'The Second City' troupe to bring wide range of comedy to Columbus

If you go to see The Second City perform in Columbus this weekend, be sure to watch and listen closely: One day, you might be able to claim you were among the first to see a future comic icon.

Legendary comic performers John Belushi, Steve Carell and Amy Poehler — along with countless others — first induced laughter in audiences as members of The Second City, a sketch comedy theater troupe whose home base is Chicago.

The group’s touring company of six performers will participate in a sketch comedy program titled “Comedian Rhapsody” on Friday in the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre.

Among the potential future comic stars is Annie Sullivan, a member of the touring cast that will perform in Columbus.

A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Sullivan first saw The Second City as a high schooler on vacation in Chicago and was instantly taken with its inimitable style of comedy. “I especially loved that these performers were writing their own material versus performing something that has been written for them,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan recently spoke with The Dispatch about what to expect from the performers when they bring their comic ingenuity to Columbus.

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The performers double as writers

Cast members of The Second City in Chicago collaborate to generate their own material. “They’re in process for about eight to ten weeks usually, testing all different types of sketches and scenes that they think are funny,” Sullivan said. “After that process is over, they put up a full, two-hour sketch comedy revue.”

The touring company then draws from the best of the material created by the cast back home.

“We typically will be doing what we call ‘archive material,’ which is scenes from previous original revues,” Sullivan said. “Some of the scenes that we’ll be performing in Ohio have been written by us, which is also very exciting.”

Show to offer wide range of comedy

Because of the performer-driven nature of its shows, it’s hard to define what sort of humor The Second City specializes in.

“It totally depends on the cast and what their taste in comedy drives towards,” Sullivan said. “There have definitely been revues that are super-political; there have been revues that are really goofy and silly. The show that we’ll be touring is a really solid mix of both. There’s biting political satire but also some really sweet, silly scenes.”

What is Sullivan's preferred style of comedy?

Sullivan, whose favorite Second City alumni include “Saturday Night Live” icon Gilda Radner as well as “SNL” writer Katie Rich, says she likes to explore the humor in mundane situations and day-to-day relationships.

“I like to heighten them to the silliest that they can be,” Sullivan said. “I love being able to support silly little ideas with wild and wacky production, like flashing lights and big music.”

She says she has a dry sense of humor.

“I like exploring things that are not typically talked about,” she said.

Sketch vs. skit

On the website of The Second City, the reader is warned never to refer to the troupe’s sketches as “skits.” Why?

“I was taught, when I was first coming up, that a sketch is a comedic scene that is three-to-five minutes that explores a specific POV,” Sullivan said. “Skit is something that you do around the campfire.”

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Is there improv involved?

Improvisation contributes to the development of scenes by the performers.

“Second City views improv as a writing tool,” Sullivan said. “We’ll come in with ideas: ‘I have this loose idea for a scene — like, these two characters go to the prom together.’ And then we’ll improvise the dialogue from there.”

By the time a scene reaches the public, however, the material is pretty well-honed.

“We’ll also do some improv games throughout the show as well,” she said. “We do show the audience, ‘This is what it’s like when we’re completely making things up.’”

Is the show appropriate for young audiences?

Sullivan first encountered The Second City while in high school, and she says the show coming to Columbus is appropriate for teenagers.

“I would say our shows are pretty much PG-13,” she said. “There’s maybe some explicit language. ... I would say teenagers would be super into the show that we’re performing.”

Does the cast know when the show is going over well?

“That’s a huge part of the job — being able to intuit what the audience is feeling,” Sullivan said. “A lot of times we go to different towns where a majority of the audience that’s there, it’s their first theater experience. They might not have ever been interested in seeing plays or musicals, but, ‘Oh, a comedy show — let’s go check it out.’”

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At a glance

The Second City will perform “Comedian Rhapsody” at 8 p.m. Friday in the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre, 77 S. High St. Tickets start at $32. For more information, visit capa.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'The Second City' troupe to visit Columbus