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DOORS OPEN ON THE RIGHT. Directed by Joshua Funk. Second City, Mainstage Theatre, Chicago. 15 July 2004.
INVASION FREE SINCE 1812. Directed by Bob Martin. Second City Toronto, Mainstage Theatre. 31 July 2004.
Veering away from the weighty satirical targets that defined its early years, improvisational comedy has most recently positioned itself as the bastard cousin of standup, offering audiences glib, keenly observed, and quirky snippets of everyday life experiences. Adding to this shift in emphasis is a decidedly more consumer-oriented and user-friendly presentational style, marked by the desire to please at all costs.
Adjustments in content, tone, and delivery have adversely impacted critical consideration of improv as a viable arts practice. Generally, theatre reviewers and aficionados of performance have tended to dismiss sketch comedy as a hobby or diversion rather than serious craft. While none of these people would refute the fact that successful improv requires an advanced skill-set and razor-sharp timing, these abilities are thought to be innate, not learned. Further, an improv stage is often viewed as a stepping-stone to a career in comedy-potentially as a featured player on Saturday Night Live-rather than as a legitimate performance venue in its own right.
Many Chicago theatres have played a seminal role in shaping improvisational comedy traditions. Foremost among them is the Second City. Through its famed training center program, especially, the theatre has helped to promote improv of the sophisticated, not solipsistic, variety. Training involves exposing students to the rules and agreements that govern the practice and allowing them to experiment with these principles in real-word performance settings. In order to participate in a show at one of Second City's public venues, a student must not only demonstrate mastery of the rules but also prove to be an effective ensemble member. Achieving mainstage status (the highest program level) signifies a wealth of training and performance experience.
Doors Open on the Right, the ninetieth revue offered on Chicago's flagship mainstage theatre, reveals just how remarkable the skills of highly-trained improv performers tend to be. The hour-and-a-half-long show featured an ensemble of six actors (three male, three female) who utilized a bare stage and minimal props to enact vignettes of "everyman" activities and attitudes. The individual skits that made up the revue mainly focused on...