Dana Quercioli on living the dream

Dana Quercioli talks about living her dream with Second City.

After getting her start in Cleveland, including acting at Lakeland Community Theatre, as well as with Cabaret Dada and the now-defunct The Second City Cleveland, Quercioli moved to Chicago in 2003 where she eventually joined the famed comedy troupe. In fact, she’ll be on stage when The Second City 50th Anniversary Tour comes through Cleveland for a Saturday show at the Ohio Theatre.

“My focus was always I wanted to be an actor, but also I wanted to be a comedian, so Second City has given me both, which is amazing,” said Quercioli, a 1998 West Geauga High School graduate.

“I’m really grateful for that. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be working in television. I auditioned for ‘Saturday Night Live’ last year, and I’m hoping it’s something I get to do again. I want to write for television and movies. Actually, Tina Fey’s career path is pretty ideal starting off as a writer on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ becoming head writer, building up a solid reputation and finally getting her own show [‘30 Rock’] and acting on that show.”[...]

But what exactly is happening on The Second City 50th Anniversary Tour?

“We do sketch and improvisation,” Quercioli said. “Some of the scenes are original to our company, some are from the archives and some of them are improvised. Right now, they want us to do mostly archival scenes from the 50th anniversary because it’s such a momentous thing for us. So we’ll be doing stuff that’s been written by Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch and Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson. There are so many amazing scenes to pull from. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”

For some people attending The Second City show, the expectation may be similar to seeing an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” sans live music. Quercioli points out that’s not the case.

“Here’s the thing about ‘Saturday Night Live’: The stuff they put up they have a week to write, and it’s 50/50,” Quercioli said. “You never know what you’ll get. I know because I have friends who write for that show. But with Second City, the material we’re doing is tried and true. This is stuff that has been done by some of the greatest comedians of our time. And, really, it’s a high success ratio as far as the material is concerned. One of the things that Second City is known for is Midwestern sensibilities. So it’s not snooty; it’s not overly pretentious. It speaks to a lot of people.”

TJ Shanoff talks improv

TJ Shanoff spoke to the Plain Dealer last week before Second City's TourCo performed this past weekend.

"You'd have to be a real idiot to argue against the point that there'd be no 'Saturday Night Live' without Second City," said T.J. Shanoff.

Of course, Shanoff might be a little biased. He's been with the seminal comedic company since 1997 and is the director behind "The Second City 50th Anniversary Tour," which stops at PlayhouseSquare's Ohio Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The director culled 50 years of SC sketches to put together Saturday's show, which features two acts of semiscripted material and a final totally improvised third act.

"Second City over the last 25 years really extended its reach and touches almost every form of comedy," Shanoff said in a call to his Chicagoland home.

"Improv used to be a theatrical exercise, and Second City has helped make [it] a viable form for performers. Chicago has many improv theaters, Cleveland had a Second City for a while. There are comedy and improv groups in almost every college around the country, and I don't believe it's presumptuous or misleading to say that none of that would have occurred without Second City leading the way.

"It's not just a famous comedy theater. It's laid the groundwork for making sketch comedy and improv acceptable," he insisted.[...]

"If you look at what's going on with NBC right now, with shows like '30 Rock' and 'Parks and Recreation' and the American 'Office,' these are either created or written by or have performers who got their start at Second City," Shanoff said.

Shanoff points to "30 Rock" star Tina Fey as an example. He calls her the quintessential Second City performer. She was part of the 1996 Chicago Mainstage troupe.

The key there is "part of the troupe." In Second City thinking, the company, not the individual actor, is primary.

"She knew she was great. Everyone there knew she was great. But she 'quote-unquote' knew that she was just part of the ensemble. She was no better or no worse than any other actor," Shanoff said.

"Now that Tina has gone on to have great success in film and television, she's brought along an incredible number of Second City people with her for the ride," Shanoff said.

It's called respect for yourself, for the theater and for your peers. And it's one reason why you won't see in the tour a lot of the more famous Second City sketches created over the years, such as the "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker" character created by Chris Farley while he was at Second City.

"As the director, I don't want to saddle an actor with a Chris Farley part everyone's known for 20 years," Shanoff said.

Tim Stoltenberg talks improv

Here are excerpts form a Denver Post article from a BlueCo visit to Colorado early last month.

The company is that rare combination of first love and lifelong partner, jumping-off point and career track. And thanks to its ever-changing nature, it's still going strong.

"That's the great thing about improv," said Tim Stoltenberg, a Second City ensemble member. "Second City doesn't just write comedy. We do satire, too, and that's a reflection of our society, which has a deeper meaning than just laughs.

"It puts an idea in your head to look at things a little differently, and it has a stronger impact on the audience by keeping them more engaged."[...]

"We had the opportunity to go back through all the archives and find scenes we felt really demonstrated the company," said the 31-year-old Stoltenberg, who was born when many of Second City's most famous alumni were gracing "Saturday Night Live."

"One in particular we do is from the first year Second City was really in existence, and it's incredible because it's still funny and plays to audiences today," he said. "We also talk about how so-and-so was in this original scene and where some of it came from."[...]

"Doing the show last summer, some of the cast members were saying to each other, 'Does it ever get old?' But it doesn't because every night is new for us," Stoltenberg said. "It's a great tool for an actor because we have the benefit of an audience who keeps it new each time."[...]

"We use the audience as our editors when we put something on stage," Stoltenberg said. "That immediate response is great when it hits — but it's also fleeting, and it's gone. We have to build the bridge as we go across it."

Angry ginger kid has parents upset

You might recognize the "parents." I can't believe some of the comments.

Priceless

It is no lie that you have to be there to see it when it comes to improvisation.

Last night, I attended the free improv set at Second City. Andy St. Clair lifted Anthony as did Tim Robinson. It was an improvised gym scene. You really had to be there to see it.

Tim was filling in for Brad Morris, who was out of town last night.

Priceless.

Check it out...

Abby Sher will be hosting a free event this Friday at Flourish Studios.

Mainstage cast member Lauren Ash is keeping busy in addition to her mainstage duties. She's been keeping a diary of sorts in the National Post in Canada.

Valentine's Day

Second City Touring Company member Rob Belushi can be seen in Valentine's Day this weekend in a minor role.