Second City changes its storied e.t.c. Stage to … improv? – Chicago Tribune

Good morning, Chicago.

Del Close must be looking down in triumph from the afterlife, with or without the skull he famously wished to be donated after his death in 1999 to the Goodman Theatre’s props department for use in “Hamlet.”

Beginning today, and for the first time in its 43-year history, Chicago’s Second City e.t.c. Stage is changing over its storied revue, which launched the careers of the likes of Keegan-Michael Key and Jack McBrayer, to an all-improv show titled “Improv Supernova.”

Instead of the traditional compilation of scripted sketches, written by the cast and similar in format to the flagship Chicago Mainstage, the new e.t.c. show in Second City’s second stage in the Piper’s Alley complex in Old Town will be composed entirely of improvised scenes and structured scenarios. “Everything will be unscripted,” said Anne Libera, the new endeavor’s director. “We want to do a killer improv show.”

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Chris Jones.

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