many colleagues and friends.

05/09/2026

Have you ever worked with a "brilliant jerk"? 🧠🥊

You know the one—hits 200% of their targets but leaves everyone else wanting to quit. We’ve all been there. But the real "cognitive shock" happens when you realize you are the jerk in the story.

Margaret Andrews shares insights that will humble even a Harvard professor:

✅ "I am Dr. Ventura." Admitting your own toxicity before you get fired is the ultimate leadership flex.

✅ Ugly Gifts. Real feedback rarely comes with a bow. It’s usually a blunt "you lack self-awareness." It hurts, but it’s the medicine you need.

✅ The "Human" Boss. Leadership isn't about meetings (which everyone hates). It’s about walking the floor and actually remembering people's lives.

In improv, we say: "Play the scene you are in." If you are the problem, you can't be the solution until you face the mirror. ✨🧠

Who was your "best" or "worst" boss? What did they teach you about the human condition? Tell us in the comments! 👇

Still together, but feeling lonely? You’ve fallen into the "Stability Trap." 🏚️We’ve been conditioned to think a success...
05/08/2026

Still together, but feeling lonely? You’ve fallen into the "Stability Trap." 🏚️

We’ve been conditioned to think a successful relationship is one without conflict. Psychologist James Cordova says that’s a lie. If you have zero conflict, you’re likely just staying outside of "quill’s distance." You’re safe, but you’re freezing.

Here is the "cognitive shock" you need today:

🛑 Attention is the only currency.
Most people in a cafe are just taking turns talking about themselves. Real love is the fierce, quiet curiosity for the person sitting across from you.

🛑 Vulnerability is the ultimate filter.
It is the only way to find out if your partner (or your team) is actually capable of taking care of you. If you hide your authentic self to stay "safe," you will never be known.

🛑 "It’s my fault" is a superpower.
This phrase saves marriages. By taking responsibility for the "stinging" in a relationship, you grab the steering wheel. You move from being a victim of the moment to being its steward.

In improv, we say: "Play the scene you are in, not the scene you want to be in." 🎭✨

Stop waiting for a "perfect" version of your partner to appear. Start giving your full attention to the human being standing in front of you right now. That is where the healing begins. ✨🧠

Who in your life deserves your full, non-distracted attention today? Tag them or—better yet—put your phone down and go talk to them. 👇

Your kid will come back from camp with a superpower no tutoring can give them. 🎭✨What kids learn at Second City Chicago ...
05/07/2026

Your kid will come back from camp with a superpower no tutoring can give them. 🎭✨

What kids learn at Second City Chicago Summer Comedy Camp:

📍how to actually listen
📍how to think on their feet
📍how to work in a team
📍how to speak in front of people without panicking
📍how to not be afraid of messing up

These aren't acting classes. These are skills HR teams will be hunting for in 15 years. Just here, kids train them through laughter. 😄

5 days. 7 hours a day. Mornings — improv. Afternoons — stand-up and clowning. The same method launched Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert. But even if your kid doesn't become the next SNL star — they'll come back different.

Sessions run June, July, and August 2026 in Chicago. Some weeks fill fast. 📅

Would you send your kid to a camp like this? Or would you go yourself? 😄👇

📌 Link in first comment!

Address

1616 N Wells Street
Chicago, IL
60614

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 11pm
Tuesday 9am - 11pm
Wednesday 9am - 11pm
Thursday 9am - 12am
Friday 9am - 1am
Saturday 9am - 1am
Sunday 9am - 10pm

Telephone

+13123373992

Website

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