The Second City is heading for Athens -and it's bringing an Ohio University alumna.
Nicky Margolis, a 1998 OU graduate, is performing Saturday with The Second City, an improvisational and sketch comedy group based in Chicago. The Second City is well known for producing actors that move on to Saturday Night Live
including Bill Murray, Mike Myers and Tina Fey.
Margolis hasn't been back to Athens since her graduation, and said Casa Nueva, 4 W. State St., and the Burrito Buggy are on her to-visit list.
I can't wait to go back; I'm so excited she said.
Margolis was a French major, but did some stand-up comedy performances and was part of Comedy Sloth, a sketch comedy and improvisational group. She moved to Chicago after graduation and was hired by Second City two years ago.
I love my job she said. I never imagined that working can be so much fun.
The Second City performance will focus on political and social satire, and Athens or OU itself might wind up in a punch line.
I've heard that they gear their performance to whatever they're getting themselves into
said Rachel Bass, University Program Council's special events co-chair.
The Second City was the perfect choice for parents and students to enjoy a Parents Weekend activity together, she added.
I think it's going to be a fun time
she said. That's what we wanted -something lighthearted
something everyone can enjoy together.
OU's last visit from comedians, Comedy Central's No Class Tour during last year's Parents Weekend, resulted in many outraged parents and students leaving the auditorium during Doug Stanhope's performance. UPC has taken measures to avoid a similar situation.
Signs will be posted cautioning viewer discretion, and Bass and special events co-chair Katie Kelso researched The Second City before booking them, said Chelsea Hamilton, UPC's public relations director.
If they would have thought there was any concern
they wouldn't have brought it to the table
Hamilton said.
Bass isn't too concerned about a similar situation with The Second City. It was something that we thought a lot about before we decided to go with Second City
Bass said. We're confident that Second City will provide something different. I don't think it's going to be an issue.
The company was started in Chicago in 1959, and theaters are now located in Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Las Vegas and Cleveland. Each theater has its own troupe of actors, and three more companies currently tour.
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