Second City brings Chicago’s top improv comedy

Like “Saturday Night Live”? Then Brian Jack thinks a show by The Second City touring troupe is calling your name.

“I always say we are like the minor leagues for shows like ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ” said Jack. “We put together a sketch review at Second City basically commenting on the political air and the social airs and anything that’s current. And just goofy, silly stuff as well. We try to hit comedy all over the place.”

Founded in 1959, The Second City is one of the country’s premiere comedy groups, and its alumni include Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, John Belushi, Bill Murray and Chris Farley. Along with a home base in Chicago, the company has three touring groups, and all attract top talent.

“There are 5,000 people in Chicago trying to get this job, and only 18 people at a time can have it,” Jack said. “It’s unbelievably competitive, and for that reason it takes several years usually to get hired on or noticed by Second City. Some people audition like 10 times.”

Jack studied and performed at improv theater iO in Chicago for years before being picked up by Second City, and he’s thrilled to be part of such a venerable group.

“I think each and every one of us (in the touring group) would be absolutely happy if we could just keep doing this as our main bread-winning job,” he said. “It’s hard to achieve, so once we get here we’re so happy we have it. If you can keep it up, that’s the trick.”

Second City’s touring shows are made up of some of the best material created by the company over the past four decades. In Reno, Jack said, the company will perform a skit dating back to the 1970s, and it will include sketches written by famous former company members, including Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.

But not everything is vintage.

“Our director and Second City always challenge us to write as much stuff as we possibly can, too, without taking the best-of idea out of our show,” Jack said. “We always have at least two or three or four sketches of our own peppered in there.”

Second City also tends to throws in a third act that is strictly improvised, Jack said.

“It’s live theater so there are definitely some pluses and minuses to it,” he said. “You can’t flip around (the channels) if the scene sucks in your mind, but if the scene is going really well then you have that experience of being right there in the theater laughing along with hundreds of people who are finding it funny with you.”

Jack’s only warning? Don’t bring the kids.

As a fairly liberal connoisseur of media, he rates the program for age 14 and up, but he admits that some parents are uncomfortable even with young teens watching. It contains foul language and adult themes. Plus, Jack said, the skits tend to go over better with mature viewers.

“It’s really an adult show,” he said. “Overall I think the adults get the humor.”