Breaking The Fourth Wall

During the 1950's and 60's improv theaters were not the norm in the theatre scene. Theatre goers would venture to Broadway to check out musicals and dramatic plays, not improvisational performances. The Second City really shook the scene with its political satire sketches. They really could not have picked a better time to break out on the scene with all the conflict and drama with Lyndon Johnson in the White House. They pulled in audiences and it have continued on its road to success in the theatre world today.

The comedy style of The Second City in its early stages was very physical and active, as it is today. The influence Viola Spolin had on the company is very clear as many of her theatre games were very physical and high energy.

During the 1950's and 60's the comedy style on Broadway and around the country was very different from that of The Second City. Plays like Bus Stop by William Inge were popular on Broadway. These nice stories with clean one liner jokes were really what was popular, not the comedy of Second City. So when Second City came out into the theatre scene, it truly was a shock.

Comedy during 1959 was in a very different style than that of The Second City. During a time when "mother-in-law" jokes and playing it safe was in style, The Second City truly broke ground with their comedy that was aimed at a younger crowd.

Tina Fey

Steve Carell

The early days at The Second City.

The Second City even used political satire in their advertisements and posters for their shows.

Commedia Dell'arte is a form of theatre that originated in the 16th century which used masks in its performance. This type of theatre is based around the usage of "stock characters". Each stock character has its own set of personality traits and characteristics and the actors would take on each of these roles during their shows. Commedia Dell'arte is the earliest known form of improvisational theatre. Using the stock characters, the actors would lurk around the town in which they were performing and learn the town news and gossip and then use it in performance. Very similar to The Second City, isn't it? The Second City is most famous for its political satire and using the news of its surrounding areas to entertain their audiences. Using stories and ideas that hit closer to home with the audience, will pull them in and creating an energized theatre environment.

SECOND CITY IS LITERALLY GENIUS.

Viola Spolin-Improvisation for Theater

The Second City using political satire today!

The Stanislavski Method was brought to the United States in the 1930's. One of things that Stanislavski stressed in his work is this sea of creating a fourth wall. This fourth wall is an invisible wall that the actor builds up shielding him from the audience. It's a way to block the audience out from the actors mind so he/she can simply focus on the scene at hand. This style of acting was and is very popular amongst theatre artists in the United States. Everyone, that is, except for The Second City. Theatre and performance at The Second City chooses to break that fourth wall and include the audience in the work.

The ability to play is with us from birth. Acting for theater evolves naturally out of playing...

American director, teacher, actress